Washington - The U.S. Government Printing Office's (GPO) passport production facility at the Stennis Space Center in southern Mississippi was accepted into the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality's enHance program. The program recognizes organizations that demonstrate environmental leadership and dedication to the state's environmental initiatives. GPO's passport production facility at the Stennis Space Center meets Mississippi's standards through the facility's various recycling efforts which include:  a waste water evaporator system that results in no manufacturing waste water discharge; a solvent recovery system that extracts wastes from used solvents and allows the facility to reuse the recovered solvent; the facility ships passports to the Department of State (DOS) using plastic pallets which are returned to the facility and reused in future shipments. EnHance programs members also include Northrop Grumman and Caterpillar.

"I am proud of our team at the Mississippi passport production facility for their commitment to using the best environmental practices available," said Managing Director of Security and Intelligent Document Steve LeBlanc. "GPO is honored that the state of Mississippi recognized the facility and its dedication to the state's environmental initiatives."

GPO has been producing passports for the DOS since the 1920s at its secure facility in Washington, D.C.  In 2008, GPO opened this second secure production facility at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. In July 2010, the Mississippi passport production facility achieved ISO 9001 certification, a globally recognized standard of excellence for production and quality processes.