ON-SITE GRINDING OF C&D DEBRIS PROVES EFFECTIVE
Processing residential construction debris on-site can be beneficial and cost-competitive, according to a pilot project in Hancock County, Indiana. Residential builders typically landfill construction and demolition waste rather than recycle it because of high processing costs and weak market demand. The pilot project, which ran from April to October 1998, studied the feasibility of grinding residential wood, drywall, and cardboard waste on-site with a small, mobile grinder and using the ground particles for mulch or soil amendment. Grinding was found to be cost-competitive with landfilling the debris, particularly in locations with high landfill tipping fees. But if economic conditions lowered the tipping fees, grinding wouldn't be as competitive. The ground material was often beneficial to the soil, but custom homebuilders found that the material was often too large to be attractive for mulch or soil amendment. Another problem for custom builders was scheduling: wood chips needed for erosion control during foundation and backfill work aren't generated until a later stage of construction. Grinding on-site proved more cost-effective for production builders who have large amounts of tillable land and can use the wood chips for soil erosion on adjacent, soon-to-be-developed sites. - Resource Recycling, Aug 99, p 20, by Kathern Sparks. [To download report: <http://www.nahbrc.org/builders/green/WASTEPUB.htm>]

HOME DEPOT TO STOP SELLING OLD-GROWTH WOOD PRODUCTS
Home Depot last month announced it would phase out the sale of wood products from old-growth forests over the next three years. "By the end of 2002, we will eliminate from our stores wood from endangered areas--including certain lauan, redwood, and cedar products--and give preference to 'certified' wood," says company president and CEO Arthur Blank. Since 1992, Home Depot has been pressured by the Rainforest Action Network and other groups to stop selling wood from old-growth forests. To carry the "certified" label, a supplier's wood must be tracked from the forest, through manufacturing and distribution, to the customer. Blank says his 850-store Atlanta-based company, the world's largest retailer of lumber, plans to "use the power of its purchasing dollars to vote for products that do the most to preserve environmentally sensitive areas. We are asking our vendors to help us by dramatically increasing the supply of certified forest products." Home Depot's action covers its whole range of wood products including lumber, brooms, and doors. - Green  Business Letter, Sep 99, p 2, and Associated Press, 27 Aug 99, by James Pilcher.

HUMAN ERROR MAY UNDERMINE ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Even in buildings designed to be energy efficient, software and hardware failures and human error can result in poor energy performance. Facility managers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory analyzed energy use in two office buildings constructed in 1993 and 1994 at their Richland, Washington site. The buildings have the same floor plan but the second building incorporates extra energy conservation measures. Initially, building two used less energy than building one, but by the end of 1998, it was using 40 percent more energy and had more occupant complaints. An investigation revealed that the heating and cooling system software in building two had been manually altered and the temperature set points locked in place, thereby eliminating the system's ability to adjust temperature set points automatically. Facilities staff had set the duct temperature set point too low, resulting in mechanical cooling on even the coldest days. Also, static pressure sensors for several ducts weren't working properly and may have been inoperable since construction, causing air handlers to run at full output when reduced output would have sufficed. Lessons learned from this experience? Don't assume the system is working as designed. A seemingly minor adjustment may put the system out of alignment. And facility managers must be vigilant about logging changes to the system and tracking energy use and occupant complaints, data they need to find solutions to system problems. -  Facility Management Journal, Jul/Aug 99, p 23, by Jeff Lettau and Launa Morasch. [For more information email <jeff.lettau@pnl.gov>]

SOUTHFACE DEMONSTRATES GREEN BUILDING TECHNOLOGIES
Since its 1996 opening, more than 20,000 visitors have toured the Southface Energy and Environmental Resource Center, a showcase of energy-efficient and green building technologies in Atlanta. The Resource Center's design and construction was a joint effort of the US Department of Energy, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Labs, and the Southface Energy Institute. The 6,300-square-foot building, which features more than 100 sustainable products and technologies, provides the Southeast with a building science learning lab and training facility, a networking hub for the sustainable building industry, a clearinghouse for sustainable technology information, and a meeting place for architects, builders, utilities, community development and environmental organizations, and other groups. Visitors to the Resource Center, designed to look like an upscale southern home with wrap-around porches and an airy feeling, only gradually become aware of its energy- and resource-efficiency features. More:  <http://www.southface.org> - Environmental Design & Construction, Sep/Oct  99, p 26, by Walter Brown and Dennis Creech. [Full text: <http://www.edcmag.com/archives/9-99-5.htm>]

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ABOUT THE PUBLISHER Sustainable design consultant Chris Hammer publishes GreenClips in San Francisco. Ms. Hammer helps her clients with environmentally responsible approaches to urban planning and development, and to building design, construction, and operation. GreenClips is written by Chris Hammer and Jennifer Roberts.

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