DECEMber 2014
AmeriPride to pay fines as part of EPA settlement BOSTON — AmeriPride will pay $75,000 as part of a settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) following the agency’s claims that the company “failed to seek air permits and control emissions between 1988 and 2013, when it installed new industrial washers and dryers” for laundering shop and print towels at its Worcester, Mass., and Hartford, Conn., facilities. EPA says AmeriPride “cooperated” in reaching the settlement. In a statement to American Laundry News, AmeriPride says the fines concerned “potential” harmful emissions, and that “there is no evidence that the plants were actually emitting harmful levels of VOCs.” “In fact, we believe that because we are a mixed laundry processing a relatively small amount of print towels, the emissions were not at a level that would meet the requirement for permits,” the company says. AmeriPride adds that the settlement concerns past operations, as the Hartford plant is no longer in operation, and print towels are no longer processed at the Worcester plant. “We are confident that we have the proper permits for our ongoing operations at other processing plants,” the ALN company says.
Volume 40, Number 12
Wastewater Treatment:
Changing pollutants, regulations present challenges for laundries By Theresa Boehl, Editor While a laundry’s wash process results in clean, fresh linens, it also leaves behind dirty water, and what becomes of that water and the potential pollutants in it should be of importance not only to businesses, but their customers and the community at large. How laundries manage wastewater goes hand-in-hand with other efforts to conserve, reuse and be more environmentally conscious. American Laundry News spoke to industry professionals representing the chemicals sector and wastewater treatment equipment manufacturing, as well as an industrial laundry operator, to get their take on the interplay between wastewater treatment and the laundry’s other processes and environmental goals, and to discuss how treatment presents benefits and challenges for those in the industry. WASTEWATER TREATMENT: THE BASICS
Laundries of all types have adopted technologies and processes to be sure water used in the wash process has been properly treated before it
Effluent flows from a wastewater treatment facility into a Denver-area river. (Image licensed by Ingram Publishing)
goes to the sewer. These systems can range from fairly simple to extremely complex. John Schultz, senior WEW (water, energy and wastewater) solutions manager for textile care at Ecolab, says pre-treatment before dis-
See WASTEWATER on Page 6
EPA requirements, upcoming regulations by Carlo Calma ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Implementing green—or environmentally friendly—efforts in the workplace has become commonplace among many businesses, both big and small. Though there are many areas to focus on, one operational aspect many owners and managers in the laundry industry have targeted involves cutting back on the use of detergents containing nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPE). Joseph J. Green, special counsel
at Kelley, Drye & Warren LLP, and environmental counsel for the Textile Rental Services Association (TRSA), explains that the chemical has been the subject of “increasing attention” from environmental activists and regulators, particularly for its “alleged aquatic toxicity.” “Nonylphenols, which [are] the base compound, are thought to be highly toxic to aquatic animals and in the aquatic environment, as well as very persistent in that environment, and bioaccumulative,” says Green. These concerns regarding NPE
led to a voluntary industry phaseout of the chemical, says Green, who outlined the history of the phaseout and its current status in a TRSA webinar titled The NPE Phase Out: EPA Requirements and Potential Regulation of Continued Use. THE LaundryESP PROGRAM
According to Green, there has been a “long-standing” commitment by TRSA to the use of environmentally friendly washroom chemicals, which he says is outlined in the association’s Laundry
www.americanlaundrynews.com
Inside Panel of Experts
Advice on best methods to track productivity of laundry workers.
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charge could involve a system as simple as a settling pit, a shaker screen, a heat exchanger, and sulfuric acid for neutralization of the water’s
NPE Phaseout:
Environmental Stewardship Pro gram (LaundryESP). This effort, he says, stems from a 1999 agreement TRSA made with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Water as an “outgrowth” from negotiations over its Effluent Limitation Guidelines (ELG). “Those were an effort to regulate wastewater discharges from laundry facilities and address, what was at the time, EPA believed, … a high level of toxics in that See NPE on Page 7
The Newspaper of Record for Laundry & Linen Management
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Detergents, Detergents, Chemicals Chemicals & & INJECTION INJECTION Systems
OPL 101: Set Green Goals for 2015
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Strategies for making operations more eco-friendly can also help cut water and energy costs.
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