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Environmental Achievements

Solid Waste Association of North America Awards

The Solid Waste Division was recently presented with 2005 Excellence Awards in three seperate categories by the Solid Waste Association of North America (external link), the leading professional association in the solid waste field:

1. King County won the Gold Award for Excellence in Landfill Gas Control - the top award in the nation - for the innovative gas collection system at the Cedar Hills Regional Landfill. A landfill, always settling due to waste decomposition, drags wells, valves and pipes along with it. The gas collection system at Cedar Hills is designed to move with the waste as it settles. Read the complete award application (PDF, 1.7 MB) for more details.
2. King County won the Bronze Award for Excellence in Landfill Management for the Solid Waste Division's focus on preventive maintenance of equipment, facilities, roads and environmental control systems at the state-of-the-art Cedar Hills Regional Landfill. Read the complete award application (PDF, 932 K) for more details.
3. The Solid Waste Division won the Bronze Award for Excellence in Special Waste Management for a pilot project that tested the feasibility of collecting TVs for recycling in a retail store setting. A partnership with Good Guys, an electronics retailer with 4 stores in Western Washington, showed that an in-store take-back program was both feasible and popular - they recycled more than 4,000 televisions in one month. Read the complete award application (PDF, 477 K) for more details.

Other Environmental Achievements

The Solid Waste Division (SWD) and its parent department, the Department of Natural Resources and Parks (DNRP), have been recognized both nationally and state wide for a number of environmental programs. Each year these achievements are listed on a DNRP award winners poster. The 2004 award winners poster (PDF, 370 K) shows the latest efforts of SWD and the other agencies of DNRP.

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