Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance

Environmental Sustainability Initiatives:

Since the Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance (DPPEA) regularly serves industry and government clients, it is especially important that it model the principles and practices it advocates to the public. For instance, reuse and source reduction of supplies purchased has positively impacted our budget.   Our office manager is keeping track of expenditures for paper and other supplies and is able to tell us how many recycled products we are buying and how much money we are saving.  Ultimately, participation in these initiatives boosts morale.

Other DPPEA activities:

• Online publishing for Division documents and fact sheets to reduce numbers of printed hard copies published and discarded.

• Switch to electronic White Pages Directory and elimination of individual paper copies.

• Purchase recycled-content and less wasteful office supplies whenever possible, including: all paper and paper products, acetate transparencies (recycled and recyclable), laser toner cartridges (recycled and recyclable), and computer diskettes (recycled and recyclable). Recycle used videotapes, CD-Rom disks, computer diskettes, and acetate film.

• Acquisition of leased, remanufactured photocopier.

• Acquisition of a natural gas vehicle for staff travel.

• Annual participation in the Raleigh Adopt-a-Stream Program

In addition to making our own operations more sustainable, DPPEA is working with other state agencies to develop their sustainability efforts.  DPPEA staff already serve as liaisons with other state agencies and DENR in the area of environmental purchasing and sustainability in state government (NC Project Green). DPPEA maintains an on-line clearinghouse of thousands of documents on waste reduction that can be downloaded directly from its web page.  DPPEA also can provide technical expertise to Divisions and facilities wanting to conduct waste assessments.