ALEXANDRIA, Va. — April 14, 2022 — On March 30, 2022, Individuals and Operations were honored by their peers for outstanding efforts made in specialized categories in their digital, safety, educational, inclusionary and operational pursuits. From alternative energy to natural resource conservation practices, The Clean Green Innovation Award, honors those companies that act as a guide to finding new ways to streamline their workplaces while being mindful to the environment.
Honored individuals and operation include:
- Aramark Uniforms Services in Burbank, Calif. — Aramark has been called one of the most attractive and forward-thinking textile rental companies in North America pertaining to Alternative Fueled Vehicles. For more than two decades Aramark has added Propane, CNG, Electric Hybrid and fully Electric vehicles to their fleet of route trucks. Now they have several hundred alternative fueled vehicles. They are adding (52) fully Electric Vehicles on the Ford F59 Strip Chassis Platform with the Motiv Power System to their fleet with deliveries starting late in the 2nd quarter of 2022.
- Brady Linen in Las Vegas — Brady Linen, a part of PureStar Group, was recognized for their efforts in installing Ultrapure water recycling systems in its Mayflower and Foremaster plants in Las Vegas last year. Mayflower processes 240,000 pounds a day and Foremaster, 275,000. Between the two of them, water use has decreased by an average of 10 million gallons per month. Accordingly, they have also decreased chemical usage as well as waste sent down the city sewer. Given new restrictions on drawing water from Lake Mead in southern Nevada, water recycling is helping the plants operate below state- mandated thresholds and avoid penalties for using too much water.
- Cintas Corp. in Mason, Ohio — Cintas Corp. was celebrated for their efforts towards their pledge to achieve Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 made as a part of their comprehensive, enterprise-wide review of its business model as it relates to environmental, social and governance opportunities, improvements, and efficiencies. Between the fiscal years 2016 and 2020, Cintas improved its water efficiency rate by 16% while increasing its sales by almost 48%. In the last three years, the company has reduced its energy consumption by almost 13% as sales rose by 10%. From 2020 to 2021, water consumption dropped 5.1% and total energy use was reduced 6.9%. The 2021 water assessment showed nearly a 15% decline in discharged water since 2019. Water withdrawn was down 14.4%
- Ecolab Textile Care in St. Paul, Minn. — Ecolab’s award-winning effort, Protex Plus, is enabling F&B/mixed linen laundries to meet energy and water conservation goals and sustainability standards. The program also helps them retain and grow their customer base and conserve critical resources. Surfactant and enzyme technology reduce alkali, wash temperatures, water consumption, and time, facilitating water and energy savings and wastewater compliance. Total operations cost is reduced through customized formulas based on comprehensive plant surveys.
- Kemco Systems in Clearwater, Fla. — Kemco has spearheaded and innovative means for laundries to invest in water recycling without the high upfront capital cost, all while producing high quality recycled water. Known as “Conserve”, the program is an all-inclusive monthly offering that covers the equipment, installation, parts, and service at a price point lower than a laundry’s current water costs. It uses ceramic microfiltration and reverse osmosis to remove nearly 100% of harmful contaminants. Recycled water is free of viruses, bacteria, hardness, PFAS, synthetic dyes, and microplastics. Energy usage, cost, and impact on the environment are reduced.
- Millers Textile in Wapakoneta, Ohio — Millers Textile has earned their award for their efforts in impacting water, sewer, electricity, natural gas, trash, and truck fuel. In partnership with Norchem, chemical consumption is down 15% per pound and fresh water consumption down 45%. This translates to almost 2 million gallons of water saved every month. These gains are due in large part to water softening and wastewater filtration and recycling. Other measures include partnering with a local recycler for plastic refuse, replacing all 200 fluorescent light fixtures in the 75,000-square-foot plant with energy-efficient LEDs, and adding integrated heat reclaimers. RFID chipping has significantly reduced overproduction and unnecessary deliveries.
- New System Laundry in Portland, Ore. — New System sought wastewater recycling to combat high water and sewer costs and has seen dramatic improvements ever since. Substantial wastewater discharge reduction has been achieved thanks to ceramic crossflow membrane design, consistently reclaiming up to 85% of wastewater and 85% of wastewater heat. Prior to the installation, fresh water use was 1.7 to 2 gallons per pound; after, it dropped to 0.3-0.4. A total of 186 million gallons of water (about 90,000/day) have been saved and discharged with lower BOD. New System additionally converted to another wash chemical program saving an additional 10% on water, reducing wash time, and reducing water heating by washing at lower temperatures. Technologies used are Norchem’s UltraPure® and NupHase Pro.
- Sitex Corp. in Henderson, Ky. — On the heels of existing sustainability practices including green laundry chemicals, wastewater monitoring, Green Seal-certified products and reduced paper and fuel use, Sitex has firmed its green position by implementing renewable energy to reduce their carbon footprint. Partnering with Amerlight Energy, Inc., Sitex has installed 572 solar PV modules (panels) at 445 watts per PV module. With an equipment lifespan of 30 years, their solar array will produce 338,593 kWh of green energy, powering almost 40% of their energy consumption. This prevents 311,506 pounds of carbon emissions, equivalent to 6,490 trees. This effort demonstrates to their community and industry that solar implementation is feasible and cost effective for industrial/commercial applications and has a long lasting, positive effect on the environment.
“This award acknowledges those who have found novel ways to conserve natural resources,” said Joseph Ricci, TRSA President and CEO. “Kudos to all of this year’s winners for your outstanding performance.”
The TRSA Industry Awards Dinner is an annual event and it is never too early to begin working towards being honored at the next one. Members are encouraged to visit the awards page on the TRSA website to learn more about the individual awards and how they can nominate candidates for next year.
Posted: April 18, 2022
Source: TRSA
