There’s a reason Poway Valley Collision received the prestigious Clean Air Award in 2009. The County of San Diego’s Clean Air Award is only given to one business a year. It is given in recognition of the efforts to take significant steps to protect the environment. And although the award was received 16 years ago, we’re still not over it. And for good reason! Not only is it difficult to receive this award in general. But the fact that an auto body repair shop won this award is the most impressive thing about this headline.

Why the Clean Air Award is so important

Given that many auto body repair shops do not try to recycle the many, many materials used during repairs, Poway Valley Collision is making waves to ensure that we are doing out part.

“The environment is a big priority to us. And even though our recycling efforts are an equally big investment, this is our commitment to our valued customers, partners, local community, and of course the next generation,” said owner Jim Faaborg.

You can read more about Poway Valley Collision receiving San Diego County’s 2009 Clean Air Award in the San Diego Union Tribune and the San Diego Business Journal.

Our Recycling Efforts

We recycle paint waste, solvent, coolant, tires, batteries, and of course oil as most good shops do.

Cardboard generated from the replacement parts is one of the most common things that Poway Valley Collision recycles.

Plastic bumper replacements are one of the most common repairs made in the United States. We make sure to recycle all plastic bumpers covers that are not repairable. It’s estimated that we replace approximately 1,200 covers per year. Meanwhile most other facilities discard these with their trash.

All damaged and destroyed metals from our repairs are separated and recycled as well.

Our facility is the only one of its kind that generates 90% of its energy from the sun. We have 540 solar panels and 27 power invertors that generate over 350Kwh of power per day.

We didn’t stop after receiving the Clean Air Award

Poway Valley Collision continues to “Go Green” not only with our recycling efforts, but we have switched from a conventional solvent based system to low VOC PPG waterborne basecoat

Our use of waterborne basecoat for refinishing our customer’s vehicles significantly reduces the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the atmosphere. This switch to a waterborne basecoat system helps us to do our part to improve the quality of our air and also contribute to a healthier work environment.

We are the green choice for vehicle repair. We are the most environmentally friendly shop in the state of California if not the nation.