Valle Verde Retirement Community of Santa Barbara, an American Baptist Homes of the West continuing care retirement community, celebrated its fourth consecutive Waste Reduction Award (WRAP) from California’s Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) at an awards reception Monday.

The award follows a 2010 International Council on Active Aging Green Award also recognizing Valle Verde for its environmental stewardship efforts.

“We are very pleased that our Green Initiative is working so well, and that CalRecycle and the ICAA have recognized our continued environmental programs,” said Ron Schaefer, executive director of Valle Verde Retirement Community. “We have found that through our Green Initiative we can improve our local environment, provide a nicer community for our seniors and save money.”

According to the CalRecyle, this year’s WRAP honorees “have diverted over 2 million tons of materials from landfills during 2009 and recorded more then $190 million in cost savings from their waste-reduction efforts.”

Valle Verde’s green efforts put it alongside other winners, such as Apple Inc., Loyola Marymount University and the World Series champion San Francisco Giants/AT&T Park.

Valle Verde’s Green Initiative lowers energy and water consumption and produces photovoltaic energy through solar panels on covered walkways. With the use of solar electrical panels, Valle Verde can produce about 52,000 watts of electricity. With the addition of solar water heaters, high-efficiency boilers, low-flow toilets and showerheads, its utilities savings for 2009 is estimated at $210,000.

During the past six years, the Valle Verde Retirement Community has created and expanded a campuswide Green Initiative with an overall goal to reduce its dependence on electricity, decrease waste, improve air quality, compost green waste, use reclaimed water and buy local produce. Its new goal is to strive for carbon neutrality and even greater sustainability.

— Toby Ayars is a publicist.