To commemorate September as Pollution Prevention Month, DEQ invited Idaho businesses and industries to apply for recognition as Pollution Prevention Champions. To qualify, applicants had to demonstrate how they had incorporated pollution prevention into daily operations and show documented reductions in such areas as raw materials or toxic materials purchases, hazardous or solid waste generated, gallons of water or energy or fuel used, and dollars saved by these efforts.

“Pollution prevention provides both economic and environmental benefits by reducing both the volume and cost of toxic materials,” explains Joanna Pierce, Pollution Prevention Coordinator at the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). “It can be as simple as turning off lights or machines not in use, using less toxic products, reusing wastes, or preventing leaks and spills.”

The DEQ capped off Pollution Prevention Month by selecting five Pollution Prevention Champions in the State of Idaho.   Boise firms Parks Royal Body Works and A-1 Plumbing, Inc. were selected as Pollution Prevention Champions.

Each business serves as a shining example of how pollution can be minimized by careful planning and commitment.

To learn how to put pollution prevention to work for your business, contact DEQ’s Pollution Prevention Coordinator, Joanna Pierce, at 373-0146 or joanna.pierce@deq.idaho.gov. More information about pollution prevention is also available on DEQ’s Web site at www.deq.idaho.gov/pollutionprevention.