GreenClips.129 10.06.99

UK'S BRE INTRODUCES LIFE-CYCLE ASSESSMENT TOOLS
This summer, the UK's Building Research Establishment produced Environmental Profiles, a methodology report and a database intended to help UK building designers cut through confusing claims about the environmental impacts of construction materials. BRE's methodology presents a consistent framework for identifying and assessing the environmental effects of building materials over their entire life cycle--extraction, processing, use, maintenance, and disposal. The Environmental Profiles database, which follows the BRE methodology, contains building product information supplied by UK manufacturers. "The standardized methodology will allow designers to demand reliable and comparable environmental information about different building materials, and will give suppliers the opportunity to present credible environmental information about their products," says Suzy Edwards of BRE's Centre for Sustainable Construction. The result of three years of work, these documents were developed in collaboration with building materials industry representatives, with funding from the [UK Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions]. The database is available as an Internet subscription [cost: L200-500 per year]. More: <http://www.bre.co.uk/envprofiles>. - Green Futures, Sep/Oct 99, p 42, by  Tom Harvey.

GOOD DESIGN IS GOOD BUSINESS, SWISS BUILDING SHOWS
Switzerland's ABB Power Generation Ltd. is one of this year's winners of the third annual Business Week/Architectural Record "Good Design is Good Business" awards. Sponsored by the American Institute of Architects, the awards honor collaborative efforts between client and architect to create architecture supporting specific business goals. Designed by architect Theo Hotz of Zurich, ABB's new headquarters houses 2,100 employees. Consistent with European regulations mandating workers' access to daylight, the building's six-story, fingerlike wings of office space provide daylight and natural ventilation to all. External automated blinds shade the operable curtain wall, minimizing air conditioning, even with the high percentage of perimeter wall. Lobby and atrium spaces are only minimally heated and cooled, thermally buffering occupied spaces. The building mass absorbs excess heat generated during the day, exhausting it or reradiating it at night, as  needed. These conservation techniques pay back more quickly in Europe than in the US due to higher energy taxes. Swiss regulations enabled creative financing: the land and building were sold before construction to a consortium of pension funds, then leased back by ABB, allowing ABB to afford  a better quality facility while lowering occupancy costs. In addition, ABB managed to rezone its surplus property (much of it obsolete industrial sites) for higher value uses, realizing up to 10 times previous book value on the redeveloped land. Also winning a BW/AR award this year was the Robert L. Preger Intelligent Workplace at Carnegie Mellon University. - Architectural  Record, Oct 99, p. 94. [Full text: <http://www.archrecord.com>]

COLORADO BUILDER EMBRACES GREEN PRINCIPLES
Concern for the environment has guided McStain Enterprises of Boulder, Colorado since the company began more than 30 years ago. For McStain, which builds about 350 units a year, including starter homes, luxury condominiums and large custom homes, green building starts with land planning. "We have a tremendous responsibility when we put something on the ground," says Tom  Hoyt, McStain's president. "We're establishing land patterns that several generations are going to have to live with." McStain's planning reflects New Urbanism principles, including pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods with narrow streets and walking and biking paths. McStain participates in Built Green, a  program funded by the Governor's Office of Energy Conservation that encourages using resource-efficient building products. McStain uses wet-spray cellulose insulation, for instance, both because it's made from recycled newsprint and because it performs better than fiberglass. Tighter building envelopes allow builders to centralize HVAC units and simplify mechanical systems, cutting maintenance costs and making homes more affordable. McStain is currently working with the Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings to build three homes in order to evaluate which environmental systems perform best for the least cost. McStain Enterprises sees their building philosophy as a partnership with the natural environment, so they build with the knowledge that land and natural materials are irreplaceable. Adhering to green principles can also help builders differentiate themselves in the  market. "By no means does being a green builder mean you can't be a leading-edge profitable builder," Hoyt says. "We're a big believer in doing both." - Professional Builder, Sep 99, p 86, by Rob Fanjoy. [More: <http://www.mcstain.com/environm.htm>] [Full text: <http://www.probuilder.com/features/0999/mcstain.htm>]

