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Edelweiss Egg Farm Earns Award for Pollution Prevention
Release Date: 3/5/2001
Contact Information: Robert Drake
drake.robert@epamail.epa.gov
(206) 553-4803
March 5, 2001 - - - - - - - - - - - - 01-004
The Northwest regional office of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that it has awarded its prestigious Evergreen Award to Edelweiss Farms of Aurora, Oregon for the facility’s environmental excellence and leadership in pollution prevention.
EPA’s Evergreen Award recognizes outstanding pollution prevention efforts by companies within all sectors of the greater Pacific Northwest business community.
Edelweiss Farms produces and processes some about two million eggs per week from approximately 500,000 hens, and produces about 10,000 cubic yards of chicken manure per year – enough to cover a football field six feet deep in manure.
On this scale poorly managed chicken manure has the potential to create large impact on local water systems and air quality. However, through the integration of waste management into building design, Edelweiss has eliminated all impacts to ground or surface water. The manure is kept indoors and as dry as possible which greatly reduces manure odor and produces more marketable manure product.
About 40% of EF manure is blended with recycled yard waste and sold as an organic fertilizer. EF is working to develop an integrated composting program to further enhance the benefits of manure as an organic soil amendment. The remaining manure is used for agricultural applications.
“We’re particularly impressed with Edelweiss because of the way they incorporated state-of-the-art manure and air-quality management systems into their remodeling projects,” said Chuck Findley, the Acting Regional Administrator of the Region 10 office of the EPA. “They’re proving that smart environmental practices pencil out for industry and for the environment.”
Edelweiss has offset carbon dioxide emissions from its operations through planting trees and grass at its facility and strives to further reduce dust and odor from its operations through use of straw bales as filters for exhaust fans. And the company composts unuseable egg cartons, straw, and yard debris with manure and sells the high-quality product as fertilizer.
The Evergreen Award for Pollution Prevention
EPA’s Evergreen Award is designed to showcase companies in the Pacific Northwest that have clearly incorporated a pollution prevention ethic in their business planning and have demonstrated tangible reduction successes.
Companies in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington are considered for nomination if they are in full compliance with environmental laws, and meet the criteria of 1) having documented achievement in pollution prevention, 2) a commitment to the environment, and 3) a history of environmental leadership.
Nominations for the EPA Region 10 Evergreen Award for Pollution Prevention are accepted from employees of environmental regulatory agencies, individuals and the companies themselves. Nominations received will be considered for the next award cycle.
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