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WHEELABRATOR WESTCHESTER AND WHITE PLAINS LINEN ANNOUNCE RENEWABLE ENERGY PARTNERSHIP

Wheelabrator Westchester and White Plains Linen today announced a first-of-its-kind renewable energy partnership in Peekskill, which will enable the county’s largest commercial laundry operation to reduce its carbon footprint by 90 percent.

Under a long-term supply agreement, steam from the Wheelabrator Westchester waste-to-energy plant is being piped directly to White Plains Linen’s adjacent 100,000-square-foot commercial laundry facility via a newly-constructed steam line. White Plains Linen is converting its natural gas-fueled laundry equipment and room heating systems to steam. Now that the conversion is completed, White Plains Linen will significantly reduce the amount of natural gas it uses to make steam and hot water, from 1 million therms per year to less than 90,000 therms per year. This steep reduction in natural gas usage will eliminate 4,775 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually, equivalent to taking 995 passenger vehicles off the road.

 

Local leaders hailed the environmental benefits of the project.

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“Westchester County is pleased to support this innovative partnership between two of our larger industrial employers,” said Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino. “It is a great example of how corporate responsibility, especially when it comes to protecting our environment, is also good for business. Considering that more than 50 percent of the waste converted at Wheelabrator Westchester comes directly from ordinary residents in the county’s Refuse Disposal District, it means that we’ll all be contributing to a cleaner, healthier environment in Westchester.”

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"Since 2011, the City of Peekskill has been working with the largest businesses in our industrial district to explore energy-reduction collaborations," said City of Peekskill Mayor Mary Foster. "White Plains Linen and Wheelabrator Westchester are part of that initiative, and today we are pleased to celebrate the exciting new partnership they have achieved. This steam line demonstrates not only the innovation happening in Peekskill, but the opportunities for new business development."

 

White Plains Linen is Peekskill’s largest employer and has made a multimillion dollar investment in building a state-of-the-art, green laundry operation to serve the tri-state area’s restaurant, catering and hospitality industries.  In addition to the steam power project, the company has installed systems to capture rainwater and recycle filtered rinse water for use in its laundry operations, and has installed more energy efficient lighting throughout its facility.

 

“This partnership with Wheelabrator Westchester makes White Plains Linen an industry leader in the use of eco-friendly, alternative energy,” said Bruce Botchman, president of White Plains Linen. “By practically eliminating the use of fossil fuels in our laundry operations, we are helping to clean the air, protect the environment and preserve natural resources for future generations. We are proud to make this green investment in our business and in our host community of Peekskill.”

 

“The stability of this reliable energy source from Wheelabrator Westchester to power our plant will help us to plan our growth strategy for the future,” said Leonard Labonia, vice president of operations for White Plains Linen. “This type of energy source does not react to political unrest overseas or spike due to unforeseen shortages.”

 

Designed, constructed and operated by Wheelabrator Technologies, the Wheelabrator Westchester plant processes up to 2,250 tons per day of municipal solid waste.  Inside the plant, waste is transferred to utility-type boilers that recover thermal energy in the form of high pressure steam, which is converted to electrical power by a turbine.  The plant generates 60,000 kilowatts of electricity — enough to power 88,000 New York homes. 

 

“After nearly 30 years of successfully converting post-recycled waste into clean electricity for Westchester homes and businesses, this innovative project puts additional steam from Wheelabrator Westchester to use by a large industrial operation and major employer in the City of Peekskill,” said Mark Weidman, president of Wheelabrator Technologies. “We are proud to partner with White Plains Linen in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and expanding the use of renewable power sources. The reliable delivery of clean energy such as steam to support local industry and economic growth is a business solution we hope to provide to additional customers in the future.”

 

Waste-to-energy plants use advanced environmental control systems that clean emissions to meet stringent state and federal standards while producing clean energy with less environmental impact than almost any source of electricity, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

 

Since opening in 1984, Wheelabrator Westchester has:

·         Processed over 19 million tons of waste — enough material to fill a line of tractor trailer trucks over 8,061 miles long — longer than the distance from Seattle, Wash. to Miami, Fla.

·         Generated over 12 million megawatts of electricity — enough to power nearly 328 million homes

·         Recycled nearly 520,000 tons of ferrous metals

The facility directly employs 64 New York-area residents, many of whom live in Westchester County, and last year created approximately $30 million of economic activity in the region through direct and indirect jobs, purchases of goods and services, and city and state tax payments.

 

ABOUT WHEELABRATOR TECHNOLOGIES INC.

A wholly owned subsidiary of Waste Management, Wheelabrator Technologies Inc. is a leader in the safe and environmentally sound conversion of MSW and other renewable waste fuels into clean energy. Wheelabrator’s 17 waste-to-energy facilities provide safe waste disposal for towns and cities across the U.S. Wheelabrator also operates four independent power plants designed to generate electricity using an assortment of fuels, including waste wood, tires, waste coal, and natural gas. In addition to producing electricity, some of these facilities also produce steam sold to nearby government and commercial establishments. Wheelabrator’s 21 facilities have a combined electric generating capacity of 853 megawatts, enough energy to power more than

900,000 homes. To learn more, visit www.wheelabratortechnologies.com.

 

ABOUT WASTE MANAGEMENT

Waste Management, based in Houston, Texas, is the leading provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services. It is also a leading developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. The company’s customers include residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers throughout North America. To learn more, visit www.wm.com or www.thinkgreen.com.

 

ABOUT WHITE PLAINS LINEN

For over 75 years, White Plains Linen has been metropolitan New York’s and the entire tri-state area’s leading supplier of fine linens, specializing in full restaurant and catering needs, anywhere from tabletop linens to kitchen garments and cleanup merchandise. They provide services to hospitality entities including well-known restaurants, caterers, golf clubs, event planners and special events for corporations. Its LINENS à la CARTE division offers a full selection of high quality linen products for special events such as weddings, corporate parties, banquets and bar/bat mitzvahs. For a complete look at all of the new product updates and their specific details, please visit www.whiteplainslinen.com.

 

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