Gourmet Coffee Company Receives California Environmental Award

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Gourmet Coffee Company Receives California Environmental Award

CALIFORNIA, FORT BRAGG, Nov. 6 -/E-Wire/-- Thanksgiving Coffee Company, an environmentally responsible business based in northern California, has been named a recipient of the state's 2001 Waste Reduction Award Program (WRAP) for outstanding efforts to reduce waste and protect the environment.

The award, presented each year by the California Environmental Protection Agency since 1993, recognizes companies that implement innovative programs to reduce the amount of waste they send to landfills. Efforts range from changing production methods and recycling waste materials to buying materials with recycled content and educating employees about the impact of their actions at work and home.

Thanksgiving Coffee is a leader in the gourmet "specialty" coffee industry, which includes big names such as Starbucks and Equal Exchange. Thanksgiving imports coffee beans from more than 15 countries around the world, roasts them, and then distributes them to stores, cafes, restaurants, and individual customers in the U.S. and around the globe.

In 1999, Thanksgiving conducted an "environmental audit" that identified eight areas in which it could cut waste and reduce its impact on the Earth. This resulted in several new initiatives, including switching to a more efficient roasting oven to save propane, installing low-power compact fluorescent bulbs throughout its 15,000-square-foot plant, creating a worm farm to compost biodegradable waste, and partnering with a non-profit organization to plant more than 21,000 trees in Africa to offset the carbon dioxide emissions from its operations.

Businesses generate almost half of California's 66 million tons of solid waste each year, and have an important role to play in state efforts to cut waste. By reducing the amount they throw away, re-using materials, and increasing purchases of recycled products, they can reduce demand for raw materials, the energy used to process them, and new landfills, which contain toxic chemicals. California currently sends about 58 percent of its solid waste to landfills.

But reducing waste is not only good for the environment; it's good for the bottom line. On an annual basis, Thanksgiving Coffee now saves more than 8,000 gallons of propane and over 43,000 kilowatt hours of electricity, and pays less to dispose of waste. Collectively, the 2000 WRAP award winners cut the amount of waste sent to landfills by more than 5.6 million tons.

"It's great to see how creative and innovative California businesses can be when it comes to reducing waste," said Linda Moulton Patterson, chair of the California EPA's Integrated Waste Management Board, the state's primary recycling agency. The board works with industry, local governments, and the public to reduce waste disposal and ensure environmentally safe landfills.

Thanksgiving Coffee Company

http://www.thanksgivingcoffee.com

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