Woodinville Periodontist Dr. Terry LaBell Receives Four-Star Rating from EnviroStars

Woodinville and Bothell periodonist Dr. Terry LaBell has received the Four-Star Rating from EnviroStars, a local hazardous waste management program in King County, Washington.

In order to qualify for the EnviroStars rating, Dr. Terry LaBell and staff have adopted an array of environmentally-friendly practices and demonstrated a commitment to reducing hazardous wastes and materials.  Not only has receiving the EnviroStars rating enabled periodontist Dr. Terry LaBell to attract more patients who are concerned about the environment, it has also allowed him to create a safer and healthier work environment for his staff while increasing the efficiency of operations. In order to qualify for the EnviroStars four-star rating, Dr. Terry LaBell and his staff have had to implement environmentally responsible practices and take steps to eliminate hazardous waste.

How Does a Perio Practice Qualify for an EnviroStars Rating?

EnviroStars certifies local businesses that protect the environment by properly managing waste and materials. To be eligible for an EnviroStars certification, businesses must operate in an industry that typically produces hazardous waste, be located in a participating county, and agree to periodically renew their rating. Furthermore, a business applying for the EnviroStars rating must be a Small Quantity Generator (SQM) of waste or be working towards that status, properly dispose of hazardous waste, and set an environmentally sustainable business goal, such as a pollution prevention, hazardous material elimination, or waste reduction goal.

Some of the changes that Dr. LaBell’s practice has made to meet these standards include, incorporating digital x-rays to eliminate waste from processor chemicals and lead foils, moving to electronic patient charts to eliminate paper waste, using environmentally friendly products for sterilization, disinfection, and cleaning, recycling everything from paper to fluorescent lights and even using tubs as secondary containers to protect the environment from leaks and spills.

Any business that meets the qualification criteria for EnviroStars is welcome to fill out an application worksheet. In this worksheet, businesses are required to tell EnviroStars how they have reduced emissions, waste, and hazardous materials and provide specific examples. Moreover, businesses must set goals for increasing green practices and develop a timeline for accomplishing them.

After a business completes the application form, a third-party assessment is carried out on-site. During this assessment, an EnviroStars representative walks through the facility and observes operations to determine how a business is doing things, as well as what can be improved. The on-site consultant goes through the application worksheet with the business owner while checking business practices and policies.

All businesses that receive an EnviroStars rating are required to renew their rating on a periodic basis in order to continue using the EnviroStars logo. During the renewal process, businesses must demonstrate that they’ve made progress towards the goals they outlined in their application worksheet. Businesses that exceed their goals and continue improving their environmentally friendly practices may earn further recognition or a higher rating.

What Do the EnviroStars Ratings Mean?

EnviroStars offers two to five-star ratings based on a business’s commitment to hazardous waste reduction. The following are the meanings of each star rating:

• Two-stars: Must properly manage all wastes and have a waste reduction plan.
• Three-stars: Must have an ongoing waste management system in place.
• Four-stars: Must inform customers about commitment to environmentally responsible practices in addition to taking steps to reduce hazardous wastes.
• Five-stars: Must have a solid waste reduction program, demonstrate environment-related leadership in the community or amongst peers, and implement greener business practices.

For more information about the EnviroStars rating system, please visit the EnviroStars website. To learn more about how periodontist Dr. Terry LaBell is working to reduce waste and protect the environment at his practice, or to set up an appointment, please contact us.

Added on 10/11/2010

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