Presidio Trust Wins Major Environmental Prize

Presidio of San Francisco (January 5, 2018) – The Presidio Trust was awarded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) national WasteWise award in the category Federal Government Partner of the Year for its accomplishments in waste prevention and diversion.

“We are thrilled to receive the WasteWise Award for the third time,” says Jean Fraser, Presidio Trust CEO. “We are striving to produce zero waste as a park, and this award shows that we are on the right track.”

The Presidio Trust won the award due to its overall achievements in waste diversion, composting, materials reuse and educational outreach. The Trust’s Waste Reduction Program oversees all such activities, and consistently reaches a diversion rate of 64 percent or higher. Highlights of the Waste Reduction Program include an in-house yard-waste compost program that recovers the majority of the green debris generated in the park and composts the debris on site. The finished compost is used in the park for landscaping and reforestation projects, saving the Presidio more than $75,000 annually, largely from avoided transit and disposal fees.

The Presidio also has a comprehensive salvage/material recovery program, which manages all aspects of excess property redistribution. Furnishings, equipment and supplies have been reused through Federal Government auctions and in offices and venues throughout the park and the wider Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The Waste Reduction Team also coordinates the contract for curbside recycling/compost/refuse collection in the park, which includes a residential population of 3,000 and over 100 commercial tenants. The program provides outreach and education on composting and recycling, which helps to keep diversion rates high.

About the EPA’s WasteWise Award For 23 years, EPA’s WasteWise has helped organizations and businesses apply sustainable materials management practices to prevent and reduce municipal and select industrial wastes, saving them resources and money. WasteWise partners reported preventing and diverting 8.5 million tons of waste that would otherwise have been disposed in landfills or incinerators. These actions—which include waste prevention, recycling, composting and donation—saved participants over $400 million in avoided landfill fees. WasteWise partners who report the best overall improvement in waste prevention and recycling activities—when compared to the previous year—receive awards in various categories.

About the Presidio Trust The Presidio Trust is an innovative federal agency created to save the Presidio and employ a partnership approach to transform it into a new kind of national park. Spanning 1,500 acres in a spectacular setting at the Golden Gate, the Presidio now operates without federal appropriations, is home to a community of residents and commercial tenants, and offers unique recreation, hospitality, and educational opportunities to people throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and the world. To learn more please visit www.presidio.gov.

For a complete list of honorees, visit: https://www.epa.gov/smm/wastewise

For the EPA Press Release, visit: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-recognizes-2017-wastewise-winners

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