GLASS TILES HELP SUSTAIN LOCAL RECYCLING
Although for years Minnesota has achieved one of the nation's highest glass container recycling rates, in some rural Minnesota communities, low glass volumes and long hauling distances to central recycling facilities make recycling expensive. As a result, some counties are exploring local markets for recyclable glass, including road aggregate, underground filter media, and abrasive blast material. One of the more promising, higher-value alternatives is tile manufacturing. Using glass collected from rural residential programs, Winona ORC Industries, Inc. is moving toward full production of garden pavers and glass tiles. WORC has sold decorative garden pavers to several stores in Minnesota and Wisconsin, and its glass tiles, which are exceptionally strong and meet or exceed ASTM standards, have been well received by customers. The St. Paul Neighborhood Energy Consortium, a local nonprofit organization involved in recycling, recently used WORC's glass tiles for a countertop in  its new building. A report by WORC and the Southeastern Minnesota Recycler's Exchange, "Recycled Glass Manufacturing: A Demonstration Project," provides information about manufacturing and marketing recycled glass tiles. Order report from Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance: 800 657 3843. More: <http://www.moea.state.mn.us/lc/glass.cfm>. - Resource Recycling, Sep 99, p 14, by Deborah Carter McCoy and Dan Krivit.

COAL SLUDGE AND RECLAIMED GLASS HIT THE ROAD
After 10 years of research into alternatives to landfilling coal-combustion waste, this summer Consol Energy of Library, Pennsylvania built and successfully operated a pilot plant that converted a coal combustion byproduct into 150 tons of aggregate for road building and concrete block. The material, which meets commercial specifications, will be placed in a blacktop test strip in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania to see how it stands up in real-world conditions. The project received about $1.5 million in funding from Consol, the US Department of Energy, Pittsburgh-based electric utility Duquesne Light Co., and SynAggs Inc. "The market will ultimately decide, but between building demand for aggregates, environmental concerns and a new wave of utility regs, our timing couldn't be better," says Paul Yuran of SynAggs. Meanwhile, the Minnesota Department of Transportation has developed a specification for using 10 percent glass in aggregate production. This step paves the way toward requiring recycled post-consumer glass in the base of public works road construction projects. Results of recent county demonstration projects indicate that mandatory "shall use" language in bid specifications is more likely to increase market demand for reclaimed glass than "will be permitted" language. [See Clip above for more on recycled glass.] - ENR, 20 Sep 99, p 15 (coal sludge article); Resource Recycling, Sep 99, p 14, by Deborah Carter McCoy and Dan Krivit (recycled glass article).
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ALAMEDA COUNTY SOURCE REDUCTION AND RECYCLING BOARD The Grants to Non-Profits Program is soliciting proposals for grant  applications for the 1999/2000 fiscal year. Eligible Projects will result in  a measurable and sustained decrease in quantities of materials landfilled in Alameda County, California. This includes source reduction, recycling  collection or processing, market development, public education, and recycled  product procurement projects. About $775,000 is available for non-profit  organizations with federal, tax-exempt status. Government agencies or  for-profit businesses are not eligible to apply. Proposers are strongly  urged to attend a Voluntary Information Workshop, October 21, 1999 at Alameda  County Recycling Board Room 777 Davis St., Suite 100, San Leandro,  California, from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon. Proposals are due November 22, 1999. To receive an application or to obtain a list of previously funded  grants and case studies visit <http://www.stopwaste.org.>

US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY http://www.eren.doe.gov/buildings The US Department of Energy's Rebuild America program has helped introduce an  energy-awareness curriculum, Active Physics, in the secondary schools of  Little Rock, Arkansas. Historically, only 20% of high school students take  physics. Active Physics, a revolutionary hands-on approach sponsored by the  National Science Foundation, should reach 80%. The course involves students  in hands-on experiments and focuses on applications in sports and other areas  of personal interest. In Little Rock, Active Physics will include the  Lighting in the Library activity developed by DOE's Office of Building  Technology, State and Community Programs, which teaches about energy  efficient lighting. More information on BTS' programs to improve building  energy efficiency is available on DOE's Energy Efficiency and Renewable  Energy Network website <http://www.eren.doe.gov/buildings>or by calling 800  363 3732.

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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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