So far in its ongoing effort to replace all of Lansing's old lead water pipes with newer copper pipes, the Lansing Board of Water and Light (BWL) has recycled more than 38 tons of lead pipe.
In 2004, the BWL decided to replace all 13,000 lead water service lines in the community with copper piping to eliminate any potential health hazards caused by lead pipes.
By the end of the summer, BWL expects to have 7,000 of those lines removed and in the hands of an Old Town-based recycling company, Friedland Industries.
“It’s always better to recycle whenever we can,” says BWL spokesman, Mark Nixon. “Actually, we have kind of an ongoing waste reduction program internally to cut our waste by five percent over our 2005 level, and we’ve accomplished that goal.”
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently recognized the BWL for participating in the National Partnership for Environmental Priorities (NPEP), which is a program that encourages companies to voluntarily partner up with the EPA to reduce the use or release of 31 priority chemicals.
Source: Mark Nixon, Lansing Board of Water and Light
Ivy Hughes, development news editor, can be reached here.
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