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EPA LAUDS BLUE LAKE RANCHERIA FOR ITS ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAM

Release Date: 10/27/1999
Contact Information: Leo Kay, U.S. EPA, 415/744-2201

     SAN FRANCISCO -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently selected the Blue Lake Rancheria as one of the agency's "WasteWise Partners of the Year" for the tribe's success in reducing the amount of pollution it produces.

     The tribal office, which had no waste reduction program prior to joining WasteWise, conserved 25 pounds of copier paper by double-siding all new documents, and 44 pounds of printer paper by using the back side of single-sided copies for draft printouts and faxes.  The tribal office also reduced 60 pounds of secondary packaging by switching from nonrecyclable plastic bags to recyclable containers.

     "Blue Lake Rancheria has done a great job of demonstrating responsible yet practical steps that can be taken to benefit the environment," said Julie Anderson, director of the EPA's waste division in San Francisco.  "Thanks to the tribe's efforts, nearly 130 pounds of materials were saved that normally would have gone to the local dump last year."

     The tribal office also had 2,500 pounds of materials collected for recycling, and purchased nearly 400 pounds of recycled-content items.

     The EPA launched WasteWise in 1994 as a voluntary partnership program to help businesses and institutions find practical methods for reducing municipal solid waste. By joining the program, WasteWise partners commit to implementing waste reduction activities in three areas: waste prevention, recycling collection, and the buying or manufacturing of recycled-content products. During the first five years of the program, WasteWise partners have reduced more than 26 million tons of municipal solid waste. For information on how to join WasteWise, call 1-800- EPA-WISE.