Goodwill® Receives Award For Recycling Achievement

Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection Recognizes Local Businesses


ROCKVILLE, MD — Goodwill Industries International has been recognized with a 2012 Business Outstanding Achievement in Recycling Award from the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Solid Waste Services, Waste Reduction and Recycling Section. The award, which acknowledges a local business for recycling excellence, was presented by Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett and other officials at a recent ceremony.
Goodwill Industries International is the nation’s leading nonprofit provider of job placement and training programs to people who have disabilities, those who lack education or job experience, and others who face challenges to finding employment, encompassing 165 local member organizations across the United States and Canada. The organization’s dual mission raises funds for jobs programs by promoting the reuse and repurposing of clothes, electronics and other goods at Goodwill’s local donation centers. This commitment to environmentalism also extends to Goodwill’s Rockville, Maryland headquarters.
“Reducing, reusing and repurposing have been part of Goodwill’s social enterprise mission for 110 years,” said Jim Gibbons, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International. “Through our donation centers, we divert billions of pounds of used goods and clothing from landfills every year. This dedication extends to our own headquarters, where every effort is made to cut down on the amount of waste produced.”
Montgomery County, MD is a nationally recognized leader in recycling and has a long-standing commitment to protect the environment and preserve valuable natural resources through reducing waste, reusing goods and materials and recycling. Montgomery County’s goal to recycle 70 percent of the solid waste generated by 2020 places Montgomery County in a very small, elite group of jurisdictions across the nation with the highest recycling goals .
“Reducing waste and recycling are at the top of Montgomery County’s waste management hierarchy and have been among the highest priorities of our county government since our recycling programs began in the 1970’s,” said Eileen Kao, chief of the Waste Reduction and Recycling Section. “We have worked hand-in-hand with businesses and organizations in the county as true partners in recycling and waste reduction efforts, and we are pleased to recognize the great achievement of Goodwill Industries International.”
Goodwill’s 42,000-square-foot facility in Rockville is the home base for 95 employees, and the organization makes recycling a priority, encouraging all staff to participate through emails, in-person reminders and at organization-wide town hall meetings. In 2011, the building recycled 37,200 pounds of paper and 4,100 pounds of co-mingled materials. In addition to those required recyclables, Goodwill® recycled other, non-required items, including 755 batteries, 15 cell phones, 85 light bulbs and 79 printer and fax toner cartridges. To further reduce waste, printers are set to double-sided, efforts have been made to cut down on the amount of junk mail received, and the facility has two supply reuse areas where staff can drop off and pick up supplies, instead of getting new ones form the supply room.