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Sierra Nevada Brewing Company Receives State Environmental Honor For Outstanding Waste Reduction: Chico brewer among top 10 California ‘WRAP of the Year 2002' businesses

CHICO—What if you could do something great for the environment and save your company money at the same time? Hard to turn down an opportunity like that, right? That's the challenge that was accepted by more than 2,000 California businesses statewide and now 10 outstanding companies have been named winners of the California Integrated Waste Management Board's Waste Reduction Awards Program "WRAP of the Year" award for 2002.

In a ceremony held today in Chico, The Sierra Nevada Brewing Company was recognized as one of California's best business waste cutters for its ongoing program of recycling, resource conservation, and innovative waste reduction efforts.

"This company is doing an outstanding job to protect the environment and it's a privilege to honor them as one of our 10 ‘WRAP of the Year' winners," said Board Member Steven Jones during a presentation held at the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. "Every business has its own unique challenges to deal with the waste they create. Here at Sierra Nevada, they have gone above and beyond to find innovative solutions that reduce, reuse, and recycle the excess materials being generated as part of their everyday operations. That hard work is impressive and it's paying off in cost savings and a cleaner environment."

The "WRAP of the Year" award honors 10 businesses annually from a variety of industries statewide for top waste-cutting achievements that conserve resources and protect the environment. The awards are presented by the Board—the State's primary recycling agency and a part of the California Environmental Protection Agency.

In particular, the "WRAP of the Year" designation honors companies of all sizes for exemplary achievements to develop and initiate successful policies of waste reduction in the workplace. The award is a special distinction made from among hundreds of outstanding businesses that earn WRAP awards from the each fall. For 2002, 2,152 California companies were honored as WRAP winners, from which the year's top 10 "WRAP of the Year" honorees were chosen. The competition is open to private industry and nonprofit organizations, and more than 8,700 WRAP honors have been awarded since the program's inception in 1993, with many companies winning the award for multiple years. For more information about all WRAP winners and their locations, please visit us online at www.calrecycle.ca.gov/WRAP/.

Located in Chico (Butte County), The Sierra Nevada Brewing Company is the ninth-largest brewery in the United States and produces ales and lagers of the highest quality. At every stage in the brewing and packaging process, the company attempts to reduce waste generation. This includes utilizing spent brewing grains, hops, and yeast for cattle feed, recycling cardboard, plastics, metals and other materials, reducing water use, and operating its own water purification plant. In 2001, the company reduced waste sent to the landfill by these amounts: 31 million pounds of grain, 436,000 pounds of hops, 9 million pounds of yeast, 320,000 pounds of cardboard, 237,000 pounds of glass, 7,360 pounds of office pack/mixed paper, and a significant amount of various other materials. In the same time period, the brewery saved $1.5 million by reducing high strength water treatment charges, selling recyclable materials, and reusing surplus supplies and equipment. For more information, please visit www.sierranevada.com or call (530) 893-3520.

Other winners of the 2002 "WRAP of the Year" awards include:

BriarPatch Community Market (Grass Valley, Nevada County)—BriarPatch Community Market is a medium-sized natural foods cooperative with over 1,000 owner-members. The market reuses and/or recycles 96 percent of the materials generated in store operations, saving over $18,000 a year in waste disposal fees. Cardboard boxes account for much of the diversion: 27,284 pounds of wax-coated and 12,584 pounds of regular cardboard boxes are reused each year, and 22,916 pounds of cardboard are recycled. Annually, BriarPatch employees collect empty egg cartons for reuse and also give more than 6,000 pounds of produce waste to farmers and gardeners for compost or chicken feed. Packing materials such as Styrofoam and bubble wrap are reused by customers or are donated to a local mailing service. The BriarPatch Community Market takes pride in being a forward-thinking business—finding innovative ways to reduce what the company contributes to the local waste stream is a continuing priority for the cooperative. For more information, please visit www.briarpatchcoop.com or call (707) 272-5333.

Dominican Hospital (Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County)—Dominican is a full-service community hospital that was founded in 1941 by the Adrian Dominican Sisters. Dominican is a member of Catholic Healthcare West, a nonprofit health system cosponsored by eight congregations of religious women. Since 1994, Dominican has operated "DominAgain," a collection and distribution center where materials that are still useful can have another life. DominAgain's best customers are employees and those from the community associated with schools and day care centers, as well as those interested in arts and crafts. Hospital-wide, Dominican finds uses for larger cast-off items, too. Excess and obsolete (but safe and useful) medical supplies and equipment go to clinics in Central America and Africa while unneeded furniture is given to local schools and government agencies. The hospital operates a full spectrum of recycling programs, including glass, aluminum, batteries, fluorescent tubes, and plastic. Since May of 2001, they have diverted over 21,000 pounds of blue sterile wrap and plastic from local landfills. For more information, please visit www.dominicanhospital.org or call (831) 462-7674.

Leisure World (Orange County, Laguna Woods)—Leisure World, Laguna Woods, is a retirement community of approximately 18,000 residents. Since 1987, the community has been an innovator in waste reduction. Leisure World's recycling and resource conservation efforts have included: a very successful greenwaste composting operation; newspaper, glass, aluminum, construction debris, and metals recycling programs; as well as the initiation of new re-landscaping techniques that reduce the amount of green yard waste produced. As a result, Leisure World, Laguna Woods has achieved a solid waste diversion rate of over 58 percent. In 2001, the community's recycling efforts saved approximately $264,000 in county landfill tipping fees alone, and resulted in revenues of over $185,000—a figure that later topped $199,500 for 2002. For more information, please visit www.lwlagunawoods.com or call (949) 597-4369.

