At Howard County’s 11th annual GreenFest in late April, the county’s Department of Public Works’ Bureau of Environmental Services announced the winners of its inaugural Business Recycling and Waste Reduction and Green Community Leadership awards program.

In the Business Recycling and Waste Reduction award category, which recognizes Howard County businesses for their recycling and waste reduction efforts, the winners were as follows.

• BA Auto Care: The company developed a technique to capture the motor oil that typically clings to the sides of oil bottles, significantly reducing the amount of oil discarded as trash.
• DSM Nutritional Products: Employees started an office food scrap collection program. Employees collect roughly 25 pounds of food scraps a week, which is turned into compost.
• Howard County Conservancy: the Conservancy eveloped an initiative to reduce the amount of single-use plastics in its waste stream. At its events, the Conservancy eliminated the use of single-use plastics and now encourages outside organizations using the facility to use of reusable items.
• Taylor Service Co.: The company has adopted various strategies to provide recycling and reuse opportunities for its employees and building tenants. It donates reusable building materials to local nonprofits and allows Howard County’s Fire and Police departments use of its buildings for training purposes.
The Green Community Leadership Award recognizes groups and organizations that demonstrate efforts, projects or programs that help protect Howard County’s natural environment and preserve its resources. This year’s winners of the Green Community Leadership Award were as follows.
• Emmanuel United Methodist Church: With the help of its “Green Team,” the church has eliminated its use of disposable food service ware and has conducted energy audits of its building, as well as facilitates audits for its members. The church is also entirely powered by wind-sourced energy.
• Howard EcoWorks: In 2017, it launched its “Ellicott City: Soak It Up” campaign. Geared toward encouraging individual action for stormwater reduction on private property in the Tiber Hudson watershed, the goal of the campaign is to convert 700 acres of turf grass to native landscape to improve stormwater control.
• Roger Carter Community Center: The center approaches its LEED Silver certification as a launching point for other environmentally conscious programs. It regularly hosts community clean-ups, provides a variety of recycling opportunities to the public, maintains a composting program and has conducted internal waste audits.

For more information on this year’s award winners and other recognized Work Green Howard businesses, visit www.WorkGreenHoward.org.