Author: Alex Miller

Recap of the 2019 IACC Conference

Posted on by Alex Miller

EnviroForensics’ Director of Brownfields and AgriBusiness, Morgan Saltsgiver LPG, and Account Executive, Joe Miller, share insights from the 2019 IACC Annual Conference. 


We were pleased to attend the 2019 Indiana Association of County Commissioners (IACC) Annual Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana. As a part of the Indiana State Code, each county has three elected commissioners who oversee the operation of public services from emergency services to infrastructure projects within their county. The IACC is a non-profit organization that provides education, leadership support, and advocacy for County Commissioners to strengthen their connections throughout the state. 

300 county officials gathered in Indianapolis for the three-day event that featured speeches from Indiana State lawmakers and IACC’s main legislative advocate to presentations put on by public and private partners covering important topics like cybersecurity, economic development, and jail distress, and discussion sessions on veterans affairs, green energy, and road safety. There were also multiple opportunities for commissioners, county councilors, and vendors to network and build stronger relationships. 

The Value of the IACC Annual Conference 

County officials made the most of their downtime at this event. If they weren’t in a presentation room or breakout session, they were out in the exhibit hall pressing the flesh and networking with vendors and other county workers. There was a sense of common cause among the group. Discussions centered around important issues like wastewater infrastructure, environmental contamination, blighted properties, and other problems that all communities face. The conference was a great place for community leaders to share their own stories and take away some new ideas with which to improve their hometowns. It was also beneficial for the vendors in attendance to get some facetime with potential community partners. We had the opportunity to talk to a few county leaders about properties in their communities with potential environmental issues, share our expertise, and provide next-step recommendations.

Director of Brownfields and AgriBusiness, Morgan Saltsgiver (left) and Account Executive, Joe Miller (right) talk with county officials at the 2019 Annual IACC Conference.

It was great to see so many people from small and large communities across the state come together to share their stories and information. In Indiana, there are counties with such disparate populations that the county board of commissioners is their most important local government apparatus. For those communities, the IACC is an incredibly valuable resource in providing legislative clout and a group of like-minded peers who want the best for their constituents. 

It was nice to meet new potential partners, catch up with acquaintances from years past, and learn more about how we can all support each other to make our state a better place to live. 

If you want to learn more about the IACC or become a member, visit their website.

Morgan Saltsgiver, LPG, Director of Brownfields and AgriBusiness
Morgan Saltsgiver is a Licensed Professional Geologist (LPG) with fifteen years of experience in the environmental industry specializing in providing Agribusiness, Brownfields development, and traditional environmental consulting services to her clients. Her educational background in geology provides a strong basis for geological and hydrogeological interpretations of contaminant migration through subsurface media and the development of conceptual site models used to develop the path forward towards closure for each project site. She assists her clients with finding and using alternative funding sources for their environmental issues, including historical insurance policies, federal and local Brownfields grants, and state trust funds.

Saltsgiver maintains a working rapport with project managers at the IDEM, the California RWQCBs, the Kentucky DEP, the Texas CEQ, the Virginian DEQ, and the US EPA and all other project stakeholders to facilitate productive cooperation and momentum on her projects. She manages the technical and business aspects of projects and has extensive experience evaluating and remediating agricultural chemical, petroleum, chlorinated solvent, and PCB releases at sites across the United States.

Joe Miller, Account Executive
Joe Miller brings 15+ years of account management and environmental due diligence experience. He is a licensed mitigator and understands the technical aspects of contaminated sites as well as the associated business liabilities. As an Account Executive, Miller conducts preliminary assessments to help determine if historical coverage can be a funding option and provides proven solutions to private business owners including dry cleaners, small-large manufacturing facilities, municipalities, and redevelopment coalitions.

5 reasons why dry cleaners are joining the Drycleaning & Laundry Institute

Posted on by Alex Miller

I’VE WORKED CLOSELY WITH DRY CLEANERS DURING MY 10-YEARS WITH ENVIROFORENSICS, AND DURING THIS TIME THE WELL-BEING OF THE INDUSTRY HAS BECOME A PASSION OF MINE. UNFORTUNATELY, MY DRY CLEANING FRIENDS HAVE OBSERVED A DECLINE IN DRY CLEANING OPERATIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND THEY THINK THIS IS A TREND THAT MAY CONTINUE.

BY: DRU CARLISLE

Dry cleaners have noticed that people don’t wear clothes that require dry cleaning as they did years ago – workplaces don’t require day-to-day business professional attire, society has become lax in what is “acceptable” dress for public outings, articles of clothing no longer have tags recommending dry cleaning as the cleaning method of choice, etc.

This is why dry cleaners have been discussing the importance of adapting their businesses to remain successful, and therefore, I believe it’s important to share resources that can help dry cleaners do just that.

The Drycleaning & Laundry Institute (DLI) has been the premier trade association and voice for this industry since 1883, and since their inception, DLI has worked hard to provide its member base all the tools necessary to aid in running a successful, professional operation.

It’s not just the educational opportunities and professional training they provide that help business owners give their clients top-of-the-line garment care and the best practices available for the industry, but it’s also the benefits DLI offers its members.

Both Budget and Silver membership levels come with industry news, discounts, and experts available on-demand to answer technical questions. Additionally, with a DLI membership, you automatically get a membership with your local regional association for free. These alone are great benefits, but it’s the additional benefits of the Silver level membership that can really set a dry cleaner apart from their competition.

