For the eighth year in a row, the Hazardous Waste Management Program (Haz Waste Program) is a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Safer Choice Partner of the Year! We are honored to be recognized for our ongoing work promoting safer cleaning practices and products in communities around King County.

Watch the Haz Waste Program Safer Choice Partner of the Year video.

The Safer Choice Partner of the Year Awards recognize groups and individuals focused on the design, manufacture, promotion, selection or use of products with safer chemicals that reduce hazardous exposures at the source. Work promoting environmental justice, bolstering climate resilience, supporting cleaner air, improving drinking water quality. or advancing innovation in packaging is also celebrated through these awards. 

Receiving the award showcases the Program’s work at the national level and reinforces our commitment to our vision: protecting health, equity, and the environment by reducing exposure to hazardous materials. Our values of collaboration, innovation, and equity are at the core of this achievement.  

In 2023, the Program provided education, outreach, and technical assistance to reduce hazardous exposures, all while centering equity and social justice. Some key accomplishments include:

• Expanding partnerships: We supported community-based organizations like Horn of Africa Services and Mother Africa to deliver education in nine languages. We reached over 1,850 residents and small business owners. Working alongside local cities, we educated another 980 participants about safer products. 
• Engaging communities: We shared safer cleaning information at events, reaching 3,500 people with information about how they can choose less hazardous products. By conducting outreach to six low-income housing organizations in King County, the Program reached an additional 100,000 community members with messages about safer cleaning and alternative products.
• Innovating digital outreach: Collaborating with Spanish-speaking influencers, we raised awareness about EPA Safer Choice products through social media. 

As the Program receives this award, we stand alongside other champions of reducing people’s exposures to hazardous waste, including safer product manufacturers and distributors, state and local governments, nonprofits, environmental health advocates, and trade associations. 

Receiving this award is a chance to reflect on and celebrate the Program’s accomplishments in working to create a healthier, safer region. It also inspires us to keep moving forward, finding new ways to innovate and protect the health of King County communities.

For more information about Safer Choice Products and to learn more about other Safer Choice Partners of the Year, please visit the EPA Safer Choice Partner of the Year Award website.