News Releases from Region 01

Two New England Organizations Recognized by EPA for Environmental Successes

BOSTON – Two federal facilities in New England have been recognized by the US Environmental Protection Agency for their work applying practical cost-effective measures to protect the environment and save money.

The Department of Defense Air National Guard in Westfield, Mass., and the Department of Veterans Affairs at Manchester Medical Center in Manchester, N.H., were recognized as part of the Federal Green Challenge, a national effort under EPA's Sustainable Materials Management Program that encourages federal agencies to reduce the federal government's environmental impact.

The Department of Defense, Massachusetts (Barnes) Air National Guard, 104th Fighter Wing, was recognized in the Electronics category, purchasing 336 units of equipment certified as Gold Level by the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool, a 34 percent increase. In addition, the base diverted 2,619 pounds of electronic waste from municipal solid waste.

The Department of Veterans Affairs at Manchester Medical Center was recognized in the Purchasing category for achieving a 6.6 percent reduction (1,980 pounds) in copy paper use through default duplexing and enabling electronic filing and data management capabilities.

"Federal agencies can help reduce environmental impacts simply by leading by example," said EPA Regional Administrator Dennis Deziel. "Across the country, the agencies being recognized today have not only helped the environment, but also saved taxpayers a total of $36.1 million."

The two New England-based awardees were among 35 Federal Green Challenge members in New England, and 330 across the country.

In the year that ended in September, national Federal Green Challenge participants as a whole:

• sent nearly 180 tons of end-of-life electronics to third-party certified recyclers
• diverted more than 600,000 tons of waste from landfills.
• added nearly 5,000 electric, hybrid, and alternative fuel vehicles to their fleets.
• recycled 180 million gallons of water.

More information:

• Federal Green Challenge and this year's winners: https://19january2021snapshot.epa.gov/fgc
• EPA's Sustainable Materials Management Program: https://19january2021snapshot.epa.gov/smm