Here are five reasons why dry cleaners are joining DLI:

1. Garment Analysis App

Have you ever wondered why a certain item can’t get clean? Now you can take a picture of the item and get feedback through DLI’s Garment Analysis App. There’s no need to send it out for analysis anymore, which will cut down on wait times.

2. Encyclopedia of Drycleaning App

Learning from others’ experiences can solve your challenges faster than trying to forge ahead alone. With over a century of experience helping dry cleaners, DLI has a wealth of resources available with guides and articles to support dry cleaning businesses.

3. Stain Removal App

Have you ever wondered how to clean a stain you’re unfamiliar with? DLI has an app that can help you identify the best way to get that item clean. For example, if you have a rayon blouse with an ink stain, through the app, you will be able to select the material and type of stain and it will provide you with step-by-step instructions to remove the stain

4. Digital Marketing and Customer Outreach

DLI will set up a website on your behalf, manage social media posts, and email marketing to your customer base.

5. DLI Experts on Demand

DLI experts can provide the support you may not be able to find elsewhere for your questions or technical problems. Instead of waiting for an answer, you’ll receive a prompt answer via phone, email or online chat.

In my opinion, the website and customer outreach services are worth the upgrade to a Silver Membership because these services offer invaluable hands-off marketing that is designed to give an online presence for the cleaner who doesn’t have the time (for less than $1,000 annually, I might add). Website design can be expensive and social media maintenance can easily fall by the wayside when you’re already tied-up with running your business. We live in a digital world and prospective clients look for businesses online – if you don’t have an online presence you can easily be overlooked and miss out on new business.

It’s important for dry cleaners to periodically ask themselves what they are doing to help their business. It’s easy to get sidetracked by employee retention issues and day-to-day operations (which of course, are very important), but having a tool such as a DLI membership as a resource to help improve your operations, your practices and to take a load off your shoulders is an easy item to prioritize to ensure future success.

If you’re interested in becoming a member of the Drycleaning and Laundry Institute, visit dlionline.org. To stay up to date with the latest industry news, you can also follow DLI on social media.

Dru Carlisle, Director of Drycleaner Accounts
For over 10 years, Dru has helped numerous business and property owners facing regulatory action, navigate and manage their environmental liability. Dru has vast experience in assisting dry cleaners in securing funding for their environmental cleanups through historical insurance policies. Dru is a member of numerous drycleaning associations in addition to serving on the Midwest Drycleaning and Laundry Institute (MWDLI) advisory council and on the Drycleaning & Laundry Institute Board (DLI) as an Allied Trade District Committee Member.

7 Things to Know About Using CGL Policies with State Cleanup Funds

Posted on by Alex Miller

ADDRESSING ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES FOR A DRY CLEANING BUSINESS CAN GET EXPENSIVE. TO HELP DEFRAY THE COST, SOME STATES HAVE CLEANUP TRUST FUNDS FOR DRY CLEANERS TO PAY INTO AND EVENTUALLY USE. AS OF NOVEMBER 2019, THOSE STATES ARE ALABAMA, CONNECTICUT, ILLINOIS, FLORIDA, KANSAS, NORTH CAROLINA, OREGON, SOUTH CAROLINA, TENNESSEE, TEXAS, AND WISCONSIN.

BY: DRU CARLISLE

While it would be ideal to rely on these funds alone to pay for necessary investigation and remediation services, it’s not always the most viable option because while there are certainly strong funds still in operation, we have seen that some funds are considering sunsetting, and with others, reimbursement payments are being delayed.

Another or additional solution for dry cleaners is to track down their historical Commercial General Liability (CGL) insurance policies. By locating these policies, a dry cleaner can use them as assets (money) to help cover the costs associated with environmental investigations and cleanups, such as investigation, remediation, and legal fees. We’ve been assisting dry cleaners in states with and without trust funds through this process for over two decades.

Here are some common questions we hear from the dry cleaning community about state cleanup funds.

1. WHAT CAN DRY CLEANERS IN STATES WITHOUT ADEQUATE CLEANUP FUNDS DO TO GET HELP WITH FUNDING THEIR CLEANUPS?
The first thing that a dry cleaner should do is look for all of their old insurance policies. Typically, the older the policy, the fewer restrictions they have regarding covering environmental contamination claims. Generally, we need policies that were issued before 1985. Dry cleaners should look through all old bank records, and write down the name and company of all insurance brokers they have worked with. Secondly, they should jot down a history of when they started at the location, who they purchased insurance from, what types of stores were at that location (or adjacent) and what other insurance was part of the property. They will also need to identify whether or not there was a previous dry cleaner who may have caused or contributed to contamination. Finally, we recommend not moving forward without expert advice. Often times if a dry cleaner launches into a cleanup without notifying insurance carrier(s), they will not be reimbursed for money spent on the site investigation and cleanup.

2. WHY ARE INSURANCE CLAIMS SO SIGNIFICANT IN TRIGGERING INSURANCE COVERAGE?
Making a valid claim to your carrier can mean the difference between paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for a site cleanup compared to paying a small amount for startup costs like. In most instances, a valid claim made to an insurance company will be defended. Among other things, this defense can include legal fees and site investigation activities.

3. SHOULD A DRY CLEANER PAY OUT-OF-POCKET EXPENSES FOR A CLEANUP THEN LATER TENDER A CLAIM TO RECOVER THAT LOSS OF EXPENSES?
Depending on the state, it is common for an insurance carrier to decline paying costs incurred before a claim was tendered. We have had several clients that spent money on investigations and cleanups, but were only reimbursed a fraction of their costs because the insurance carriers felt they could have managed the work differently and cheaper.

