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EPA recognizes GE’s Winchester Lamp Plant for Reducing Waste

Release Date: 9/28/2004
Contact Information: Bonnie Smith, 215-814-5543 & Joan Schafer 215-814-5143

Bonnie Smith, 215-814-5543 & Joan Schafer 215-814-5143

WINCHESTER, Va. B In a ceremony today in Richmond, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency deputy director for the Office of Solid Waste, Maria Parisi Vickers, recognized GE Consumer and Industrial’s Winchester Lamp Plant for being the first site in the Northern Shenandoah Valley to enroll in the voluntary national partnership for environmental priorities.

“As a member of the greater Winchester community, the GE Winchester Lamp Plant has taken steps to go above and beyond environmental compliance. The business is committed to finding new and innovative ways to reduce pollution while still making a great product and earning a profit. That=s no small effort,” said Vickers.

The new voluntary program challenges businesses and manufacturers to become more environmentally aware and to adopt a resource conservation ethic that results in less waste, more recycling, and more environmentally sound products.

As a new waste minimization partner, the GE plant in Winchester has committed to the gradual substitution of lead-based solder used in the manufacturing process with tin/copper or tin/alimony alloy solder to reduce the quantity of lead in waste by 50 percent (approximately 100,000 pounds) from January 2004 through December 2005.

The GE Winchester plant has had an active waste minimization program in place and already reduced nearly 410,000 pounds of lead in some of its processes between December 1999 and 2003. The production facility has also increased recycling of leaded glass from zero to 357,000 pounds during that same timeframe.

Waste minimization not only means polluting less; it means saving money too. Participating companies throughout America are learning that reducing or eliminating waste can also mean greater production efficiency, an improved image in their community, and increased profits.

EPA created the national partnership for environmental priorities, one of EPA=s family of voluntary partnership programs, in order to reduce 30 highly-toxic, priority chemicals found in our nation=s hazardous waste.

This national program seeks solutions that prevent pollution at the source, by recovering or recycling chemicals which cannot easily be eliminated or reduced at the source.

EPA=s goal is to work with industry and the public to reduce the presence of the 30 priority chemicals in hazardous waste by 50 percent by the year 2005, compared to amounts generated in 1991. For more information about the National Partnership for Environmental Priorities, go to: https://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/minimize/partnership.htm.