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Gulf Guardian Award Winners 2004
Business Category - 2nd Place
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 1, 2004
TECH OIL PRODUCTS, INC. WINS 2ND PLACE GULF GUARDIAN AWARD
STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. – The Gulf of Mexico Program recently announced that the Tech Oil Products, Inc., will receive a second place Gulf Guardian Award for 2004 in the Business Category for their Recycle the Gulf project. The awards will be presented at the Southern States Environmental Conference and Exhibition scheduled Sept. 21, in Biloxi, beginning at 9 a.m.
Offshore waste recycling projects were attempted in the past by many different companies with varying results, but most were ineffective or abandoned. Tech Oil Products was part of an unsuccessful large scale effort in the early 1990’s that tried to make recycling a permanent practice offshore. For offshore recycling to be accepted and practiced, a new, innovative, and rewarding concept was needed. Tech Oil Products devised a win-win formula that provided a means to reduce and separate the volume on offshore locations, have a deposit bin onshore, provide transportation to a central location, collect, grade, and account for the volume received. Recyclable material was given to charities for resale as income. With Tech Oil’s new process, the company image and its employee’s win, the environment wins by everyone doing the right thing, and the community wins by helping out those in need.
Today, counting the people on the rigs and platforms, there are approximately 1,400 participants in the project. Every week, another crew takes over and that number is doubled. ARC of Iberia employs more than 200 people, of which 20 are dedicated solely to the Recycling Program. Under the “Recycle the Gulf” program, 626,440 pounds of cardboard, tin, plastic, aluminum, and paper have been collected. The environmental impact of this effort is enormous.
"The Gulf Guardian Award winners for 2004 are prime examples of collaborative environmental efforts leading to neighborhood solutions that transcend political boundaries,” said Benjamin Grumbles, EPA Acting Assistant Administrator for Water in Washington, D.C. “I commend all of the winners for their innovative partnerships, common sense ideas, and hard work. Their efforts are making a difference in protecting and restoring the Gulf of Mexico.”
The Gulf of Mexico Program initiated the Gulf Guardian awards in 2000 as a way to recognize and honor the businesses, community groups, individuals, and agencies that are taking positive steps to keep the Gulf healthy, beautiful and productive. The Gulf of Mexico Program began in 1988 to protect, restore, and maintain the health and productivity of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem in economically sustainable ways. Award entries were received from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. A first, second, and third place award are given each year in six categories – individual, business, youth and education, nonprofit organizations, government, and partnership efforts.
Gulf of Mexico Program Office Director Bryon O. Griffith said, “This year’s Gulf Guardian Award winners encapsulate the essence of the Gulf of Mexico Program and our efforts to attain environmental solutions in concert with economic growth.” “Environmental successes are exponential when you bring the resources of many to the table, as the 2004 winners have so successfully demonstrated.”
For a list of all the Gulf Guardian Award winners for 2004, visit the Gulf of Mexico Program web site at https://www.epa.gov/gmpo and click on the Gulf Guardian Award button.
The Gulf of Mexico Program is underwritten by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and is a non-regulatory, inclusive consortium of state and federal government agencies and representatives of the business and agricultural community, fishing industry, scientists, environmentalists, and community leaders from all five Gulf States. The Gulf Program seeks to improve the environmental health of the Gulf in concert with economic development.
Editor’s Note: For more information about the Gulf Guardian Awards and the Gulf of Mexico Program, call Terry Hines Smith at 228-688-1159. For more information about the Recycle the Gulf Project and Tech Oil Products, Inc., call John Zimmer at 337-367-6165.
