TORRANCE, Calif., Jan. 14, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Virco Mfg. Corporation (AMEX:VIR):
For the fourth consecutive year, Virco's recycling and resource recovery initiatives have been recognized with a major environmental award from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). As a 2001 EPA WasteWise Program Champion for Large Businesses, Virco was commended for processing over 29,000,000 pounds of recyclables in the year 2000.
Since 1989, Virco's industry-leading resource recovery operations have recycled over 75,000 tons of materials. This includes more than 40,000 tons of steel, 8,000 tons of cardboard and 3,000 tons of plastics. In addition, the company has processed over 600 tons of mixed paper during that time, as well as a staggering 23,500 tons of wood dust in the past three years alone.
Headquartered in Torrance, California, with a major facility in Conway, Arkansas, Virco's list of prestigious national environmental awards includes: the National Recycling Coalition's Fred Schmitt Award (1994); the EPA's Environmental Excellence Award (1997); designation as a Waste Reduction Record Setter by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (1997); two previous EPA WasteWise Program Champion Awards (1998 & 1999); and the EPA WasteWise Large Business Partner of the Year Award (2000). In addition, Virco has received state-level recognition as a 2001 Waste Reduction Awards Program winner by the California Integrated Waste Management Board, while also being named Corporate Recycler of the Year by the Arkansas Recycling Coalition in 1993 and 2000.
An important aspect of Virco's environmental initiatives includes assisting 25 schools in the vicinity of its Conway installation with their cardboard recycling programs. This assistance involves picking up the cardboard from each school, preparing and conveying it to the processing contractor, then returning all proceeds from the transaction to the participating schools.
Upcoming environmental projects at Virco include:
-- Working with raw material suppliers to eliminate wasteful
shipping materials, such as wood pallets, by replacing them with
recyclable packaging;
-- Using stretch wrap in place of cartons to ship student desks
(anticipated savings in 2002 are 250 tons of cardboard, equal to
4,250 mature trees); stretch wrap is 100% recyclable and is
accepted by most city recycling programs;
-- Blending sawdust from the company's woodshop operations with
seeds and fertilizer to create "erosion mats" that can be spread
on disturbed construction or erosion sites.
The EPA's WasteWise program was established in 1994 to assist its voluntary business, government and institutional partners in achieving improved waste reduction. Currently, over 1,100 organizations participate in the program.
For more information, call 1-800-813-4150, or visit us at www.virco.com.