Harris Corp.’s Broadcast Division has received a 2008 Most Valuable Pollution Prevention award for reducing pollutants at its transmitter manufacturing facility in Quincy, Ill.
Harris was one of five companies or organizations to receive this year’s award, presented by the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable (NPPR) in Washington, D.C. Andy Edgar, senior manager of facilities and environmental compliance, and Phil Timmons, director of Quincy operations, accepted the award on behalf of the division. The award was based on Harris’ efforts to make major reductions in waste, energy consumption and water usage.
Harris’ pollution prevention projects include a closed-loop water cooling system that has reduced water usage in its product testing process by nearly 21.6 million gallons per year. The company also implemented several toxicity reduction projects to eliminate toxic heavy metals and raw material impurities from the manufacturing process. The result was a 30-35 cubic yard reduction in waste that equates to a 75 percent decrease in hazardous waste volumes from its wastewater pretreatment operation, and a 50 percent pretreatment chemical usage reduction.
This is not the first time Harris has been honored for its green efforts. The company’s Quincy operation is a four-time recipient of the Illinois Governor’s Pollution Prevention Award and the company has received a Community Green Award for its efforts in recycling and waste volume restrictions. The Quincy operation also received an Industrial Achievement Award from the Illinois Association of Water Pollution Control Operators.
“Harris is committed to ensuring that it remains a responsible corporate citizen of the communities we live in, and we are spearheading these efforts through employee-driven campaigns,” said Tim Thorsteinson, president of Harris Broadcast Communications. “We strive to be viewed as a company that is proactive in the community and are committed to raising environmental awareness. This is achieved by reducing pollution generated from our facilities and minimizing our impact on the environment.”
