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Health & Fitness

Pollution prevention has environmental and financial benefits

As part of its pollution prevention efforts, Argonne National Laboratory has saved about $11 million since 1996 and recycled more than 82,000 metric tons of materials over the past five years.

By Devin Hodge, Sustainability Program Manager, Argonne National Laboratory

As part of its pollution prevention efforts, Argonne National Laboratory diverts waste from landfills, conserves energy and improves indoor air quality. Due to these efforts, Argonne has saved about $11 million since 1996 and recycled more than 82,000 metric tons of materials over the past five years — about the weight of the U.S.S. John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier. Recycled materials include chemicals, furniture, equipment and other supplies. Argonne’s pollution prevention program has been named one of the best in the U.S. Department of Energy complex.

Argonne also uses a fleet of “green” vehicles for everything from plowing snow to inter-building deliveries. The laboratory has taken major steps in recent years to reduce the fleet's petroleum fuel consumption and increase the use of alternative fuel consumption, like E85. Argonne now has a fleet of thirteen 100% electric-powered neighborhood vehicles and 13 bio-diesel neighborhood vehicles on site. The lab has also constructed a 4 kW solar-powered electric vehicle charging station that — when not being used to charge vehicles — provides power to a nearby building.

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