The NWPC's Dry Cleaning Waste Prevention Project - one of the first national
projects to focus on reduction of both toxics and solid wastes in a
particular industry - has completed a long evaluation process and is
announcing the results of its Model Cleaners Project. Below is an excerpt
from our press release. For additional information see our website at:
http://www.metrokc.gov/nwpc/dryclean.htm
Feel free to distribute information on this project to newsletters or other
publications. If you have a model cleaner in your area, and you have
specific ideas on who we should send the release to, please let me know.
(We are sending out regional versions of the release in each area, but I'm
sure we're missing some relevant publications.)
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NWPC NAMES MODEL CLEANERS
Fifteen innovative cleaners from around the country are being recognized as
Model Cleaners by the National Waste Prevention Coalition for pioneering new
approaches to waste prevention in the dry cleaning industry.
The innovators include:
-- A dry cleaner in Arizona that collects 500,000 hangers a year from its
customers for reuse, saving $16,000 a year on the purchase of new hangers.
-- A Denver cleaner that has reduced purchases of cleaning solvent by 65
percent.
-- A Chicago cleaner that offers customers a reusable garment bag that
converts into a laundry bag, reducing the need for disposable plastic
garment covers.
-- A cleaner in Southern California that cleans 2,300 pounds of clothes a
week with a new, non-toxic "wet cleaning" process, thus avoiding the use of
perchloroethylene, or "perc," the toxic solvent traditionally used by dry
cleaners.
The model cleaners were selected after a thorough evaluation. More than 20
agencies and organizations were involved in the evaluation effort, including
state agencies and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Nominations
came from the public, government agencies and the dry cleaning industry.
The result is a group of cleaners that can serve as models - for the dry
cleaning industry and other industries - as we prepare to enter the 21st
Century. Following is a list of the Model Cleaners, by state, with the
states listed alphabetically:
ARIZONA
Prestige Cleaners Store #8, Scottsdale, AZ.
CALIFORNIA
California Oak Cleaners, San Francisco, CA.
Cleaner By Nature, Los Angeles and Santa Monica, CA.
Hosanna Cleaners, Pleasant Hill and Walnut Creek, CA.
Vogue Cleaners, Mill Valley and Belvedere, CA (3 stores).
COLORADO
Comet Cleaners, Grand Junction, CO.
La Nouvelle Fine Cleaners, Denver, CO.
ILLINOIS
Greener Cleaner, Chicago, IL.
NEW YORK
Crystal 74 Cleaners, New York, NY.
Drycleaning Depot, New York, NY.
Meurice Garment Care, New York, NY (2 stores).
NORTH DAKOTA
Marcine Clean, Fargo, ND.
OREGON
45th Avenue Cleaners, Portland, OR.
TEXAS
Dutch Girl Cleaners, Amarillo, TX area (3 stores).
WISCONSIN
Natural Cleaners, Brookfield, WI (3 stores in metropolitan Milwaukee area).
The Model Cleaners Project also gave Honorable Mention to one cleaner:
Hangers Cleaners, in Wilmington, North Carolina.
E-mail: tom.watson@metrokc.gov