After receiving the 2009 Presidential Leadership Federal Energy Management Award and the 2009 Secretary of the Navy Energy and Water Management Award, Naval Base Kitsap (NBK) is no stranger to innovative and cost effective energy conservation methods. It should be no surprise, then, that NBK’s recycling program is top notch, and its management says it’s only going to get better.

Over $580,000; that is the amount of revenue generated by NBK Recycle sales in fiscal year 2010.

“Recycling just makes sense, especially in this area of the country,” said John Lacy, Naval Facilities Northwest program manager for integrated solid waste. “To transport our solid waste, we have to put it on a train that takes it over 250 miles to the Columbia River (where it’s stored in one of three locations on both banks of the river). It costs a lot of money to do that.”

In addition to the fiscal numbers, in 2010 NBK Recycle also processed over 5,600 tons of recycled waste. That’s excluding resident, or curbside, service that is handled by the civilian company Waste Management.

Lacy said that the reason they process so much is because NBK Recycling covers every installation on NBK, including the galley at Bangor, which recycles 99 percent of its waste. NBK Recycling also services Naval Magazine Indian Island, Naval Hospital Bremerton and Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.

“It’s an experiment funded by the Department of Energy to see if we could ultimately save money by using hybrid collection trucks,” said Lacy.

He also added that both trucks are essentially the same, the only significant difference being due to the hybrid trucks hydraulic launch assist system, it has just slightly smaller storage bins than the conventional truck. Both trucks boast an array of scales and data collection tools to help NBK Recycling better understand just how much waste it’s processing, and therefore, how much money it’s saving the base.

“The whole goal of the recycling effort is to reduce the cost of managing solid waste,” said Lacy. “Any dollar saved is a dollar that can be spent on higher priority programs in the region.”

Another area where NBK Recycling is making improvements is in the training department; the current staff of six holds training as often as possible on all the installations that comprise NBK.

Art Lazo, integrated solid waste operations manager and transportation supervisor, said that they are making great strides in the areas of training and outreach.

He added that they understand a common hindrance when attempting to recycle is trying to find out what can be recycled and what can’t be.

“We now have the resources to expand and educate,” said Lazo. “We take [printer] toner cartridges, wood, and all types of plastics, just to name a few.”

NBK Recycling has plans to expand on a large scale in the next two-three years, and plans on being able to receive additional types of recyclables as well as a larger quantity.

For more information on recycling or products offered by NBK Recycling, call (360) 396-7005.