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EPA to Fund Projects to “Green” Restaurants, Supermarkets and Hotels in New Jersey and New York

(New York, N.Y.) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a total of $441,860 in grants to fund projects in New Jersey and New York that protect people’s health and the environment by preventing pollution. 

“Pollution prevention is some of the most important work being done to protect the environment,” said EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck. “ The EPA Pollution Prevention grants help businesses, colleges and state agencies identify strategies to reduce the use of toxic materials, save energy, protect human health and save money.  These grants support programs that reduce or eliminate waste at the source, preventing the need to treat it after it is generated.” 

The EPA provided the New York State Restaurant Association Educational Foundation an $83,800 grant to expand its pollution prevention training program for New York City restaurants to restaurants in Nassau and Westchester County, New York.  The restaurant association will provide group training sessions at restaurants on pollution prevention techniques such as using water-saving devices, cleaning products and energy-efficient equipment.  It will disseminate the results through case studies and a green restaurant workbook to restaurants throughout New York State. 

The New Jersey Institute of Technology will use a $178,060 grant to develop an online toolkit that will provide training to supermarkets on ways to reduce energy through lighting improvements and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning controls, and reduce the release of hazardous materials from cooling system leaks.  NJIT will disseminate the toolkit to supermarket chains throughout New Jersey and provide training to the supermarket staff through direct outreach and webinars. 

The EPA is providing the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection with an $180,000 grant that will be used to promote sustainability in New Jersey’s hotel industry by providing training on ways to increase energy and water efficiency, reducing the use of hazardous materials and saving money.  NJDEP will train hotel owners and managers on methods to achieve efficiency in their lighting, space health/cooling, water heating, refrigeration and appliances.  This project will target small to medium-sized hotels in Cape May and Atlantic counties, which have the largest concentration of hotels in the state.  NJDEP will provide outreach through four workshops, hotel job training at Atlantic Community College, as well as direct mailings to all hotels in New Jersey. 

These grants are part of the approximately $4 million in grants that the EPA awards each year aimed at preventing pollution across the nation.  For more information on the EPA pollution prevention program, visit http://www.epa.gov/region02/p2/.