Going Green Puts Businesses in the Green

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection oversees Florida’s Pollution Prevention Program (P2) – another effort that leans Florida toward the green. The non-regulatory P2 program offers free technical assistance to help businesses protect the environment while simultaneously increasing profits. During the past 10 years, the program’s professional engineers have provided recommendations based on individual consultations and on-site surveys tailored to the individual facility’s needs, assisting more than 500 Florida companies reduce waste.

P2’s services cater to businesses of all sizes and range from simple changes to complex overhauls for preventing pollution and increasing revenues. With the nation’s economy slowing, cutting costs is a way of life for businesses and industries throughout Florida and the country. Business owners and managers are looking to lower expenses and improve efficiencies any way they can. And many times, helping companies identify areas to improve their environmental impact can result in substantial monetary savings.

One recent success story is Wheelblast, Inc., a finishing and sandblasting facility in Zephyrhills. In the fall of 2007, a team of P2 engineers visited and performed a survey of the entire facility. Based on discussions with the company’s owner and a tour of the plant, a series of recommendations were made. The company has since successfully implemented some of the recommendations and plans to complete more in 2009.

One of the main recommendations already executed was the installation of a large diameter pipe to transport air from the compressors to the coal tar epoxy coating area. This allowed a diesel auxiliary air compressor to be shut down, saving between $500 and $700 a month in fuel during 2008. Based on P2 calculations, this also resulted in a CO2 emission reduction of 4,500 pounds a month, or 27 tons a year.

Company President, Michael B. Lynch said, “The Florida DEP P2 program has resulted in Wheelblast Inc. reducing its environmental impact, saving money and operating more efficiently.”

Other P2 Success Stories:

• Arizona Chemical’s Pensacola facility implemented P2 projects over five years, achieving 74% reduction in hazardous waste, 32% reduction in non-hazardous waste, and in the process, recovered nearly $500,000.
• Collier County School Board replaced its air-cooled chiller plant with an energy efficient water-cooled plant using 50% less energy; saving more than $231,000 per year.
• UCT Coatings, Inc., a metal parts plater, installed a state-of-the-art wastewater and chemical recovery system that allows rinse water to be reused. The first year, UCT saved more than $22,000 in disposal fees, approximately $900 in wastewater charges and 150,000 gallons of potable water.
• The Beta Center, an Orlando nonprofit, installed programmable thermostats, weather-stripping, solar hot water heaters and ENERGY STAR® equipment, saving more than 28,000 KWH of electricity, 18,000 gallons of water and nearly $3,000 in operating costs.