Hayward recognizes residents, schools and businesses with 2019 Environmental Sustainability Awards

HAYWARD, Calif., May 29, 2019—The City of Hayward honored 10 recipients with the City’s 2019 Annual Environmental Sustainability Awards.  The awardees, including residents, schools, and businesses, were recognized during a special presentation at the May 21 City Council meeting for their exceptional commitment to reducing their environmental impact.

Winning residents included Anita Cruz, who has integrated into her daily life water conservation practices such as collecting rainwater and excess sink water for use in her garden; Amanda Groziak, who recently ran a campaign to ban plastic food-ware in Hayward; and Kenneth Woodward, the Maintenance Manager at the Eden Issei Terrace apartment property. Woodward has created customized multi-lingual waste sorting signage to educate residents, in addition to using the refund value of the recyclables collected at the property to host environmental education parties for residents.

The two winning schools included Cherryland Elementary School, where the third graders spent last year exploring the environmental effects of Styrofoam. Their research led the entire Hayward Unified School District to replace its Styrofoam trays with cardboard trays at the start of the 2018-19 school year.  Also winning was Fairview Elementary School, where fourth graders collected and analyzed 3,000 pieces of litter from their campus, and used the data to raise school-wide awareness about the harmful effects of plastic pollution.

Winning businesses included: Cox Automotive Manheim San Francisco Bay Area, a wholesale vehicle auction location on track to be zero-waste by 2024; EKC Technology, a chemical cleaner manufacturer which last year reduced water usage in its production process by 10 percent despite a record-breaking increase in production volume; Life Chiropractic College West, which developed its own algae air scrubbers to reduce the CO2 levels in the air at its facility; St. Rose Hospital, which is reducing medical-related waste by significantly extending the life of many single-use supplies; and Eden Issei Terrace, which uses solar energy, LED lighting, electric kitchen appliances, and the custom multi-lingual waste reduction system previously mentioned to help its residents lead environmentally conscious lifestyles.

“Since our parent company, Cox Enterprises, set goals of sending zero waste to landfill by 2024 and being water/carbon neutral by 2044, our team has been enthusiastic about doing our part,” said Greg Beck, General Manager at Cox Automotive Manheim San Francisco Bay.

“From creating recycling and composting initiatives, to installing LED lighting and encouraging alternative transit, we believe strongly that our collective actions can make a big difference. We’re proud to be recognized by the City of Hayward for these efforts, and we’ll continue looking for more ways to be good stewards of the environment and impactful citizens of Hayward,” Beck added.

For more information about the winners of the 2019 Environmental Awards, visit https://www.hayward-ca.gov/2019-environmental-sustainability-awardees.