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News Releases from Region 10

EPA Announces 2020 Safer Choice Partner of the Year Award Winners in Oregon and Washington

09/24/2020
Contact Information: 
Suzanne Skadowski (skadowski.suzanne@epa.gov)
206-553-2160

SEATTLE — During Pollution Prevention (P2) week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is recognizing 18 Safer Choice Partner of the Year award winners across the U.S. for achievements in the design, manufacture, selection, and use of products with safer chemicals and show innovative source reduction. EPA’s Safer Choice program helps consumers and purchasers, for facilities such as schools and office buildings, find products that perform and are safer for human health and the environment. 

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Pollution Prevention Act and the awardees have all contributed to source reduction, also known as pollution prevention, through the design, manufacture, selection, and use of products with safer chemicals.

The 2020 Safer Choice Partner of the Year award winners represent businesses, including woman-owned, and small- and medium-sized; federal and local government; and associations. The following organizations in EPA’s Pacific Northwest Region 10 are being awarded this year:

Defunkify – Eugene, Ore.

Defunkify is recognized as an outstanding Safer Choice Formulator-Product Manufacturer. Defunikfy became a Safer Choice partner in 2019 and developed an innovative green chemistry process that has, as its starting point, the selection of ingredients that meet Safer Choice criteria from the Safer Chemical Ingredients List. Defunkify added nine certified products in 2019. Defunkify posted about Safer Choice on their website and reached 40,000 consumer views in 2019. Safer Choice commends Defunkify for their commitment to developing products with safer chemical ingredients.

Sea Mar Community Health Centers – Seattle, Wash.                         

Sea Mar Community Health Centers (Sea Mar) is recognized for its efforts to advance the use of chemicals that meet Safer Choice criteria. Sea Mar Community Health Centers is a community-based organization that provides comprehensive health, human, housing, educational and cultural services to diverse communities, specializing in service to Latinos in Washington state. In 2019, Sea Mar taught in-home safer cleaning practices to 76 Spanish-speaking households in South King County and provided education on Safer Choice-certified products. The training was well received by the community. Safer Choice congratulates Sea Mar for raising awareness about the health benefits of using products with safer ingredients.

Hazardous Waste Management Program – King County, Wash. 

Hazardous Waste Management Program, a local government collaborative, in King County, Washington, is recognized for its efforts to advance the use of chemicals that meet Safer Choice criteria. The Hazardous Waste Management Program had extensive community outreach activities in 2019, including safer cleaning workshops, safer cleaning classes at community colleges, train-the-trainer sessions, tables at community events, one-on-one residential education, and more, reaching almost 5,000 people directly. Of note, in 2019, close to 1,000 cleaning kits containing educational materials about safer cleaning practices and a Safer Choice-certified dish soap were distributed to the community. A training curriculum on Safer Choice was also created for their staff. Safer Choice is featured on their website and in multiple publications, some of which are translated into more than a dozen languages. Safer Choice commends the Hazardous Waste Management Program for leadership in educating their community about the environmental and health benefits of products with safer ingredients.

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