A team of experts from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, the Clean Water Services Management Utility for the Tualatin River Watershed, the City of Portland Environmental Services and the Lake Oswego Office of Water Quality have certified all 12 Kaady Car Washes in Oregon as EcoLogical Businesses.
Acting on behalf of the Pollution Prevention Resource Center, the team visited each individual Kaady location before granting the certification, which is the first given to any car wash operation since the "EcoBiz" program was launched.
Debra Taevs, PPRC Deputy Director, called Kaady "ahead of the curve" in adopting environmentally conscious practices, and described the company as "setting the pace" for ecology in the car wash business. "We were very impressed with the environmental standards they already had in place", Taevs said, "as well as with their 'can-do' attitude".
Signs displaying the certification are now posted at all Kaady Car Washes, said Owner Charles Kaady, who describes the honor as a validation of the environmental standards he has been implementing since starting the business 35 years ago.
"Whether we're talking about safely discharging overflow into the water treatment system, using environmentally friendly shampoos, or conserving water and electricity", said Kaady, "every day is 'Earth Day' at all our locations… and has been from the beginning."
For further info, visit www.pprc.org or call Debra Taevs at (503) 336-1256.