South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control

Fort Jackson, Richland County, SC

Fort Jackson was recognized for its comprehensive recycling program and green procurement efforts as well as its construction and demolition debris recycling initiatives.

The installation’s recycling program is one of the most inclusive and successful programs in South Carolina accepting aluminum, plastic bottles, glass bottles, steel, cardboard, newspaper, paper, magazines, telephone books, yard trimmings, tires, electronics, scrap wood, fluorescent bulbs, latex paint, cooking oil, motor oil and antifreeze. In fiscal year 2011, the program earned about $2 million in revenue from the sale of the recovered material (the vast majority of which came from the sale of the installation's brass) and helped the facility avoid $180,000 in landfill disposal fees.

Fort Jackson trains more than 44,000 Basic Combat Training and Advanced Individual Training Soldiers every year. An additional 20,000 soldiers annually attend courses at the Soldier Support Institute, Chaplain Center and School as well as the Drill Sergeant School. 

More than 3,500 active duty soldiers and their family members are assigned to Fort Jackson. In addition, the installation employs 3,500 civilians and provides services for more than 46,000 retirees. The recycling program is promoted through various outlets including training, outreach organizations, posters as well as articles and advertisements in the local newspaper, “The Leader.”

Fort Jackson’s green procurement program, in coordination with Federal procurement requirements, aggressively pursues cost-effective, environmentally preferable products and services (e.g., recycled-content products, bio-based energy and water-efficient products and alternative fuel vehicles). The program’s top achievement this past FY was the securing of a National Stock Number (NSN) identification system for bio-based penetrating lubricants and absorbents that is now used throughout the entire Department of Defense installations.

Fort Jackson also has implemented a successful program that requires installation personnel and contractors to recycle at least 50 percent of the renovation, construction and demolition debris. Two major projects this past year diverted about 95 percent of construction and demolition debris to reuse and recycle efforts.

More information is available about Fort Jackson's award and recycling efforts.

International Automotive Components Group, Greenville County, SC

International Automotive Components (IAC) Group, located in Greenville, has set up a waste reduction and recycling program that has generated substantial savings from the use of recycled materials in manufacturing, including savings of $125,000 in avoided disposal costs in FY11. 

Before the program was implemented, the facility, which has a zero production-generated waste goal, disposed of more than 450 tons of material per month. That amount of material disposed has been reduced to less than 20 tons per month.

Leveraging its vast engineering experience, IAC developed a recycling database in 2010 that was used company-wide to track material re-use and landfill waste. Based on the data gathered, IAC initially challenged its manufacturing facilities to reduce their landfill significantly.  By the first quarter of 2011, IAC plants had reduced the amount of landfill by 36 million pounds on an annual basis. Three company plants, including IAC Greenville, have achieved zero landfill from manufacturing, and the others have reduced their landfill by 50 to 80 percent. 

The IAC Greenville recycling program started off with a Kaizen event in which employees worked with the Continuous Improvement Team to brainstorm ideas for waste reduction and recycling opportunities. In addition to internal initiatives, the Greenville plant partnered with a local community organization, the Greater Greenville Sanitation Commission (GGSC). A plant-wide roll out event was held in partnership with GGSC to kick off the recycling program in October 2010. This program continued to grow with new ideas and efforts until the waste streams were down to the goal of no-production waste heading to landfill and the culture of recycling was adopted by the employees working at IAC Greenville. 

IAC recycles material not only from their production line (e.g., cardboard, carpet trim, pallets, plastic wrap and banding), but also material generated from employees (e.g., cans, bottles and office paper).  The facility regularly looks for additional ways to reduce waste including conducting periodic waste audits to identify missed recycling opportunities. They also hold annual environmental training to reinforce IAC’s commitment to zero waste in addition to quarterly newsletters and bi-monthly corporate conference calls to report their actions and results. The facility’s overall waste reduction and recycling efforts are even promoted to visitors – who receive a summary of the overall program on the back of their visitor badge. 

More information is available about IAC's award and recycling efforts.

Lexington Medical Center, Lexington County, SC

Lexington Medical Center has been an environmental leader for many years. The hospital promotes waste reduction and recycling to staff through its internal Web site that provides updated information and new ideas. In addition, the hospital has an environmental purchasing policy in place to guide employees in their purchasing decisions.

Currently, the hospital recycles office paper, cardboard, pallets, construction and demolition debris, plastic, shrink wrap, newspaper and magazines, aluminum cans, fluorescent bulbs, batteries, printer cartridges and medical equipment. Through its waste reduction and recycling efforts, Lexington Medical Center saves an average of $15,000 – $20,000 per year in solid waste services by diverting municipal, construction and medical waste.

Rodeway Inn, Charleston County, SC

Rodeway Inn, located in Mt. Pleasant, decreased its environmental impact by implementing several waste reduction practices. Those practices include: instituting a linen/towel reuse program for guests; limiting laundry cycles to full loads; installing low-flow shower heads; and renovating landscaping to minimize water loss. The hotel also trades half-used toilet paper rolls in its guest rooms for use in the employee break rooms.

Rodeway Inn provides its guests and employees multiple opportunities to recycle various items such as plastic bottles (including shampoo), paper and aluminum cans as well as printer cartridges, light bulbs, other office supplies and even leftover bars of soap (through the Global Soap Project – an organization that recovers used soap from hotels and reprocesses it for distribution to hygiene-deprived populations). 

Whenever possible, the Rodeway Inn attempts to purchase solely from vendors who provide sustainable product options or products that are Green Seal-certified, such as cleaning and laundry chemicals or recycled-content copy paper or plastics. Training on the hotel’s green initiatives is ongoing and extends beyond new hires to include ideas employees generate at monthly meetings. Last year, the hotel reported saving several hundred dollars on disposal costs by switching to a waste removal service that diverts material destined for the landfill to the recycling bin. Finally, they have been recognized by Choice Hotels (the parent company of Rodeway Inn) for supporting green practices through their “Room to be Green” initiative.