St. Elizabeth Hospital Recognized for Waste Prevention Efforts

St. Elizabeth Hospital in Enumclaw has been honored by King County for its waste prevention and recycling efforts.

The annual Best Workplaces for Waste Prevention and Recycling honors local companies and organizations that meet a series of environmentally friendly benchmarks, such as offering reusable or compostable dishes in office kitchens and sending electronic invoices.

Here is what the county said about St. Elizabeth:

"St. Elizabeth Hospital in Enumclaw makes its debut as a King County Best Workplace this year. As a LEED (Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design) Silver certified hospital by the United States Green Building Council, they are committed to improving their waste prevention practices. They practiced cardboard recycling for many years and expanded the program to add commingled, organics and used cooking oil recycling in 2008. Recycling stations were set up with clearly labeled recycling and garbage containers. St. Elizabeth Hospital has seen a notable increase in recycling rates, high rates of community involvement and reduced solid waste costs with these changes. Staff education and training is a vital component to the successful expansion."

More information about the Best Places program, a full list of all the honorees, and a summary of what each company is doing to reduce waste is available here.