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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 803 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 803

 Expressing the support of the House of Representatives regarding the 
 merits and benefits of the Laundry Environmental Stewardship Program 
(ESP) program, which improves the environment through textile services 
 industry wide conservation of water and energy, reducing pollutants, 
                      and using safer surfactants.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 6, 2009

     Mr. Space (for himself and Mr. Terry) submitted the following 
 resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
 Expressing the support of the House of Representatives regarding the 
 merits and benefits of the Laundry Environmental Stewardship Program 
(ESP) program, which improves the environment through textile services 
 industry wide conservation of water and energy, reducing pollutants, 
                      and using safer surfactants.

Whereas LaundryESP is a voluntary pollution-prevention and resource-conservation 
        program where members are encouraged to participate through a variety of 
        initiatives, including--

    (1) the establishment of recycling, reuse, and recovery programs in 
each plant;

    (2) implementation of best-management practices to conserve resources 
and reduce pollution;

    (3) self-assessments of operations and environmental compliance;

    (4) use of environmentally beneficial chemicals;

    (5) installation of more efficient equipment; and

    (6) education of and partnerships with customers to reduce pollutants;

Whereas LaundryESP encompasses 170 textile service companies and 750 laundry 
        plants which account for the majority of the industry's production 
        serving light, heavy, and high-technology manufacturing, hospitals, 
        medical clinics, hotels, transportation industries, retail businesses, 
        and restaurant services;
Whereas LaundryESP is a cost-effective and flexible program in which textile 
        services industry companies can improve their environmental performance;
Whereas LaundryESP is designed to arrive at more efficient use of resources 
        including water, energy, and wash chemicals through innovative, new 
        approaches;
Whereas the primary goal of LaundryESP is to facilitate the textile services 
        industry's continued commitment to environmental protection, built on a 
        foundation of strengths in recycling and reuse;
Whereas LaundryESP over the past decade has resulted in--

    (1) 41 percent increase in textile service production (12.16 billion 
pounds of textiles processed today vs. 8.62 billion a decade ago);

    (2) 43 percent pollutant reduction (17,500 lbs. of pollutants, as 
measured by pollutant equivalents, did not have to be treated at the local 
wastewater treatment facility);

    (3) 28 percent reduction in water use (translates to a savings of 26 
billion gallons which would serve the water needs of 700,000 people per 
year);

    (4) 15 percent reduction in greenhouse gas (the equivalent of taking 
220,000 cars off the road every year over the decade); and

    (5) 14 percent decrease in total energy use (the equivalent of the 
total amount of electricity used annually by 450,000 United States homes); 
and

Whereas the textile services industry has been working actively with the 
        Environmental Protection Agency to promote ``green'' environmentally 
        friendly business practices industry wide, and the Environmental 
        Protection Agency has reviewed LaundryESP and found significant progress 
        in water and energy conservation, pollutant wash chemical reductions, 
        and greater use of environmentally friendly wash chemicals: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives commends LaundryESP and 
the textile services industry for their voluntary industry wide 
commitments to use less water and energy, use more environmentally 
friendly wash formulas, and significantly reduce pollutants, producing 
an excellent example of a conservation and environmental protection 
program that fosters innovation, corporate stewardship, cooperation 
with regulatory authorities, and a willingness to change.
                                 <all>
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