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Environmental Management
Cintas works hard to protect the environment and conserve natural resources at our facilities across North America.
Through our commitment to strict compliance and innovative
technologies, we seek to ensure that Cintas meets or exceeds
regulatory standards set for the laundry facilities.
Background:
Cintas conducts 15,373 wastewater tests every year as part
of our requirements under various local discharge permits.
This is calculated by totaling the number of facilities that
discharge wastewater, times the number of parameters for which
we test, times the frequency with which tests are conducted
throughout the year.
Over the course of the last six years, Cintas has conducted
92,238 wastewater tests.
We currently recycle up to 70 percent of the wash water at
many of our laundry operations, helping preserve natural resources
and diminishing our need for intake water.
We have invested more than $4 million on research in the
pursuit of a “zero-discharge” water-recycling
technology, and continue our work as an industry leader in
this area.
We spent $5 million on capital expenditures in 2002 on wastewater
treatment technologies that further remove soil and other
materials from our customers’ uniforms before water
is discharged to municipal treatment facilities, according
to permits. We are also a leader in the development of new
environmentally friendly wash formulas to further improve
wastewater quality for local municipalities.
We have been a leader in working with federal, state and
local agencies in wastewater issues, and continue to work
closely with local municipal public works systems on water-quality
standards that are individually set to reflect local conditions
and needs.
Energy Conservation
Through new innovations like heated-air recycling, we have
cut in half the electricity once required to complete the
laundry process.
Reuse and Recycling
We incorporate extensive recycling programs throughout our
facilities, and utilize the latest technologies in product
movement and shipment to reduce the need for packaging and
waste.
We donate clean used clothing to charities that help people
in developing countries, and donate used equipment for training
and jobs-skills programs.
Environmental Compliance
Through our internal Environmental Auditing Program, each
Cintas rental location is audited each year to ensure compliance
with applicable regulations. Cintas is also a Charter Member
of the Laundry Environmental Stewardship Program, a voluntary
program initiated to improve the environmental performance
in the laundry industry.
Corrective Action
In and around our facilities, particularly older facilities
acquired in recent transactions, Cintas continues to take
a leadership position with government agencies and municipalities
to develop remediation and redevelopment plans that improve
local conditions and protect local communities and our partners.
We continue to work closely with regulatory agencies on these
projects.
Because of the nature of our business, our wastewater quality
is directly related to the constituents that soil our customers’
clothing – like greases, oils, dirt, etc. – and
wastewater standards vary greatly between individual communities.
We have a stringent compliance and investigation process to
address problems as they are detected, and to correct mishaps
as they occur. We work closely with our customers and local
municipalities to develop solutions for compliance with local
standards.
As our culture of accountability and responsibility dictates:
Whenever we learn of a problem, we fix it.
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