4. IF A DRY CLEANER IS WAITLISTED FOR A CLEANUP FUND, CAN HE OR SHE PROCEED WITH THE SALE OF THE BUSINESS? WILL THE VALUE OF HIS OR HER BUSINESS BE ADEQUATELY PROTECTED?
In many states that have cleanup funds, a prospective purchaser agreement (PPA) will allow a property transaction to proceed prior to a regulatory release and sign off of no further action. However, a PPA generally does not remove any contingent liabilities associated with the dry cleaning site; but instead delays the inevitable site investigation and potential cleanup. It also allows the purchaser more time to discover any additional problems that the seller’s are often responsible for.

Furthermore, the involvement of a dry cleaner in a fund does not remove any contingent environmental liabilities from the site itself, nor does it fully protect the dry cleaner from any potential actions that might arise from contamination. These issues could include diminished values to property or to other properties that might be affected by contamination coming from the site. Also, the cleanup funds do not fully protect a dry cleaner from a citizen or third party suit associated with contamination coming from his/her site.

Learn how to sell your dry cleaning business in three steps

5. HOW CAN DRY CLEANERS IN STATES WITH CLEANUP FUNDS EVALUATE WHERE THE BEST FUNDING IS FOR THEM?
Such funds may best be used for either actual cleanup efforts, known as remediation, for which insurance dollars are generally more difficult to recover, or for sites at which such insurance dollars or other responsible parties cannot be identified. Cleanup fund dollars may also provide seed money to perform any insurance archaeology or pay for other efforts that can identify where dollars for cleanup may be found. The bottom line is that a fund with enough money to pay for cleanups is a good thing. However, the problem is that most states do not have enough money in the fund to cover the necessary cleanups at this time.

6. WHAT WOULD BE AN IDEAL SITUATION FOR A DRY CLEANER WHO HAS ACCESS TO A STATE CLEAN-UP FUND AND INSURANCE COVERAGE?
An ideal situation is a fund that allows dry cleaners to pursue any and all avenues to bring dollars to the table and be available as a safety net for cleaners that do not have other avenues to pursue. Ideally the fund would be used to seed initial efforts, such as finding insurance dollars to bring to the table. We have had situations where the historical insurance paid the deductible required by the fund, the fund monies kicked in and the insurance addressed dollars above the fund limit.

See how one dry cleaner’s state funding challenges were solved by insurance archeology

7. WHY SHOULD DRY CLEANERS FEEL CONFIDENT ABOUT THEIR ABILITY TO FIND HELP WITH CLEAN-UP WHEN STATE CLEANUP FUNDS ARE NOT AVAILABLE OR ARE NOT FINANCIALLY ADEQUATE?
Our experience has been that dry cleaners, particularly dry cleaners that have been at their site since at least the early 1980’s, have an excellent opportunity to get the site investigation and remediation paid for by either their old insurance companies or other responsible parties. We have even conducted individual site investigations costing over $2,000,000 at no cost to individual dry cleaners by using liability insurance policies from the 1980’s to pay for contamination problems. After successfully working on over 200 dry cleaning sites nationwide, we have helped settle over $500,000,000 in insurance coverage claims, including individual projects in excess of $44,000,000. There’s no reason why contamination has to destroy the value of a dry cleaning business when there are viable solutions available.

To find out if historical insurance assets are an available funding avenue for you, contact us for a confidential consultation.

Dru Carlisle, Director of Drycleaner Accounts
For over 10 years, Dru has helped numerous business and property owners facing regulatory action, navigate and manage their environmental liability. Dru has vast experience in assisting dry cleaners in securing funding for their environmental cleanups through historical insurance policies. Dru is a member of numerous drycleaning associations in addition to serving on the Midwest Drycleaning and Laundry Institute (MWDLI) advisory council and on the Drycleaning & Laundry Institute Board (DLI) as an Allied Trade District Committee Member.

How to Sell Your Dry Cleaning Business in Three Steps

Posted on by Alex Miller

ENVIROFORENSICS AND EHRENREICH & ASSOCIATES DISCUSS HOW ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION ISSUES CAN IMPACT THE PROCESS OF SELLING A DRY CLEANING BUSINESS, AND HOW DRY CLEANERS CAN BEST PREPARE FOR THE TRANSACTION.

Person handing keys to a drycleaning property over to new property owners

BY: JEFF CARNAHAN & RICHARD EHRENREICH

We’ve talked several times in this featured column about what triggers an environmental cleanup, and you likely know by now that buying or selling a property or business is the most common catalyst for environmental cleanups. While businesses are put on the market routinely, there are several factors at play today that have resulted in higher than normal transaction activity amongst dry cleaners.  

THE DRY CLEANING MARKET DOWNTURN

A downturn in the dry cleaning market has been brewing for a couple of decades, but the biggest hit began during the 2008 recession created by the housing lending market. Unemployment rose and many service businesses, dry cleaners included, were heavily impacted by a tightening of discretionary spending by consumers. Profit margins were reduced across the industry as customer spending decreased, and many smaller operators were not able to weather the storm. To make matters worse, the environmental concerns related to the use of many dry cleaning solvents, mainly perchloroethene (Perc), were on the rise. Dry cleaners started being pressured by property owners, regulatory agencies, and consumers to switch to less problematic solvents. This is not as easily said than done since making the switch means buying expensive equipment, which can compound the burden of already depressed profits. Some dry cleaning business owners who had been prosperous during previous decades and who were nearing retirement age took the clue that it was time to sell and retire. Others just couldn’t make the numbers work anymore and started looking for larger operators to sell their business to without much hassle.  

