FW: Tacoma News: City of Tacoma Wins SWANA Gold Excellence Award for Residential Collection

LK
Lynett, Kristin
Thu, Jun 18, 2015 5:52 PM

[Tacoma Color PC.jpg]News Release

From the City of Tacoma, Washington

cityoftacoma.orghttp://www.cityoftacoma.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 17, 2015

MEDIA CONTACTS
Gwen Schuler, Media and Communications, gschuler@cityoftacoma.orgmailto:gschuler@cityoftacoma.org, (253) 591-5160
Megan Snow, Media and Communications, msnow@cityoftacoma.orgmailto:msnow@cityoftacoma.org, (253) 591-5051

City of Tacoma Wins SWANA Gold Excellence Award for Residential Collection

The City of Tacoma's Solid Waste Management won the 2015 Gold Excellence Award from the Solid Waste Association of North America for Tacoma's residential collection system.
The association announced this year's award recipients this week. Tacoma won in the category of the Collection System Award for excellence in overall management and implementation of collection operations.
"We are proud of our residential collection programs, and it is a great honor to be recognized nationally for the work we do to provide our customers with the highest standards that provides excellent customer service, environmental health and is fiscally responsible," said Andrew Torres, City of Tacoma Solid Waste Management assistance division manager.
Tacoma's residential collection program was recognized for its emphasis on customer services, environmental protection, operational efficiency, safety and innovations in its residential collection program.
"As a utility, we are focused on providing our customers with robust, environmentally sustainable and fiscally responsible services that have longevity to last for generations to come," said Michael P. Slevin, III, City of Tacoma Environmental Services director." Being recognized nationally for our residential collection program is a positive sign we are building a strong foundation for our city and our customers as recognized leaders in solid waste management."
Recent innovative system improvements to the residential collection program include:

  •     Solid Waste Management's successful implementation of Every-Other-Week residential garbage, recycling and food/yard waste curbside collection, which saved more than $1 million annually and reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 44 percent.
    
  •     The launch and adoption of the residential curbside food waste collection program, which 81 percent of Tacoma customers have started using.
    
  •     Solid Waste Management's approach to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by purchasing alternative fuel and emerging technology vehicles to replace retired collection vehicles.
    

This Excellence Awards Program recognizes outstanding solid waste programs and facilities that advance the practice of environmentally and economically sound solid waste management through their commitment to utilizing effective technologies and processes in system design and operations, advancing worker and community health and safety, and implementing successful public education and outreach programs. Programs also must demonstrate that they are fiscally and environmentally responsible through their compliance with all applicable federal, state and local regulations.
Tacoma's residential collection program serves more than 54,000 residential customers by providing curbside garbage, recycling, food/yard waste collection and bulk hauling. Additionally Solid Waste provides self-haul options for household hazardous waste, recycling, yard waste and garbage at the Tacoma Recovery and Transfer Center.
The City's 2015 winning entry can be found online at Solid Waste Association of North America's websitehttps://swana.org/Awards/ExcellenceAwards/2015Winners.aspx.

[Tacoma Color PC.jpg]News Release >From the City of Tacoma, Washington cityoftacoma.org<http://www.cityoftacoma.org> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 17, 2015 MEDIA CONTACTS Gwen Schuler, Media and Communications, gschuler@cityoftacoma.org<mailto:gschuler@cityoftacoma.org>, (253) 591-5160 Megan Snow, Media and Communications, msnow@cityoftacoma.org<mailto:msnow@cityoftacoma.org>, (253) 591-5051 City of Tacoma Wins SWANA Gold Excellence Award for Residential Collection The City of Tacoma's Solid Waste Management won the 2015 Gold Excellence Award from the Solid Waste Association of North America for Tacoma's residential collection system. The association announced this year's award recipients this week. Tacoma won in the category of the Collection System Award for excellence in overall management and implementation of collection operations. "We are proud of our residential collection programs, and it is a great honor to be recognized nationally for the work we do to provide our customers with the highest standards that provides excellent customer service, environmental health and is fiscally responsible," said Andrew Torres, City of Tacoma Solid Waste Management assistance division manager. Tacoma's residential collection program was recognized for its emphasis on customer services, environmental protection, operational efficiency, safety and innovations in its residential collection program. "As a utility, we are focused on providing our customers with robust, environmentally sustainable and fiscally responsible services that have longevity to last for generations to come," said Michael P. Slevin, III, City of Tacoma Environmental Services director." Being recognized nationally for our residential collection program is a positive sign we are building a strong foundation for our city and our customers as recognized leaders in solid waste management." Recent innovative system improvements to the residential collection program include: * Solid Waste Management's successful implementation of Every-Other-Week residential garbage, recycling and food/yard waste curbside collection, which saved more than $1 million annually and reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 44 percent. * The launch and adoption of the residential curbside food waste collection program, which 81 percent of Tacoma customers have started using. * Solid Waste Management's approach to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by purchasing alternative fuel and emerging technology vehicles to replace retired collection vehicles. This Excellence Awards Program recognizes outstanding solid waste programs and facilities that advance the practice of environmentally and economically sound solid waste management through their commitment to utilizing effective technologies and processes in system design and operations, advancing worker and community health and safety, and implementing successful public education and outreach programs. Programs also must demonstrate that they are fiscally and environmentally responsible through their compliance with all applicable federal, state and local regulations. Tacoma's residential collection program serves more than 54,000 residential customers by providing curbside garbage, recycling, food/yard waste collection and bulk hauling. Additionally Solid Waste provides self-haul options for household hazardous waste, recycling, yard waste and garbage at the Tacoma Recovery and Transfer Center. The City's 2015 winning entry can be found online at Solid Waste Association of North America's website<https://swana.org/Awards/ExcellenceAwards/2015Winners.aspx>. ###