In This Issue

• Welcome
• Who We Are
• Technical Assistance
• Community Grants Programs
• NYSP2I Workshops
• In The News
• Featured Partner

Upcoming Workshops

See the NYSP2I Workshops section of this newsletter for more information.

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Vol. 1 - Issue 1 - May 2009

Welcome to the P2I E-Newsletter!

The New York State Pollution Prevention Institute (NYSP2I) is pleased to welcome you to the inaugural edition of a quarterly e-newsletter as part of our continuing community and industry outreach!

The mission of the NYS Pollution Prevention Institute is to provide a state-wide, comprehensive and integrated program of

• Research, Development and Diffusion
• Technical Assistance
• Community Grants Programs
• Training, Education and Outreach
• Information Exchange

aimed at making New York State more sustainable for society, the environment, and the economy.

In future issues, look for NYS industry-specific news, tips for improving energy efficiency and reducing environmental impacts, and notices for NYSP2I workshops and conferences. We will also feature news about training and grant programs your community can benefit from.

E-mail us your comments at nysp2i@rit.edu with “Newsletter” in the subject line. We’re waiting to hear from you!

Who We Are

Founded in 2008, the New York State Pollution Prevention Institute is a statewide research and technology transfer center funded by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. NYSP2I is headquartered at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and is a partnership comprised of four universities:

• Rochester Institute of Technology
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
• Clarkson University
• University at Buffalo

and the state’s 10 Regional Technology Development Centers (RTDCs):

• Alliance for Manufacturing and Technology
• Center for Economic Growth
• Council for International Trade, Technology, Education and Communication
• Central New York Technology Development Organization
• High Technology of Rochester
• Hudson Valley Technology Development Center
• Industrial & Technology Assistance Corporation
• Long Island Forum for Technology
• Mohawk Valley Applied Technology Corporation
• Insyte Consulting

NYSP2I’s goal is to provide full geographic coverage of P2 programs and services across the state. This will be achieved through strategic partnerships with the RTDCs, other technical assistance providers in the public and private sectors, universities, and non-profit organizations. More information about us is available at our website.

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Technical Assistance

The NYSP2I’s technical assistance efforts include work with individual companies, Regional Technology Development Center’s (RTDC’s), cluster organizations and additional research and development entities in the areas of technology diffusion, process improvement and implementation, and workforce training. In addition, NYSP2I’s Outreach, Inreach, and Marketing functions serve as a communication pipeline into the NYSP2I for individual companies, clusters, RTDCs and other technical assistance providers to support their needs for assessment tools, technical information, R&D, and diffusion activities for their use or for their client companies.

LE2 from RIT Helps Tecmotiv Clean Up

LE2 is an acronym for Lean, Energy, & Environment. It combines two programs previously developed by EPA; 1) the Lean and Environment program, and 2) the Lean and Energy program. The Lean and Environment program offers practical strategies and techniques to Lean implementers about how to improve Lean results while achieving environmental performance goals. Similarly, the Lean and Energy program offers practical strategies and techniques to Lean implementers about how to improve Lean results while reducing energy use, costs, and risk. LE2 combines both of these programs into a single program.

RIT recently helped Tecmotiv USA Inc. shed light on a problem that was stifling growth of the Niagara Falls, NY, based company. Tecmotiv fabricates and remanufactures engineered products and spare parts for military vehicles such as the M60 Patton tank.

Vehicle parts and assemblies that Tecmotiv remanufactures often arrive exceptionally dirty, and the company was experiencing difficulties cleaning parts consistently and cost-effectively. Surface cleaning operations presented a substantial production bottleneck that was severely limiting revenue growth.

Example of Tecmotiv's dirty challenges that are comprised of military vehicle parts.

Last year, Tecmotiv partnered with RIT to identify the specific source of production bottlenecks and improve the effectiveness and consistency of its surface cleaning operations. RIT researchers investigated Tecmotiv’s cleaning requirements and then tested alternative surface-cleaning technologies using actual parts from Tecmotiv. Workflow processes related to cylinder remanufacturing operations were evaluated using Lean, Energy & Environment (LE2) analytical tools to identify the best alternative processes, and estimate potential annual savings.

At the end of their research, RIT staff identified 33 separate cleaning processes used by Tecmotiv and recommended improvements to these processes. The potential savings were striking. For example, in just the cylinder remanufacturing process, using alternative processes over a period of one year would result in:

• Savings in operating costs of $64,335
• Reduction in electricity use of 32,709 KWH
• Reduction in water use of 1,480 gallons
• Reduction in generation of 5,791 pounds of non-hazardous waste
• Reduction in 3,631 pounds of abrasive media
• Reduction in 259 gallons of non-hazardous wastewater

Because Tecmotiv processes thousands of different parts in addition to cylinders, adopting alternative technologies offers the company significant opportunities for savings and growth while reducing its ecological footprint.

For more information about this project, see the case study report.

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Community Grants Programs

The goal of the Community Grants Programs (CGP) is to provide financial and technical support for not-for-profit projects that lead to implementation of practices and behaviors at the local level which improve the health, environmental quality, and economic vitality of New York State communities.

Grant programs have been very successful in other states in developing innovative, high-impact, pollution prevention initiatives that have led to measurable outcomes and increased awareness. NYSP2I anticipates that the CGP will deliver similar results.

The first round of CGP grant applications closed on November 17, 2008. The goal was to increase public awareness and understanding and/or leading to implementation of pollution prevention practices or behaviors within a target audience at the community or municipal level, resulting in one or more deliverables such as training or public education workshops, demonstration projects, new policy implementation, etc. There were 41 applications, totaling over $723,000 in requested funds.

