Pennsylvania medical facility earns EPA recognition for electronics recycling

James E. Van Zandt Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Altoona, Pennsylvania, has been selected for a national Federal Green Challenge Award by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its electronics recycling efforts.  

The Federal Green Challenge program challenges federal agencies throughout the country to lead by example in reducing the federal government's environmental impact.

EPA recognized the Van Zandt Veterans Affairs Medical Center for sending 8.2 tons of end-of-life electronics to be recycled in 2015. This amount of recycled electronics represents the largest annual percentage increase among all Federal Green Challenge participants. In addition to its electronics recycling, the center also identified and recycled more than 61 percent of its waste-stream, which is one of the highest in the Veterans Affairs system.

“The recycling accomplishments at the James E. Van Zandt Veterans Affairs Medical Center demonstrate how federal facilities can be leaders in reducing their environmental footprint,” says EPA’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin. “Our Federal Green Challenge awards recognize these efforts and encourages other federal agencies to take steps to further conserve resources and protect the environment.”

In 2015, more than 400 participating federal facilities reduced their environmental footprint, which in many cases also resulted in significant cost savings. These federal agencies have diverted thousands of tons of waste from landfills; saved millions of gallons of water; saved millions of cubic feet of natural gas; reduced fleet distance traveled; and sent tons of end-of-life electronics to third-party certified recyclers.

A complete list of Federal Green Challenge winners is available at www.epa.gov/fgc/2016-federal-green-challenge-awards.