Mannington Receives Most Valuable Pollution Preven

Washington, September 10--Mannington Mills, headquartered in Salem, N.J., has been honored with one of the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable's 8th Annual Most Valuable Pollution Prevention (MVP2) awards for decreasing volatile organic compound and hazardous air pollutant emissions, according to GreenBiz.com. In the early 1990s, Mannington began researching use of water-based inks for their printing operations. They completely replaced solvent inks by the end of 1996. Throughout the late 1990s, Mannington chemists and valued ink suppliers continued to formulate even more environmentally sound inks. By the end of 2002, they were able to convert to exclusively "ultra-low VOC" inks. As a result of these beyond-compliance efforts, Mannington will save 840,000 KWhr of electricity, 40,000,000 cubic feet of natural gas, and add over $340,000 to the bottom line annually. On their printing lines, VOC emissions to the air have decreased by 268 tons over the past 7 years; an 86% reduction. Fuel burning emissions such as NOx, SOx, CO2, CO, and particulates were reduced by over 80% as well. The technically superior inks also eliminated hazardous waste, fire risks, odors, and process noise. Their contribution has furthered the transition to environmentally friendly and sustainable vinyl floor-covering production. The award will be presented at a ceremony in the Rayburn House Office Building on September 23. Congressional representatives from the states and districts of each winner have been invited to attend and present the awards. The 2004 MVP2 award recipients collectively reduced pollution by 3 billion pounds, conserved 80 million KwH of electricity, all while cutting costs by $30 million. Their collective efforts are equivalent to taking 3 million cars off the road. "These organizations demonstrate the fact that pollution prevention is beneficial to both the environment and the economy," stated Jeffrey Burke, executive director of NPPR. The MVP2 awards are just one aspect of National P2 Week, held every third full week in September, this year from the 20th - 26th. Since P2 Week became a national event in 1995, NPPR has been advancing pollution prevention awareness through its efforts to encourage and promote widespread participation during the week and beyond.