Now that the national economy has been in slow recovery for around ten years, rent is on the rise. For those dry cleaning operators who don’t own their property and are still waiting for business to pick back up, this further compounds the problem. Property investors are renovating and improving many retail centers to substantiate the higher rents, and some dry cleaners are losing their leases unless they make a solvent change away from Perc. Retail property owners want to be associated with “green” dry cleaners only. 

In addition, business fashions have become more casual and hasn’t required as much dry cleaning, thereby removing the potential relief from the recovery of discretionary spending habits alongside the lower unemployment rate. While the industry is already adapting to meet the changing wants and desires of their customers, many smaller and long-term family dry cleaning businesses find themselves between a rock and a hard place.  

FACTORING IN THE POTENTIAL FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION 

Whether you are considering a sale of your dry cleaning business or considering a purchase of a dry cleaner whose owner may be implementing an exit from the business, the fear of possible environmental contamination will need to be addressed during the process.  

Selling or buying a dry cleaning business is no different than the mergers or acquisitions that you may read about involving much larger companies. When one business buys another, there are assets and liabilities that must be transferred, held, or dispersed. Buyers will want to pay a fair market rate for the positive assets of a company and try to avoid taking the liabilities as part of the deal. Liabilities typically carry with them a negative monetary value and serve to lower the purchase price.  

Environmental contamination issues are always on the liabilities list. From the seller’s perspective, they want to be able to get the full value for business and be able to walk away from the liability as well. Many dry cleaner deals fall through when the negative value of the environmental liability offsets the positive value of the business assets to the extent that the sale price is no longer motivating to the seller.   

In order to save the deal, the environmental liabilities can be separated from the sale such that the buyer only purchases the assets of the dry cleaner at fair market value under a new corporate entity and the seller retains the environmental liability. This allows the deal to go through and maximizes the value of the sale, but the seller is left holding a bag of liability with a huge potential negative price tag. Keep in mind this is not Plan A and will not provide you the most value.  

The fact that a dry cleaner’s old commercial general liability (CGL) insurance policies are viable positive assets to the business often goes without consideration. If a business is sold leaving the corporate entity intact, those old policies will transfer as well, thereby offsetting the negative value of the environmental liabilities. Similarly, if a business is sold as an asset-only acquisition into a new corporate entity, the old CGL policies will remain with the policyholder who retains the environmental liability. The fact that your historical CGL policies can play so monumentally into this process is a testament to finding and utilizing them.  

THE THREE STEPS TO SELLING YOUR BUSINESS 

There is some good news out there for dry cleaners and the garment and textile market as the industry changes and adapts to meet the changing needs of their customers. Some operators are even looking to take advantage of shrinking competition and double-down on a consolidation strategy. If you are looking to sell your business within the next couple of years, take the time to do some planning so that you can maximize your returns and avoid surprises that could kill a deal to sell your business. It’s a buyer’s market right now, so give yourself a fighting chance.  

1. ASSEMBLE A TEAM THAT WILL WORK TOGETHER EFFECTIVELY TO PROVIDE YOU WITH THE EXPERIENCE AND SPECIFIC KNOWLEDGE YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE NOTHING GETS MISSED. YOUR TEAM SHOULD CONSIST OF THE FOLLOWING SEASONED ADVISORS WHO ARE FULLY AWARE OF YOUR STATE’S REQUIREMENTS, AS NEEDED: 

  • A Business Broker and maybe a Commercial Real Estate Agent – Find a business broker that knows the dry cleaning industry. A good business broker is not just going to list your business for sale, and then collect their commission. A good business broker will spend a significant time with you to help you understand what will be attractive or repulsive to potential buyers. It’s important to understand the playing field because it’s a huge part of the process.
  • A Business Attorney – You’ll want a business attorney by your side because there will be numerous rules and laws that need to be closely adhered to during the sales process. The last thing you want to do is break the law by accident.
  • A CPA and maybe a Tax Attorney – You’ll need to understand the tax implications of gains realized from the sale and having a CPA and Tax Attorney can be there to explain these implications.
  • A Commercial SBA Banker – Chances are there will be some lending involved on the buy-side, and you’ll need to manage net proceeds from the sale on your side.
  • An Environmental Consultant – Since dry cleaners are historically known for environmental contamination, you’ll want to have an environmental consultant with chlorinated solvents experience by your side to help fulfill your investigation and/or cleanup requirements.
  • An Insurance Archeologist – You’ll want to gather all of your valuable assets as you’re preparing for this process and your old CGL insurance policies should be part of your list for asset protection.

2. DO A BUSINESS EVALUATION TO UNDERSTAND THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY BY TAKING INVENTORY OF THE COMPANY’S ASSETS AND LIABILITIES. HERE ARE A FEW QUESTIONS TO HELP YOU GET STARTED. 

  • What is your debt? 
  • What asset contracts do you have that would transfer with the business? 
  • What is your discretionary cash flow? 
  • What environmental liability might you, or do you, have? 
  • What historical insurance assets may be accessible to offset latent liabilities? 

3. DEVELOP WHAT YOUR OBJECTIVES FOR THE SALE BY ANSWERING THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS. 

  • How much money do you need to clear from the sale? 
  • What are the upfront costs of the transaction? 
  • Do you want any residual corporate entities to manage liabilities and assets? 

By taking these steps before you’re actively ready to sell your dry cleaning business, you’ll be prepared with the information you’ll need to move forward. You’ll also have the right team by your side to help you achieve your goal of selling your business for the best price. Don’t let environmental contamination stall your plans to sell your dry cleaning business.  

