Collins, King Announce Maine Organizations, Individuals Receiving Environmental Awards From EPA
WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King today announced that the Cary Medical Center's Safe Sharps Disposal Program in Caribou, the Gulf of Maine Institute in Saco, and Kevin Mallory of Portland have each received prestigious awards from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for protecting and improving our environment.
The merit awards allow EPA to recognize individuals and groups whose work has protected or improved the region's environment in distinct ways. Given out by EPA annually since 1970, the merit awards honor individuals and groups who have shown particular ingenuity and commitment in their efforts.
Kevin Mallory, transportation director of the Portland Public Schools, has received recognition for making the Portland Public Schools bus fleet "greener." When first alerted to the health concern of diesel exhaust, Mallory launched a campaign to reduce exposure to harmful school bus diesel emissions. The Portland district was the first school district in the state to establish and enforce a no-idling policy for school buses. In 2004, it was one of the first schools in the nation to apply to EPA's Clean School Bus USA grant to retrofit 21 school buses with pollution control equipment. In 2006, the Portland school district began operating three compressed natural gas school buses, and, by 2012, it had received funding to bring the fleet to 14 natural gas school buses, the largest such school bus fleet in New England.
The Gulf of Maine Institute has been developing citizen stewards of the environment for more than a decade. The institute's mission is "to touch, move and inspire young people, in partnership with adults, to lead in stewardship of the Gulf of Maine and its watershed." Over the years, the Gulf of Maine Institute has led teams of teenagers with adult mentors in projects related to their immediate watershed.
The Cary Medical Center established the Safe Sharps Disposal Program in 2011 as a way for citizens to dispose of used medical sharps, such as needles used by diabetics. Kiosks were placed at police stations in Aroostook County, which provides a safe means for disposal, educates the public on the dangers of sharps, and protects solid waste personnel.
"These individuals and organizations are true leaders as demonstrated by their extraordinary initiative in protecting our environment," Senators Susan Collins and Angus King in a joint statement. "Not only do their efforts improve public health, but they also serve as an inspiration for others to follow in their footsteps."
