14 DAY TRIAL // Just yesterday, the United States Navy announced that an amphibious warship dubbed USS Makin Island had been listed among the top Recyclers of the Year and honored during a ceremony in San Diego.
On its website, the United States Navy details that the ceremony in question, i.e. the 2014 City of San Diego Waste Reduction and Recycling Awards, was sponsored by the City of San Diego Environmental Services Department.
By the looks of it, the event was intended to give a pat on the back, maybe even a high five, to businesses and organizations that were part and parcel of the San Diego community and that managed to considerably improve on their ecological footprint.
Specifically, the ceremony served to honor organizations and businesses that made progress in terms of reducing waste and cutting down on the amount of trash they send to landfills on yearly basis.
The United States Navy explains that assault ship USS Makin Island is well worthy of being listed as one of the top Recyclers of the Year. Thus, the ship and the crew aboard it reutilize both materials and packaging.
In fact, the vessel is home to about 300 recycling containers, some of which sit in manned work spaces and some of which can be found in common areas.
Folks aboard the ship know that they must separate the waste they produce and make sure that recyclable materials do not get thrown away, and trash bags are checked twice before the materials in them are processed.
This recycling program is said to be so effective that, in the year 2013 alone, the USS Makin Island was documented to have played a major part in helping the Navy Region Southwest recycle as much as 4.5 tons of materials.
What's more, the assault ship is fitted with energy saving systems so as to reduce waste, and whatever power gets burned is used in a sustainable and responsible manner, and its overall water consumption is not all that impressive either, at least not when compared to that of similar vessels of the same size.
“The Navy's first hybrid-powered ship doesn't just confine its green program to the engine room,” Chris Gonaver, director of Environmental Services Department, told the press in a recent interview.
“Throughout the ship, Sailors onboard are learning what those on land have been doing for years. The crew was able to recycle more than 3,800 tons of debris which included the reuse of materials and packaging,” Chris Gonaver added.