If you are currently going through this process or you are planning on selling your business soon, contact EnviroForensics President, Jeff Carnahan at jcarnahan@enviroforensics.com or Managing Member and Principle Consultant/ Broker of Ehrenreich & Associates, LLC, Richard Ehrenreich at richard@ehrenassoc.com as resources. We’d be more than happy to have a conversation with you about transaction preparation and environmental contamination.

As seen in Cleaner & Launderer

Headshot of Jeff CarnahanJeff Carnahan, President at EnviroForensics
Jeff Carnahan, LPG, has 20+ years of environmental consulting and remediation experience. His technical expertise focuses on the investigation and interpretation of subsurface releases of hazardous substances for the purpose of evaluating and controlling the risk and cost implications. He has focused on being a partner with the dry cleaning industry for the past decade, and he’s a frequent contributor to the national dry cleaning publication Cleaner & Launderer. He is an industry leader in understanding that environmental risk includes not only cleanup costs, but also known and unknown third-party liability.

 

Headshot Richard F. EhrenreichRichard F. Ehrenreich, F- CBI, CED, SBA is the Managing Member and Principle Consultant/Broker with Ehrenreich & Associates, LLC. Richard is a recognize national expert in the Exit Strategy and Sale of Privates Owned Businesses. Richard has served in leadership roles for multiple dry cleaning associations. He is the third generation of family businesses that serve the Dry cleaning Industry for over 60 years. Over the past 15-years, Richard has completed over 800-unit evaluations, plus various legal and financial issues.

Start Recycling in 5 Easy Steps

Posted on by Alex Miller


One of the most important things you can do as an individual to clean up the environment, is to learn how to recycle. Every November 15th, Keep America Beautiful and its 1,200 local affiliates, celebrates America Recycles Day. A day dedicated to educating the masses about recycling, and getting more Americans to commit to more sustainable lifestyles.

Why recycling is important

The average American produces 4 pounds of waste material each day (Not a typo). The amount of waste produced annually in the United States alone could circle the globe 24 times! A significant portion of that is plastic, aluminum, cardboard, paper, and glass that could be recycled instead. As the population continues to grow, and we produce more waste, we’re going to eventually run out of places to put it. Landfills also present their own set of problems. They emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and require deforestation, both of which contribute to the growing climate crisis. They can also leach hazardous runoff into the soil and groundwater, and pose a threat to surrounding populations.

Promoting sustainable values everyday 

As an environmental engineering firm, EnviroForensics creates healthier communities through remediating and removing environmental contaminants. Professionally, our team has taken the Partners Pledge as a part of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s (IDEM) Indiana Partners for Pollution Prevention program. Individually, our team members mobilize through the EnviroForensics Sustainability Council, organize regular neighborhood cleanups to pick up litter around our office, and push for more sustainable initiatives within the company. We also encourage each other to develop the sustainable habits that will lead to waste reduction. 

How to get started

Recycling is a lifestyle change that requires discipline and repetition. Here is a tried and true 5-step process that will make this easier. 

1. Start out small
Breaking old habits can be really difficult. Try to start out small by understanding what can and cannot be recycled.

Recyclable

  • Aluminum cans
  • Corrugated cardboard
  • Junk mail
  • Glass bottles

Not Recyclable

  • Plastic shopping bags
  • Foam cups or containers
  • Soiled food items
  • Broken glass

2. Purchase separate bins for recyclables at home 
Now that you know what you can recycle, you can start sorting your household waste into trash and recyclables. Make it easy on yourself and put a few recycling bins around the house. It may take a couple of tries to remind yourself to not throw your used aluminum cans in the trash, but that will change over time as you start to develop the habit.  

3. Find a public drop-off location
If you don’t have curbside service, try to find a public drop-off area. Most major cities have locations throughout the area that accept recyclables free of charge. Another option is to see if your workplace has recycling services, and if they allow employees to dispose of their recyclables there.

4. Subscribe to curbside pickup
Once recycling has become second-nature, and you feel comfortable paying a little extra, subscribe to curbside pickup service. Most private waste management companies have this as an option, and it normally only costs about $6 extra a month. To put that into perspective, a cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich at Starbuck’s can run you almost $10.  

5. Tell people how easy it is and to join the movement 
Now that you’ve developed the habit of recycling, tell your friends and family how easy it was, educate them on how they can do it too, and get them to commit to recycling. 

Take the #BeRecycled Pledge

This post is brought to you by the EnviroForensics Sustainability Council

The EnviroForensics Sustainability Council advances education through community relations and implements sustainable practices in our operations and facilities.

Insights from the 35th Annual AEHS Conference

Posted on by Alex Miller

EnviroForensics’ Senior Engineer, Collin Martin, PE, CHMM, shares some insights from the 35th Annual AEHS Foundation Soils, Sediments, Water, and Energy East Coast Conference.

We had the opportunity to attend and present at this year’s Association of Environmental Health & Sciences (AEHS) Foundation Soils, Sediments, Water, and Energy East Coast Conference in Amherst, Massachusetts. The AEHS Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 1990 to facilitate communication and foster cooperation among professionals concerned with the challenge of soil, sediment, and water assessment, cleanup, and protection. They focus on helping the international community adopt and maintain environmental sound and sustainable practices.

The conference itself dealt with site investigation, remediation, risk assessment, sustainability approaches, and cutting edge technology from the environmental consulting industry. It was jam-packed with technical presentations, exhibits, and workshops from all the leading consulting and regulatory bodies in the environmental field.

