Fort Madison Plant Wins Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award

The DuPont Fort Madison plant’s long-standing commitment to help maintain an environmentally safe community has paid off with the site winning the Governor’s Iowa Environmental Excellence Award. Linda Marshall, Fort Madison plant manager, recently attended a special recognition ceremony at the State Capitol in Des Moines to accept the award from Governor Chester J. Culver. Governor Culver said in a letter sent to the plant that “your efforts serve as a model for the entire state and I greatly appreciate your leadership in protecting Iowa’s environment.”

Fort Madison was one of 15 Iowa organizations, businesses and individuals recognized by Governor Culver with an award for the 2008 program year. The awards are the premier environmental honors in Iowa, recognizing leadership and innovation in the protection of Iowa’s natural resources. The prestigious Environmental Excellence Award honors organizations with comprehensive environmental ethics and commitment, while special project awards recognize specific environmental improvements.

The Fort Madison plant won its award in the Waste Management Special Projects category for sponsoring household hazardous waste collection events to expand and promote citizen participation and improve environmental protection and stewardship through outreach to nearby communities, schools and social organizations. Partnering with the HazChem Center of Southeast Iowa to encourage household hazardous and electronic waste (e-waste) collection, DuPont has organized and sponsored Toxic Cleanup Day events, resulting in more than 16,000 pounds of waste collected over the last five years.

“This is a great honor for our site and a tribute to our employees for their concern about helping protect the environment in the community we live in and in the state of Iowa,” Linda said. “I want to thank Holly Ritter, our environmental manager, for her diligence in leading this effort and helping our site win this award.”

Fort Madison’s sponsorship of the waste collection event includes employees volunteering to help coordinate and staff the event, as well as assisting with educating the public about environmental stewardship. The site also provides monetary support, including DuPont Community Fund grants, and use of the plant’s parking lot for collection of the waste. The event allows Lee County residents the opportunity to bring in left-over paints, pesticides, herbicides and other toxic materials, including mercury thermometers, for proper waste disposal. The HazChem Center handles the safe waste collection and licensed disposal of the material collected.