DES MOINES – Seven businesses will team with DNR’s Pollution Prevention (P2) Intern Program this summer to increase efficiency of a system or process and reduce associated operating costs.
Upper-level engineering students will work on-site at one of the assigned seven companies to analyze data, research pollution prevention strategies, and provide calculated recommendations. Companies utilize the data to make informed decisions and drive implementations that will help meet their environmental performance goals.
“Companies often know they have inefficiencies in their processes but do not have the time or the capacity to focus on a solution,” says Jeff Fiagle, Team Lead for the P2 Services team. Technical advisers with the P2 Intern Program provide oversight to the interns who seek to pinpoint the root cause of the inefficiencies and provide long-term solutions.
Since 2001, more than 190 Iowa companies, hospitals, universities and government agencies have participated in this innovative program, accumulating more than $109 million in savings as a result of using resources more efficiently and improving environmental performance.
Environmental benefits achieved include the reduction of:
- 5 billion gallons of water;
- 254,929 tons of solid waste;
- 9,965 tons of hazardous waste;
- 9 million kilowatt hours of electricity;
- 7 million therms of energy.
Companies participating in the 2021 P2 Intern Program include (listed alphabetically by town):
Burlington: CNH Industrial America, LLC
Clarinda: NSK Corporation
Marshalltown: JBS USA, LLC
Mason City: Woodharbor Custom Cabinetry
Newton: TPI Composites, Inc.
Ottumwa: JBS Swift Pork
Storm Lake: Tyson Foods Inc. Hillshire Brands
Funding for the P2 Intern Program includes federal grants, portions of solid waste tonnage fees and cost share contributed by the host companies.
Pollution Prevention Services also provides confidential, non-regulatory, environmental technical assistance in the form of assessments, Environmental Management Systems development assistance, workshops, and access to the P2 Technical Resource Library. These services are offered at no-cost to help companies reduce expenses through source-reduction strategies to improve process efficiency and reduce or eliminate waste.
For more information on the Pollution Prevention Intern Program and a list of 2021 projects, visit: www.iowap2interns.com. Case summaries of the 2021 projects will be posted to this site in the fall.