Kenworth Plant Earns Award For Recycling and Waste Reduction

The Kenworth Truck Company's Renton, Wash., manufacturing plant has received the 2010 Best Workplace for Recycling and Waste Reduction Award from King County's Solid Waste Division for the plant's outstanding efforts to reduce, reuse and recycle.

This is the second year in a row Kenworth has been honored by King County.

"The Kenworth Renton plant remains committed to protecting the environment through conserving natural resources and waste reduction," said Marilyn Santangelo, Kenworth assistant general manager for operations.

"It is gratifying to receive this honor, which recognizes the diligent efforts of employees to reduce, reuse and recycle," said Mike Clark, Kenworth-Renton plant manager. "For example, under the plant's ambitious Zero Waste to Landfill program, we have already achieved a diversion away from landfills of nearly 80 percent of all materials through the use of recycling bins, returnable shipping containers, reduced packaging material, and waste-stream segregation."

The plant's cafeteria continues to use food waste composting, and sends waste to Cedar Grove Composting in Renton for recycling into usable compost. The plant's latest major project focuses on reducing energy usage.

Last year, Kenworth-Renton received a 2009 Gold Award from the King County Industrial Waste Program for compliance with the plant's industrial wastewater discharge permit. The award recognizes the plant for one year of no wastewater violations of any kind covering discharge, permit, ordinance, reporting, self-monitoring, and King County monitoring.