Green Washington Awards 2012: Manufacturing

WINNER: Canyon Creek Cabinet Company, Monroe

Manufacturer of custom residential cabinetry.
Green Actions: Canyon Creek has long been a leader in the sustainable management of manufacturing byproducts, serving as a member of Byproduct Synergy Northwest, a trade group that unites companies searching to convert waste into resources. Simply put, Canyon Creek hates to waste materials. It sources its cleaning rags from a sheet metal fabricator in Kent that formerly threw them away after cleaning. It recycles solvents used in cabinet finishing and sells the distilled acetone. And it donates its scrap materials to local toymakers. Results: Canyon Creek was the first manufacturer to earn an Environmental Stewardship Program certification from the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association. It has become certified in several industry programs that recognize environmental responsibility, including the Master Builders Associations Built Green Program and the Environmental Protection Agencys Evergreen Award.

SILVER AWARD: Magnum Print Solutions, Seattle
Manufactures and recycles its own brand of toner cartridges.

Green Actions: Magnum Print Solutions has taken the extremely wasteful toner cartridge market and turned it upside down, creating a toner option thats reusable up to 12 timesand that can still compete on price with the big-box retailers. Results: In an industry where re-use is practically zeroAmericans throw away some 300 million toner cartridges every yearMagnums customers can easily recycle their cartridges while saving an average of 30 percent over conventional options. When Magnums cartridges do fail, the company recycles their raw materials, eliminating nearly 250,000 pounds of greenhouse gases each year.

SILVER AWARD: MicroGreen Polymers Inc., Arlington
Fabricator of recycled plastic products, including beverage cups, frozen-food trays and printable flat sheets.

Green Actions: MicroGreens proprietary Ad-air process injects carbon dioxide into sheets of layered polyethylene terephthalate, a common thermoplastic known as PET), creating a resilient, lightweight plastic that can be shaped for a multitude of uses. The Ad-air process can be executed with up to 50 percent post-consumer plastic, making MicroGreens InCycle products some of the greenest plastic youll find. Results: MicroGreens InCycle beverage cups have been proven to have the lowest carbon footprint of any single-use beverage cup currently on the market. And the best news is simple: Because of their lighter weight, theyre cost-competitive, too.

More information: Green Washington Awards