Environmental Management of System at RWS Meets International Standard of Excellence

RWS was the first municipal-owned and operated solid waste facility in U.S. to receive designation

PORTLAND, Maine - An independent, self-imposed audit has shown that the environmental management system in place at Regional Waste Systems continues to meet a rigid international standard of excellence.

RWS was the first municipal-owned and operated solid waste management organization in the U.S. – and remains the only waste-to-energy facility in Maine – to meet the internationally recognized ISO 14001 standard and receive certification from the American National Standards Institute-Registrar Accreditation Board (ANSI-RAB). In Maine, just 10 other companies - each in industry or manufacturing - are known to have achieved registration to the environmental standard.

"RWS is committed to operating at a higher environmental platform," said Kevin Roche, general manager of the non-profit solid waste and recycling organization serving 27 Maine communities. "This certification is a recognition that we are staying ahead of the compliance curve."

Recent environmental enhancement programs installed and implemented by RWS include:

• A mercury emissions control system that has reduced emissions by 85-95%.
  
• A nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions control system that has cut NOx emissions to less than 180 parts per million.
  
• The installation of a drum magnet that now recovers 200 tons of ferrous metals from ash per month.
  
• An aggressive effort to divert material from disposal into the recycling stream, which has RWS moving steadily toward its goal of increasing recycling to 20,000 tons a year.

RWS first achieved the ISO 14001 standard in 2002. Re-certification occurs every three years and involves an audit as grueling as the initial review. The recertification process insures continued environmental performance.

The audit of RWS was conducted over three days in March by Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Advanced Waste Management Systems, Inc. (AWM), a Registrar certified by the ANSI-RAB to conduct ISO 14001 audits. The AWM team examined documents, observed activities at the facility, and interviewed randomly selected employees.

In its audit report, AWM concluded that RWS' environmental management system (EMS) is fully implemented and functional. "Regional Waste Systems demonstrates the commitment and capability to fulfill its Environmental Policy, including the commitment to pollution prevention, through maintenance of its environmental management system," the report states.

Many of the standards required to achieve and maintain ISO 14001 exceed state and federal guidelines, Roche said. "You don't achieve this standard unless you are dedicated to improvement and act on that commitment in a responsive and proactive way," he said. "The auditors again recognized that environmental protection is paramount at RWS."

Roche added that there is a financial component to RWS' efforts as well, saying that achieving ISO 14001 status may protect RWS against liabilities related to environmental issues in the future.

The ISO 14001 standard requires companies to voluntarily develop and implement a comprehensive environmental management system (EMS) that includes a self-imposed system of checks and balances covering 18 specific areas. Those areas include monitoring and measurement, documentation, operational controls, record keeping, communication and environmental enhancement programs.

The ISO 14001 standard, now almost 10 years old, is more common and entrenched among companies in Europe and Japan. The U.S. lags behind, but a number of major companies, including Ford Motor Company and IBM, have implemented ISO 14001 at their facilities and require it of their suppliers.

Regional Waste Systems is a non-profit solid waste management corporation that is owned and operated by 21 cities and towns (Bridgton, Cape Elizabeth, Casco, Cumberland, Falmouth, Freeport, Gorham, Gray, Harrison, Hollis, Limington, Lyman, North Yarmouth, Ogunquit, Portland, Pownal, Scarborough, South Portland, Waterboro, Windham and Yarmouth), and also has six associate member towns (Baldwin, Hiram, Naples, Parsonsfield, Porter and Standish.)

The waste-to-energy plant operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and complies with state and federal Clean Air emission standards. Each year, RWS processes more than 170,000 tons of trash. The heat created by burning the waste generates steam, which is then transformed into enough electricity to meet the needs of 15,000 homes.

RWS has the largest, most comprehensive municipal recycling program in the state, recycling more than 17,000 tons of recycled materials each year. Established in 1974 after Portland, South Portland, Cape Elizabeth and Scarborough decided to form a cooperative to handle their waste disposal, RWS today is governed by a 28-member board, consisting of officials appointed from member communities. RWS accepts solid waste and recycled materials from these communities. For more info, visit the RWS web site at www.regionalwaste.org.

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