Insights on the emergence of PFAS and PFOS

We sat in on a three-hour session specifically dealing with PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). These man-made chemicals have been top of mind in the environmental field because they were so widely used between the1940s through the early 2000s, and there is evidence that exposure to them may cause adverse effects in humans like low infant birth weights, immune system impacts, and cancer. Perhaps the biggest challenge PFAS presents is their persistent nature; they don’t break down and they can accumulate over time.

The session we attended talked about new regulatory guidance, release investigation, and remedial approaches to PFAS. It was intriguing to see how new compound modeling techniques combined with standard conceptual site model evaluations are opening a new path to source area identification for the challenges we will face with this emerging contaminant.

Presenting research and key findings to our peers

We also had the opportunity to share our own research and findings with our peers in the environmental field. We presented a poster entitled “Using soil gas concentration mapping to predict soil vapor extraction radius of influence variances and optimize remedial system design.” 

Soil Vapor Extraction (SVE) is one of the most commonly used technologies for the remediation of unconsolidated soils impacted by chlorinated volatile organic compounds (cVOCs). Even with a lot of data, an SVE system can run into unforeseen problems. Our objective was to see if the key to filling some of these data gaps was through soil concentration mapping. 

Along with presenting our findings, we also pioneered a new format of scientific posters. Our poster featured a more concise, condensed presentation of our findings with a QR code to a webpage that offered a deeper dive into the data. At conferences like AEHS, there can be hundreds of posters displaying seemingly endless amounts of data. Our poster addresses the main findings of our study, gives the conference attendees an opportunity to look into the underlying data sets at their leisure, and affords them more time to see other posters.

For a deeper dive into the data, check out our webpage for “Using soil gas concentration mapping to predict soil vapor extraction radius of influence variances and optimize remedial system design”

Continuing education and affirming remediation methods

It is our objective as scientists to have curiosity and be relentless in our pursuit of verifiable truths. We attend events like this to gain new perspectives on ongoing and emerging remedial challenges and affirm our own understanding of standard remedial planning practices. In this regard, a conference like AEHS is a net positive to both EnviroForensics and the entire environmental industry.

Learn more about the AEHS Foundation. Visit aehsfoundation.org.

Collin Martin, PE, CHMM
Collin Martin is a Senior Engineer and Technical Group Manager at EnviroForensics, and has over 14 years of diversified professional experience in environmental consulting. He has a focus on remedial technology assessment, mechanical system design, and remediation implementation oversight. He has designed and implemented over 20 remediation systems using a variety of remedial technologies, including air and ozone sparging, hydraulic fracturing, soil vapor extraction, multi-phase extraction, and thermal remediation. Mr. Martin has experience in all phases of remediation planning, feasibility studies, pilot testing, and mechanical system data analysis and optimization efforts. 

 

Insights from the 2019 Lakeshore Chamber Business Expo

Posted on by Alex Miller

EnviroForensics’ Northwest Indiana Branch Manager, Michele Murday, and Account Executive, Joe Miller, share insights from the 2019 Lakeshore Chamber Business Expo. 

We were pleased to attend the 15th annual Lakeshore Chamber Business Expo put on by the Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber’s mission is to be the voice for business and a forum for the exchange of ideas to promote and strengthen economic vitality throughout East Chicago, Hammond, and Northwest Indiana.

The Lakeshore Business Expo was packed with insights about workforce development, retention and helpful tidbits for local businesses. It started with a luncheon featuring keynote speaker, Blair Milo who is the Indiana Secretary for Career Connections and Talent. There was also an exhibition and networking section for attendees to share ideas and establish new connections.  

Business Expo Overview

Luncheon with Keynote Speaker, Blair Milo

In her presentation, Building a 21st Century Workforce, Blair Milo talked about her role as Indiana’s “Chief Talent Officer.” In 2017, she was appointed by Governor Eric Holcomb to the office of Secretary for Career Connections and Talent where her main responsibility is to help facilitate the governor’s promise to fill one million job openings over the next decade. The former La Porte, Indiana Mayor, and Navy veteran talked about her work with the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet, and the efforts they’re making to ensure the Hoosier State has the highly skilled workforce required to meet the demands of an ever-changing economy. She expressed enthusiasm for the job creation efforts in the Northwest Indiana region. 

Indiana Secretary for Career Connections and Talent, Blair Milo presents at the 15th Annual Lakeshore Business Expo. Courtesy: twitter.com/@IndianaCCT

Exhibition and Networking

The main part of the Lakeshore Chamber Business Expo was the three-hour networking session. We had the opportunity to meet with dozens of businesses in attendance. There were representatives from local banks, human resource companies, healthcare providers, insurance companies, and engineering firms to name a few.  

Account Executive, Joe Miller and Northwest Indiana Regional Manager, Michele Murday at the Lakeshore Chamber Business Expo.

As usual, it was great to see how the business community in Northwest Indiana continues to grow and what our colleagues are doing to meet the increasing demands of the area. It was also nice to meet new potential partners, catch up with old acquaintances, and learn more about how we can all support each other.

If you want to become a member of the Lakeshore Chamber, visit lakeshorechamber.com.