Manchester Grand Hyatt (San Diego, San Diego County)—The Manchester Grand Hyatt, San Diego, is a hotel committed to waste reduction and environmental preservation. In addition to an advanced water-reuse system, which helps preserve one of the earth's most precious resources and saves over 3,000 gallons of water a day, the Manchester Grand Hyatt focuses on recycling cardboard, aluminum, paper, and glass. In 2001, the hotel collected 163,440 pounds of cardboard, 668 pounds of aluminum, 77,085 pounds of paper, and 74,129 pounds of glass. This program diverted 315,322 pounds of trash in 2001/2002 and resulted in revenues of $10,663 for the hotel. For more information, please visit www.manchestergrand.hyatt.com/ or call (619) 232-1234.

Marian Medical Center (Santa Maria, Santa Barbara County)—Marian Medical Center, a health organization identifying stewardship as one of its core values, is a 167-bed medical facility with two hospital campuses and a 95-bed extended care center. Dedicated to caring for the wellness, health, and healing of its community members, the medical center takes an approach that speaks to people where they live, work, and play. To encourage recycling, Marian houses the Franciscan Store where employees can shop at no charge for recycled hospital goods. Other Marian programs divert over 55,000 pounds of greenwaste from the landfill, and the Clean Green Waste-to-Compost program diverts hospital wrapping materials for a savings of 15,600 pounds a year. Additionally, through its energy conservation program, the hospital has reduced the usage of all utilities by 13 percent at a cost savings of over $60,000. Marian employees and volunteers also do their part to keep the community clean by regularly giving time to pick up a stretch of Highway 101 as well as Joe White Park in Santa Maria. For more information, please visit www.marianmedicalcenter.com or call (805) 739-3106.

The Portofino Hotel & Yacht Club (Redondo Beach, Los Angeles County)—The Portofino Hotel & Yacht Club is the only oceanfront hotel in Redondo Beach, situated on a private peninsula on King Harbor. The hotel was honored for creating a recycling program that is similar to that serving the residents of Redondo Beach. At the Portofino, commingled recycling is available for its marina tenants. What used to be thrown away is now being collected at a convenient location and recycled. The hotel also offers the marina tenants an oil collection facility for any used motor oils or diesel fluids to keep it out of the trash. The Portofino Hotel & Yacht Club has been able to divert 42 percent of its trash stream through a combination of efforts that include providing marina tenants with the commingled program; recycling from the restaurant, hotel, and convention center; and reducing greenwaste. By implementing these programs, the Portofino has reduced its trash bill significantly. For more information, please visit www.hotelportofino.com or call (310) 379-8481.

Tofu Shop Specialty Foods, Inc. (Arcata, Humboldt County)—The Tofu Shop Specialty Foods, Inc. provides fine organic tofu products throughout the North Coast. The 22-year-old company has 17 full-time employees and diverts a commendable 99.7 percent of its waste and only puts out one-and-a-half garbage cans per week. By giving its byproduct (soybean pulp) to local farmers, the Tofu Shop diverts 240,000 pounds of pulp per year. The Tofu Shop saved $9,000 last year by diverting its waste. For more information, please visit www.tofushop.com or call (707) 822-4641.

Westfield Shoppingtown Mission Valley (San Diego, San Diego County)—Westfield Shoppingtown Mission Valley is a regional outdoor super mall situated in central San Diego with three major department stores, over 100 tenants, an AMC-20 multiplex theater, and numerous full-service restaurants, including a micro-brewery. The Shoppingtown occupies 81.5 acres, has 1,583,469 square feet of stores and 7,181 parking spaces. On an average day, 26,000 people arrive at the Shoppingtown, which presents unique and sizable challenges with regard to waste reduction. According to the Assistant General Manager of Westfield Shoppingtown Mission Valley, Joe Ross, "This terrific achievement is only possible due to the dedication and efforts of the many staff members and employees of this facility. It is living proof that together we can make a difference." The Shoppingtown estimates it recycled over 1.3 million pounds of cardboard, paper, and plastics last year. In addition to these results, the Shoppingtown saved over $180,000 in electrical costs alone with a brand new state-of-the-art central electrical plant installed in 2002 to heat and cool the entire facility. For more information, please visit www.missionvalley.shoppingtown.com or call (619) 296-6375.

Whole Foods Market (Sebastopol, Sonoma County)—Whole Foods Market was honored for donating surplus food and equipment to nonprofit organizations, using recycled materials in its packaging, and recycling and reusing extensively. In addition, the business lives up to its environmental commitment to reduce waste and conserve resources by providing public education and supporting various organizations. Part of a chain based in Austin, Texas with over 130 stores nationwide, the Whole Foods Market is the world's largest natural and organic foods supermarket. The Sebastopol store was recently recognized as one of the top 15 donors to the Food for Thought Food Bank, to which it makes daily donations. The Whole Foods Market also donates five cents to a local environmental nonprofit for each grocery bag which is reused. Since the program's inception, grocery bags are being reused 73 percent more frequently. In addition, the market received the first "green building" award in 1998 for sustainable renovation of its corporate headquarters that led to a 42 percent reduction in waste. As part of the green building award, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency profiled the Whole Foods Market as a construction waste reduction and recycling record-setter. For more information, please visit www.wholefoodsmarket.com or call (707) 829-9801.

The six-member California Integrated Waste Management Board is responsible for protecting public health and safety and the environment through management of the estimated 72 million tons of solid waste generated in California each year. The Board works in partnership with local government, industry, and the public to reduce solid waste disposal and ensure environmentally safe landfills. California now diverts 48 percent of its solid waste away from disposal.

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