In the fall of 2002, the owner of Prestige Dry Cleaners of Bethlehem, Northampton County, decided to implement an energy efficiency and pollution prevention project at its dry cleaning facility.

Prestige used a loan from the Small Business Pollution Prevention Assistance Account to improve the efficiency of their operation by installing a new energy efficient dry cleaning machine to replace their inefficient machine. The company projected a reduction in the amount of perchloroethylene used, a reduction in the amount of electricity used as well as a reduction in their waste stream and a payback of approximately eight years.

In the past two years, Prestige reported saving 222 gallons of perchloroethylene and 36,250 kilowatts of electricity. The company has also reported a reduction in its waste disposal costs as well as an increase in production. The company has realized a savings of $13,100 in the two years since implementing their project.

The Small Business Pollution Prevention Assistance Account is available to any small business owner with 100 or fewer employees interested in funding pollution prevention and energy efficiency projects.

To learn more, visit the Pollution Prevention Assistance Account webpage or contact Gene DelVecchio at 717-772-8951 or send e-mail to gdelvecchi@state.pa.us.

8/12/2005