Michele Murday, Northwest Indiana Branch Manager

Michele Murday has 5+ years of experience in environmental consulting with a focus on investigation and remediation projects involving dry cleaners and petroleum impacts. Her experience includes preparing 3D site visualizations, environmental remediation, geologic and hydrogeologic data collection, data analysis and interpretation, reporting on all phases of projects from investigations through closure, proposal scoping and budgeting, project management, due diligence research, vapor intrusion assessments, and risk communication with property owners. Her previous field experience includes plume investigation, delineation, and remediation at dry cleaner/chlorinated solvent and petroleum impacted facilities. Murday has employed remediation techniques including soil excavation, chemical injections, soil mixing, multi-phase extraction systems, and sub-slab depressurization systems. She has also worked closely with clients and subcontractors, as well as state and federal regulators.

Joe Miller, Account Executive

Joe Miller brings 15+ years of account management and environmental due diligence experience. He is a licensed mitigator and understands the technical aspects of contaminated sites as well as the associated business liabilities. As an Account Executive, Miller conducts preliminary assessments to help determine if historical coverage can be a funding option and provides proven solutions to private business owners including dry cleaners, small-large manufacturing facilities, municipalities, and redevelopment coalitions.

Recap of the 2019 Midwest Drycleaning & Laundry Institute’s Annual Convention

Posted on by Alex Miller

EnviroForensics Accounts Director and MWDLI Advisory Board Member, Dru Shields, recaps the 2019 MWDLI Annual Convention.

The Midwest Drycleaning & Laundry Institute‘s (MWDLI) Annual Convention is the perfect opportunity for drycleaners across Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky to come together and network as friends and peers. Most importantly, it’s a time to share knowledge. And that’s what we do through the educational sessions. While every dry cleaner has its own specific issues that they encounter in their businesses, all dry cleaners are encountering the same overall concerns and trends in the industry. 

Conference Overview

MWDLI’s conference format gave us the opportunity to network and share thoughts and ideas, which is the most valuable part of association events. 

Friday 

Friday night was the opening cocktail reception where we socialized with both old and new friends. It was a fun event to kick off the conference. 

Saturday 

On Saturday, we heard from three dynamic speakers:

1. Jeff Jordan, who presented on “Love’em or Lose’em! Know What Your Employees Want” where he discussed employee retention strategies. 

Jeff Jordan of Fabritec/Sanitone presenting on employee retention strategies.

2. Mary Miller presented on “How Creating Value Drives Results” where she shared ideas for how owners of businesses and managers of teams can create successful workplace environments by helping others realize their value.  

3. Brian Rashid, who presented on “Helping You Tell Stories that Sell” where he provided useful tips for drycleaners to build their brands, increase their social media presence and thus increase their sales. 

Sunday 

We had a two-hour presentation from Trudy Adams about the “Psychology of Customer Service” where she discussed the need for consistency across all team members who handle customer service issues, the need for consistency in training and recommendations on how to achieve this. Attendees were then able to break off into groups and discuss issues they had been dealing with and make recommendations to each other on how to fix or improve those situations.

Trudy Adams’ presentation on the Psychology of Customer Service.

As always, it was invaluable for everyone to come together and contribute their unique perspective to the larger conversation. It was great to see that all come together.

If you’re interested in becoming a member, visit mwdli.org to join. 

Dru Shields, MWDLI Advisory Board Member & Director of Accounts at EnviroForensics

Dru Shields has over 10 years of account management experience in the environmental consulting and engineering industry. She manages a team of account executives who work across the country. Shields is a member of numerous regional dry cleaning associations in addition to serving on the advisory board of the Midwest Drycleaning and Laundry Institute (MWDLI). Shields has extensive experience in assisting clients in securing funding for their projects through historical insurance policies. As Director of Accounts, Shields helps businesses and property owners facing regulatory action to navigate and manage their liability.

 

EnviroForensics’ Sustainability Council Partners with the American Dairy Association to Provide Biodegradable Straws at the 2019 Indiana State Fair

Posted on by Alex Miller

The Indiana State Fair is a celebration of the state’s economy and has been running since 1852. Its roots are based in agriculture and are an annual recreational attraction for Hoosiers. It promotes agriculture through competitive exhibits of livestock and displays of farm products and includes carnival amusement rides and games to automobile racing and concerts. 

This year, EnviroForensics’ Sustainability Council, whose mission is to advance the education of sustainability through community relations and implement sustainable practices in our own operations and facilities, is partnering with the American Dairy Association of Indiana to replace plastic straws with biodegradable straws at the Dairy Bar. 

A chocolate milkshake and grilled cheese sandwich offered at the Indiana State Fair Dairy Bar. Image Courtesy: Indiana State Fairgrounds

Cities and companies across the U.S. are starting to phase out or even ban plastic straws to start curbing the negative impact plastic pollution has on our oceans and marine animals. According to the National Park Service, “500 million plastic straws are used every day in America. That’s enough to circle the Earth twice”. For reducing plastic consumption, every bit counts and we’re at a crucial point to start changing our habits. If we keep at our current rate of plastic pollution, “by 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish” (For A Strawless Ocean).

To combat this trend, the American Dairy Association is switching to biodegradable straws at the 2019 Indiana State Fair. If you’re going to the Indiana State Fair this year, stop by the Dairy Bar and support their switch from plastic to biodegradable straws.

Indiana Dairy’s Facebook post about the straws that are made from a plant-based biopolymer.

For more tips on reducing plastic, please read 10 Things You Can Do to Reduce Plastic Pollution.

State-Funded Environmental Cleanup Programs for Dry Cleaners are Endangered–What is Taking Their Place?

Posted on by Alex Miller

STATE TRUST FUNDS INTENDED FOR CLEANING UP DRY CLEANER SITES HAVE BEEN GREAT TO RELY ON. HOWEVER, MANY HAVE FALLEN ON HARD TIMES.


