Offner: Do Everything You Can to Build and Live Green
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Offner |
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 136 million tons of building-related construction and demolition debris is generated in the United States each year.
When you compare that figure to the estimated 210 million tons of municipal solid waste generated in the same year, the bottom line is apparent: We make a lot of trash.
The EPA estimates we recycle about 32 percent of what we generate. When you put all these numbers together, the waste-generation statistics are enough to keep anyone awake at night.
Living the Three R’s
I remember the days when “Reading, ’Riting and ’Rithmetic” made up the only three R’s in my life. Today, the three R’s also stand for “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.” These are as much a guiding principle in my adult life as the old three R’s were as a youngster. Yes folks, I am proud to admit I have become a construction management greenie.
As a professional in the design and construction industry, I believe it is incumbent upon me to take leadership in practicing the “Three R” principles in our offices, in our designs, and with our construction projects.
We don’t want to limit this movement to the design and construction industry, so let’s take it into our secure facilities.
Harry Franey, chief of the energy management section of California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, is leading by example. Franey has focused on energy conservation issues since his arrival at CDCR in 1989 and has been very successful.
Maybe it’s time we joined Franey and others like him around the country to support their mission to make every operating facility in their control as energy-efficient as possible to reduce the carbon footprint on this planet.
Reuse. This is one of the easiest practices to adopt. Only use biodegradable or recyclable products.
Do you have a favorite coffee cup? Mine is an old ceramic mug that has been in use for more 10 years. Reusing materials provides the opportunity to not only be thrifty but also to be environmentally sensitive. Most importantly, reusing materials doesn’t require the energy it takes to recycle or create an elaborate reduction strategy.
If you use it, purchase with the intent to reuse it as many times as you can.
Reduce. Reducing our carbon footprint involves waste reduction. Reducing the amount of products we purchase to the amount we actually need will reduce the amount of toxins finding their way to our landfills.
Recycle. Recycling has grown significantly: 50 percent of all paper, 34 percent of all plastic soft drink bottles, 45 percent of all aluminum cans, 63 percent of all steel packaging, and 67 percent of all major appliances are now recycled.
Look around your office or your prison facility. If an electronic product is no longer in working condition, it should be recycled.
More than 90 percent of the materials in electronic products can be reused in other electronic products or be recycled.
This includes plastics from casings and metal from circuit boards and switches. If disposed improperly, some electronic equipment can release hazardous materials into the soil and contaminate our water supply.
Greening Construction
There are five smart choices — little things I try to do everyday — that can have a positive impact on the environment. I think these choices will create more sustainable, environmentally friendly and energy-efficient lifestyles and workplaces.
No. 1: Be paperless. On an average prison or courthouse project, blueprinting and monthly reports can use close to 1 billion square inches of paper from conceptual design through closeout. That is a lot of trees.
Using 1 ton of paper from recycled stock saves almost 17 trees and uses 50 percent less water than new paper.
In today’s electronics-based society there are not very many reasons why our design and construction reports, RFI’s, SI’s and all other project correspondence can’t be paperless.
Blueprinting should be minimized wherever possible. While not yet practical in the field, the plotting of drawings and printing of specifications should be discouraged.
Where paper documents are necessary, insist the printing house use 100 percent recycled paper, not partially recycled.
No. 2: Flip the switch. Energy consumption for all lighting in the United States is estimated to be 8.2 quads, or about 22 percent of the total electricity generated in the country.
Because lighting represents one-fifth of our national electrical consumption, the Department of Energy selected lighting as one of the primary areas for the development of more energy-efficient technologies.
Efficiency starts with turning off the lights wherever, and whenever, possible. Purchase motion sensor light switches for your offices and jobsite trailers, and, while you’re at it, pick up energy-efficient light bulbs.
No. 3: Pull the plug. Office equipment accounts for almost 16 percent of energy use at office buildings. Even after hours, the sleep mode on your copy machine and computer uses electricity overnight and on the weekends when most of us aren’t working. Energy conservation begins with pulling the plug. If you have the wherewithal, use Energy Star computers, printers, copiers and other office equipment whenever possible.
No. 4: Manage the Thermostat. Heating systems in the United States emit 1 billion tons of carbon dioxide and about 12 percent of the sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides into our atmosphere.
Reducing energy use for heating is the single most effective way to reduce your lifestyle’s contribution to our global environmental problems. You can substantially reduce energy use by adding efficient controls, such as a programmable thermostat.
When it comes to cooling, a way to save money is to do away with standard fluorescent lights, which add to cooling loads because they create more heat, consume more energy and require more frequent replacement than compact fluorescent lamps. Using compact fluorescent lamps to illuminate spaces can provide fast returns on your initial investment regardless of your geography.
No. 5: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Reduce the amount of non-recyclable materials you use in your business and personal life, reuse products and materials to prolong their life, and recycle.
Gregory J. Offner is vice president of DMJM H+N – AECOM located in Arlington, Va., and a member of the Correctional News Editorial Advisory Board.