Squaw Valley USA Honored
with State Waste Reduction Award

[Squaw Valley, CA] Squaw Valley USA has been named a winner in the 2003 & 2004 Waste Reduction Awards Program (WRAP) sponsored by the California Integrated Waste Management Board–the state’s primary recycling agency and a part of the California Environmental Protection Agency, for outstanding efforts to reduce waste and protect the environment.

The WRAP awards were announced during the observance of National Pollution Prevention Week as part of the Waste Board’s annual recognition of waste reduction successes in the business community. Now in its 12th year, the WRAP awards honor businesses for cutting the amount of trash they produce, conserving resources, and reducing waste disposal in landfills.

"It’s great to see how creative and innovative California businesses can be when it comes to reducing waste,” said Board Chair Linda Moulton-Patterson. “On behalf of the State of California, we are pleased to recognize the outstanding efforts of these organizations to reduce, reuse, recycle, and buy recycled-content products as part of their environmentally preferable business practices.”

Squaw Valley USA was recognized for efforts to shape resort operations towards minimizing environmental impacts. The Squaw Valley Ski Corporation is currently in the midst of a multi-million dollar environmental improvement program that has instituted extensive revegetation and erosion control projects to ensure the health and quality of the immediate surroundings. In addition, the Ski Corp. has instituted a comprehensive recycling program and revolutionary innovations in energy use to guarantee minimal depletion of our natural resources. One example is that the Ski Corp is able to divert over 30% of 27.5 tons of resort waste from landfills through the use of an incinerator. The size of a large office, the incinerator is 99.99% effective and can vaporize 1.2 metric tons of garbage at a time, leaving only enough debris to fill a small garbage can. In addition, recent upgrades to the resort's cable car have allowed the Ski Corp to conserve electricity. Squaw Valley installed a new Silicon Controlled Rectifier or S.C.R. control for the resort's cable car to replace an older generator-driven drive system. Since its installation, the new system has proven to be 96.85% more energy efficient, with a 91.48% reduction of the overall kilowatt hours used and a cost savings of almost 50%.

The Board’s WRAP awards recognize businesses that develop innovative and aggressive programs to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills. Winners receive a certificate of recognition and are honored based on a set of criteria developed in cooperation with the business community. Practices evaluated include waste prevention, materials reuse, recycling, recycled-product procurement, and employee education.

The six-member California Integrated Waste Management Board is responsible for protecting the public's health and safety and the environment through management of the 72 million tons of solid waste generated in California each year. The Board works in partnership with local government, industry, and the public to reduce waste disposal and ensure environmentally safe landfills. California now diverts 48 percent of its solid waste away from disposal.

For more information about Squaw Valley USA’s waste reduction efforts, visit the Environmental Improvement page on the resort’s web site at www.squaw.com. For a complete list of Waste Reduction winners, please visit the Board online at www.ciwmb.ca.gov/WRAP/.