Document ID: EPA-HQ-OW-2003-0074-0644
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2003-12-24T05:00Z

LaundryESP
®
­
Laundry
Environment
and
Stewardship
Program
PROGRAM
SUMMARY
LaundryESP
is
designed
to
enhance
environmental
excellence
and
leadership.
It
is
the
textile
supply
and
service
industry's
commitment
to
environmental
stewardship
through
beneficial
practices
to
conserve
natural
resources
and
prevent
pollution.

LaundryESP
sets
the
following
industry­
wide
resource
conservation
and
pollutant
reduction
goals,
to
be
measured
using
data
from
1997
through
2002.

 
A
10­
25%
reduction
in
the
gallons
of
water
used
per
pound
of
textiles.

 
A
10­
25%
reduction
in
energy
consumption
per
pound
of
textiles
laundered.

 
A
10­
25%
substitution
of
environmentally
beneficial
washroom
chemical
formulations.

 
A
significant
reduction
in
pollutants
(
20,000­
lb.
pollutant
equivalent/
yr)
discharged
to
sewers.

To
fulfill
this
commitment,
LaundryESP
participants
have
adopted
the
following
guiding
principles.
Participants
will:

1.
Develop
and
integrate
environmental
programs
into
corporate
policies
and
procedures.

2.
Promote
pollution
prevention
and
waste
minimization,
the
legitimate
recycling
and
reuse
of
materials
in
processes
and
those
of
our
customers,
and
the
conservation
of
natural
resources.

3.
Forge
relationships
with
customers
to
reduce
the
environmental
impact
of
pollutants
found
on
soiled
textiles.

4.
Encourage
the
research
and
development
of
improved
textile
cleaning
processes
and
materials
used
in
these
processes
(
e.
g.,
detergents).

5.
Encourage
industry
vendors
to
develop
energy­
and
water­
efficient
equipment
and
supplies.

6.
Foster
employee
awareness
of
their
environmental
responsibilities
within
corporate
policies.

7.
Consider
environmental
impacts
when
evaluating
new
projects,
technologies,
and
production
processes.
8.
Encourage
the
use
of
long­
lasting,
environmentally
friendly
recyclable
textiles.

Participants
are
pursuing
the
LaundryESP
goals
through
voluntary
initiatives
such
as:

 
Establishment
of
recycling,
reuse
and
recovery
programs
within
each
plant;

 
Implementation
of
best
management
practices
to
conserve
resources
and
prevent
pollution;

 
Self­
assessments
of
operations
and
environmental
compliance;

 
Use
of
environmentally
beneficial
chemicals;

 
Installation
of
more
efficient
equipment;
and
 
Education
of
and
partnerships
with
customers
to
reduce
pollutants
on
incoming
soiled
textiles.

LaundryESP
was
created
by
the
Uniform
&
Textile
Service
Association
(
UTSA)
and
the
Textile
Rental
Service
Association
(
TRSA),
the
two
national
trade
associations
that
together
represent
more
than
90%
of
the
textile
supply
and
service
industry.
The
program
includes
large
and
small
companies
that
have
joined
together
to
undertake
voluntarily
initiatives
towards
the
industry­
wide
achievement
of
specific
environmental
goals.

LaundryESP
is
the
most
comprehensive
examination
of
the
textile
supply
and
service
industry
and
TRSA
and
UTSA
believe
it
to
be
one
of
the
most
exhaustive
analyses
of
an
industry's
environmental
performance
ever
attempted.
LaundryESP
has
135
participating
companies
(
over
760
processing
facilities)
representing
approximately
70%
of
the
textile
supply
and
service
industry's
revenues.
In
addition,
twelve
wash
chemical
suppliers
have
worked
with
the
program
to
facilitate
data
collection.
To
date,
over
2200
surveys
have
been
collected
resulting
in
a
database
containing
more
than
295,000
data
fields.
A
preliminary
analysis
of
data
from
the
1997
to
1999
survey
years
indicates
that
the
program
is
progressing
towards
its
goals.
Collection
of
the
remaining
data
has
been
completed
and
TRSA
and
UTSA
are
currently
conducting
extensive
quality
assurance
checks
on
the
program
database.
Results
with
respect
the
LaundryESP
goals
are
scheduled
for
release
in
March
2004.

For
additional
information
please
contact
David
Dunlap,
UTSA's
Director
of
Environmental
Affairs
at
703­
247­
2608
or
George
Ferencz,
TRSA's
Vice
President
of
Operations
at
703­
519­
0029.