BY: DRU CARLISLE

Some Funds are either running out of money or have already sunset. What is the dry cleaning industry turning to for the money needed to respond to environmental liability? Dry cleaners are increasingly using their historical insurance policies to pay for environmental cleanup claims—protecting their business from financial ruin or bankruptcy.

The dry cleaning industry has seen more than its fair share of costly and complicated environmental contamination issues. In the past, eligible dry cleaners in almost 25% of the United States have been able to use money from state trust funds that were established solely for this purpose. Unfortunately, these state trust funds have proven to be not sustainable in most situations, and the number of available funds is declining. In the coming years, it’s anticipated that those looking to the state fund programs will experience even more delays in reimbursement of money already spent out-of-pocket, and or will lose the fund altogether.

Who is potentially impacted by this news? Any dry cleaner in Alabama, Connecticut, Illinois, Florida, Kansas, Missouri, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, or Wisconsin.

This is frightening news for dry cleaners in these states, who are liable for cleaning up environmental contamination caused by cleaning solvents like PCE (Perc) or TCE. However, another financial solution is still available to dry cleaners—their historical Commercial General Liability (CGL) insurance policies. By finding their historical insurance policies, dry cleaners can use them as assets to help pay for their environmental investigation and cleanup. Those residing in states without trust funds have been doing it for years.

HOW CAN DRY CLEANERS USE HISTORICAL INSURANCE POLICIES TO PAY FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUPS?
Historical insurance policies are valuable assets that you can use to get money to pay for resolving environmental issues.

Commercial general liability (CGL) policies provide coverage to businesses for bodily injury, personal and property damage caused the business’ operations, products, or injury that occurs on the business’ premises. Most every business has old CGL policies since they are commonly purchased as a necessity to cover potential costs incurred by defending and reasonably resolving suits seeking to hold them liable for alleged bodily injuries or property damage.

Historical Commercial General Liability (CGL) policies from before 1985-86 typically don’t have a clause that disallows coverage for releases of contaminants. This means that if a dry cleaner can find their or their predecessor’s old insurance assets, then those policies can pay for the environmental investigation and cleanup required by the state’s environmental regulatory agency. Additionally, the policies would likely protect dry cleaners from any neighbors who decide to sue them for damage to their property. These policies also entitle dry cleaners to hire an environmental defense attorney at no charge and receive insurance payments immediately without upfront payments, unlike most state trust funds.

Once triggered historical commercial general liability (CGL) policies can be used to recoup or pay for 1) site investigation, 2) remediation/cleanup, 3) interim remedial measures, 4) building a legal case, 5) responsible party search, 6) interfacing with agencies, 7) defense against legal claims, and 8) legal fees. To learn more about CGL policies, visit How Does It Work? CGL Policies and Insurance Archeology.

HOW DO YOU FIND OLD INSURANCE POLICIES?
Insurance archeologists conduct insurance archeology to find lost or misplaced liability insurance policies that can defend and indemnify policyholders against claims such as environmental property damage claims.

EnviroForensics® is the nation’s leader in finding and using historical insurance coverage. Our insurance archeology division, PolicyFind™, has decades of experience identifying and locating lost, mislaid, or destroyed liability insurance policies for policyholders. 

First, insurance archeologists retrace the genealogy of historical insurance coverage to identify past owners and operators who may have contributed or caused personal injury or environmental damage. 

Next, they use an extensive specimen policy library to help confirm terms and conditions, research data services, and physical file searches to follow leads and locate evidence of old insurance policies. 

And finally, the results of the insurance archeology process are assembled into insurance coverage charts, which visually reconstruct the CGL insurance policies.

This is an example of a typical Insurance Coverage Chart that has reconstructed historical insurance policies from 1960 to 1990. The policies include general liability policies and excess/umbrella liability policies. This particular coverage shows property damage aggregate limits per policy period and what carriers are liable for from the policyholder’s coverage period.

The rebuilding of historical land use and insurance can limit the liability of individual clients. Initiating coverage from these policies thereby creates an alternative funding source, which can protect a business from severe financial loss and even save a company from bankruptcy. 

“If historical insurance policies are lost or misplaced, PolicyFind’s expert insurance archeologists will find the needed evidence of their existence and create a legally defensible historical insurance coverage chart—saving a dry cleaner’s livelihood,” says Jeff Carnahan, President of EnviroForensics.

Once identified and brought to light, the coverage provided by old insurance policies can be used to hire an environmental consulting firm with specialized expertise in serving the dry cleaning industry by cleaning up its historical environmental pollution problems.

HOW ENVIROFORENSICS CAN HELP
EnviroForensics® is the nation’s leading environmental engineering firm serving dry cleaners. EnviroForensics is the only full-service environmental firm that performs insurance archeology to locate money to pay for environmental investigation, cleanup, and legal fees. EnviroForensics helps clients get their cleanups paid for without significant cost to the clients or their businesses while restoring their property to fair market value.

To find out if historical insurance assets are an available funding avenue for you, contact us for a confidential consultation. 

Dru Carlisle, Director of Drycleaner Accounts
For over 10 years, Dru has helped numerous business and property owners facing regulatory action, navigate and manage their environmental liability. Dru has vast experience in assisting dry cleaners in securing funding for their environmental cleanups through historical insurance policies. Dru is a member of numerous drycleaning associations in addition to serving on the Midwest Drycleaning and Laundry Institute (MWDLI) advisory council and on the Drycleaning & Laundry Institute Board (DLI) as an Allied Trade District Committee Member.