Environmental awards recognize sustainability efforts

On April 21, the sixth annual awards were presented at the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce’s Earth Day festivities.

Choose Environmental Excellence is a voluntary program that encourages awareness of impact on the natural environment.

Barbara Lucks, materials recovery and education coordinator for Springfield Public Works, said that sponsoring organizations presented seven awards this year to individuals, businesses and groups that had done “something valuable for each organization” environmentally.

The honorees

Ozark Greenways Inc. recognized Kennedy Contractors. The construction company first worked with Ozark Greenways in 1999, developing the first section of the Frisco Highline Trail from Willard to Walnut Grove.

The Watershed Committee of the Ozarks recognized Judson Whitlinger, the recently retired superintendent of the city of Springfield’s Southwest Wastewater Treatment Plant, for his years of protecting rivers and lakes.

The Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce presented an award to chamber member Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr Pepper Bottling Co. for its efforts toward environmental stewardship.

The Solid Waste Management District’s executive board recognized Phillip Lingard Sr., under whose leadership Enterprises Unlimited Inc., a recycling processor and sheltered-workshop employer in Bolivar, has grown to recycle more than 300 tons of cardboard and hundreds of tons of other materials.

The Tree City USA Citizen’s Advisory Committee recognized neighborhood groups in the NeighborWoods program, a partnership with the city, the advisory committee and nonprofit organizations. The neighborhoods are Quail Creek, Rountree, Midtown, Woodland Heights, Southern Hills, Cinnamon Square and Walnut Street.

Energy Star builders

For the first time, the Springfield/Greene County Environmental Advisory Board gave an award to three Energy Star home builders: Lloyd Babcock, Scott Kisling and Lance Wright. All three support environmentally sustainable activities.

“The way the Energy Star system starts is with a set of plans and … specifications for the amount of insulation in ceiling, walls, and crawlspace. An engineering firm creates a document that qualifies and quantifies the energy efficiency of the house and an estimate based on local utility rates for a year,” said Babcock, who owns Lloyd Built Homes. “This gives the builder a preliminary rating for the home. Once the house is substantially completed, the firm comes to the property, runs tests and inspects the entire home. Then they issue a final rating.”

Babcock said that efficiency efforts are easier if carried out while the house is under construction, rather than trying to retrofit additions.

Kisling, owner and president of Up-Tyte Construction Inc., said a home’s wall system is the biggest contributor to its efficiency and rating.

“With the storms we’ve been having and rising energy costs, people are starting to wake up to the idea that they can build a better house and look down the line to real efficiency,” he said. “A lot of things can be done by the homeowner to keep energy costs and usage down.”

Dental-mercury recycling

Lucks recognized Marie Steinwachs, director of the Office of Waste Management of University of Missouri Extension, for ongoing efforts in solid waste and hazardous waste management, including a dental-mercury recycling program funded by an Environmental Protection Agency grant.

Steinwachs, who has worked more than 20 years on environmental issues in Missouri, first received an EPA grant in October 2005 for mercury amalgamation recycling.

“We had tried for a couple of years to fund the program as part of a multiagency mercury task force,” she said. “We began to identify sources and noticed small contributors, including dental amalgam.”

Dentists no longer use bulk mercury, Steinwachs said. Instead, they work with amounts that generate less waste and filters that can be recycled along with the amalgam.

“In Springfield, we have pretty low (mercury) levels, relatively speaking,” she said. She added that 40 streams and rivers in the state are impacted by mercury, and as much as half of the mercury going to waste-water treatment plants is from dental amalgam.

The CEE awards program is growing each year as more businesses become environmentally aware, Lucks said. “Cutting waste cuts costs. It’s good for the environment and a company’s profits as well. It’s a good venue for any organization that wants to participate. Every year we’ve added to the program, and we hope to keep it growing.”[[In-content Ad]]