EL SEGUNDO, Calif., March 27, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has received the state of California's prestigious 2006 Waste Reduction Award Program (WRAP) honor for its success cutting waste at six Southern California facilities. This marks the 24th award since 1992 that the company has received for its efforts to minimize waste disposed through recycling, reuse and employee education.
Representatives from Northrop Grumman accepted the award March 21 at an awards dinner held in Redondo Beach by the South Bay Business Environmental Coalition and the Los Angeles Regional Agency.
Now in its 15th year, the WRAP awards honor businesses for cutting the amount of trash they produce, conserving resources and reducing waste disposal in landfills. WRAP is sponsored by the California Integrated Waste Management Board, the state's primary recycling agency and a part of the California Environmental Protection Agency.
"Northrop Grumman recognizes that manufacturing and environmental stewardship can and must go hand in hand," said Gary W. Ervin, sector vice president for the company's Integrated Systems sector. "We've worked hard to create awareness among our employees of the company's focus on cutting waste and make it an institution-wide initiative that engages everyone."
Northrop Grumman's El Segundo and Palmdale facilities recycled 2,697 tons of material, including 486 tons of paper, 887 tons of steel, 136 tons of cardboard, 608 tons of wood, 1.1 tons of toner cartridges and 78 tons of computers.
At the company's Dominguez Hills facility, surplus equipment and materials are donated to local nonprofit organizations and schools. In addition, surplus office supplies are rerouted to other internal departments for use or reuse and recyclable materials such as paper and metals are sold for remanufacturing. The site has diverted more than 26 tons of paper, cardboard, metal and equipment from the landfills.
Northrop Grumman's Woodland Hills facility recycled 277 tons of material, including 126 tons of paper and 41 tons of mixed recyclable products; 110 tons of green waste was recycled as compost for the fifty-two acre site. In addition, the facility retrofitted more than 10,000 of its light bulbs with energy efficient bulbs.
Northrop Grumman's facilities in Redondo Beach and Manhattan Beach have reduced substantially the amount of glass and plastic non-hazardous chemical containers. Bulk chemical distribution systems have eliminated more than 40,000 individual one- and five-gallon containers annually, meaning that more than 260,000 pounds of waste was diverted to curbside recyclers rather than becoming hazardous waste.
"Reducing wastes also reduces the quantity and cost of off-site disposal into landfills," said Joseph L. Behen, an environmental, safety, and health engineer for Northrop Grumman. "The company's continued focus on sustaining and increasing its waste management efforts also impacts our employees' behavior at home, further promoting household energy conservation and waste reduction."
In 2006, Northrop Grumman's Southern California operations were presented the "Flex Your Power" award, funded by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), for its ongoing commitment to saving energy, money and protecting our natural environment.
Northrop Grumman Corporation is a $30 billion global defense and technology company whose 122,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in information and services, electronics, aerospace and shipbuilding to government and commercial customers worldwide.