The round one community grant-funded projects are titled and presented by:

• Personal Responsibility in Pollution Prevention — Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oneida County
• Western New York Pollution Prevention Project — Western New York Council on Occupational Safety and Health (WNYCOSH)
• Pollution Prevention and Awareness Program — NCS Community Development Corporation
• Sustainability Academy — Greening USA
• Finger Lakes/Genesee Sustainable Communities Summit — Audubon International
• Preventing Pollution in the Home — Clean New York
• Preventing Pollution at Home and in Our Communities — Huntington Breast Cancer Action Coalition & Learning Disabilities Association of New York State
• Green Long Island — New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH)
• Green Production Guide and Film Vendor List — Film Biz Recycling
• Spec It Green - The Local Advantage — New York Industrial Retention Network

The Community Grants Programs are made available to community organizations, municipal departments, and other public sector and non-profit entities. For more information on applying for upcoming grant opportunities (including the necessary forms and instructions on how to complete them), see the NYSP2I website.

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NYSP2I Workshops

NYSP2I regularly conducts workshops in partnership with New York State businesses and private organizations to promote knowledge sharing and skill-building in environmental quality, health and economic development.

Previous workshops included:

• Lean, Energy, and Environment (LE2) — October 27 at RIT in partnership with HTR and Insyte Consulting; combined two programs previously developed by EPA: the Lean and Environment program, and the Lean and Energy program.
• Surface Cleaning Technologies — October 28 at RIT; the focus of the workshop was on four areas: Surface Cleaning, Waste Minimization, Surface Finishing and Pollution Prevention.
• P2 Training for NYSDEC P2 Staff — November 25 at NYSDEC.
• P2 Assessment Techniques and Tools — January 22, 2009 in Albany. This workshop offered practical strategies and techniques to increase awareness of Pollution Prevention (P2) issues, prepared attendees to be more attuned to, and skilled in, identifying P2 opportunities, and provided an introduction into how P2 opportunities are characterized and prioritized.
• Toxic Chemicals in Our Toys — February 18, 2009; Rochester, NY in partnership with Rochester Childfirst Network.
• P2 Training for NYSDEC Engineers — March 2, 2009; Albany, NY. This workshop was attended by more than 80 NYSDEC technical staff, and provided additional detail, analytical tools, and case studies beyond that presented at the November 25 workshop.
• Green Housekeeping — March 12, 2009, Rochester, NY, held in partnership with Rochester Midland Corporation. This workshop provided an overview of green cleaning and sustainability in facility management, market trends, green chemistry and impact on health, productivity, and environment. Presenters also shared information regarding the relationship of green cleaning to LEED®, discussed the certifying organizations, provided information on available programs and resources, and shared results from implementation.

Visit the NYSP2I website for new dates and additional workshops.

For more information or to register for an upcoming workshop, call NYSP2I at: 585-475-2512.

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In The News

A complex new Federal safety law, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008, went into effect on February 10, 2008, and is raising questions among small business owners and others in New York State. CPSIA targets the presence of lead and phthalates in toys and other products intended for use by children through the age of 12.

Consumer Product Safety Commission summarized the new limits for the targeted materials:

• Lead: Consumer products intended for children 12 and younger may not have more than 600 parts per million of lead in any accessible part.
• Phthalates: Children's products (including toys, pacifiers, sippy cups, and mattresses) cannot contain more than 0.1% of certain phthalates, which are chemicals that make vinyl and other plastics soft and flexible.

According to the US Consumer Products Safety Commission, the new law, “impacts a broad spectrum of our economy. From manufacturers of toys to the kids that play with them, everyone is affected in some way — even those who make and donate products to hospitals and charities. There are new rules to be understood and adopted for everyone from the largest global manufacturer to the crafter working in the family workshop to the mom-and-pop shop on the corner. Indeed, all children’s products including toys, books, child care articles and clothing are covered in different ways by this law, and there are different rules for different products.”

NYSP2I at RIT, in collaboration with the Rochester Childfirst Network, held “Toxic Chemicals in Our Toys,” a business information and outreach session in Rochester a week after CPSIA became law. Kathryn Howard, Environmental Health & Safety Specialist at the Golisano Institute for Sustainability at RIT, conducted this roundtable session for 12 women operators of domestic daycare centers in Rochester. She said that “The workshop was a great success. Most, if not all, of the women had never heard of CPSIA and didn’t understand what the big deal is with BPA and phthalates and the practical things they can do to avoid them.” Howard anticipates repeating her presentation in the Upstate area several more times this spring as awareness of CPSIA grows.

Additional information about CPSIA is available at the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission website. The full text of the law can be found here.

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Featured Partner

Paul MacEnroe is the President of the Mohawk Valley Applied Technology Corporation (MVATC). MVATC is one of 10 regional technology development centers in New York and one of 200 Regional Manufacturing Extension Centers in the country. The mission of MVATC is to help promote the growth of the economy by growing and developing for-profit Manufacturing and High Technology Companies. This is achieved by providing hands on consulting services that are designed to improve the company’s growth curve and lower its costs. Mr. MacEnroe joined MVATC in 1989.

For the past 10 years he has followed his passion and developed the first of its kind “Green” programming in his organization. This program is a hands-on approach to reducing both the quantity and toxicity of waste. To date, the program has served more than 60 different companies.

In addition to his work with MVATC, Mr. MacEnroe is active with the Boy Scouts and is an avid curler and gardener.

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