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Building Sustainability From the Ground Up

Building Sustainability From the Ground Up. GreenScapes is:. Multi-media EPA Partnership Program designed to promote a wide variety of environmentally beneficial landscaping and land management practices. GreenScapes is:.

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Building Sustainability From the Ground Up

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  1. Building Sustainability From the Ground Up

  2. GreenScapes is: • Multi-media EPA Partnership Program designed to promote a wide variety of environmentally beneficial landscaping and land management practices.

  3. GreenScapes is: • Designed to help preserve natural resources and prevent waste and pollution by encouraging more holistic decisions regarding waste, water, chemicals, energy, and land use.

  4. GreenScapes is: • Designed to provide cost-efficient and environmentally friendlysolutions - improving both an organization’s bottom-line and the environment.

  5. Think Big: • Roads & Highways • Commercial Buildings • Industrial Sites • Military Installations • Brownfields • Colleges & Universities • Recreation areas - parks, golf courses, ski resorts, amusement parks, …

  6. Think about: • Millions of tons of waste materials that are • Hauled away to a landfill, • Buried, or • Burned Each and every day from landscaping construction and maintenance operations: • Trees • Shrubs, • Brush • Lumber • Asphalt • Concrete, etc…

  7. Also, consider the millions of gallons of: • Water • Pesticides • Fertilizers • Fuels • Oil Used each & every day in building and maintaining these lands.

  8. Make more holistic and sustainable decisions regarding and the impact each of these has on the other: • Waste generation & disposal • Use of • Water • Chemicals • Air • Plants • Energy • Land & Wetlands

  9. The GreenScapes Solution Focus on the 4 Rs • Reduce • Reuse • Recycle • Rebuy

  10. Reduce: • The first and most important step towards efficient use of resources & pollution prevention.

  11. Reduce: • Waste generation by utilizing slow-growing, low maintenance plant materials. • Water use - Incorporate compost into the soil to help improve water absorption and retention. • Pesticide use - Implement an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program. • Energy - Strategically plant vegetation outside and around buildings to reduce indoor heating and cooling needs

  12. Avoid landscaping products that require frequent replacement or maintenance to reduce future waste. • Durable products will long outlast those of lesser quality, reducing future waste generation and the need to purchase new or replacement products.

  13. Consider: • Reduce or eliminate plastic silt fencing... and worse • Substitute with blankets, berms, and filter-socks made of compost.

  14. Compost provides: • Superior filtration & erosion prevention/control • More easily installed & maintained • Control & reduction of non-point source pollution. • Does not require removal or disposal from site once job is complete

  15. A few additional ways to reduce: • Reduce nonpermeable hardscape to minimize rainwater runoff & erosion. • Switch from benches, boardwalks & bridges made from wood to long-lived plastic lumber. • Conserve water and reduce maintenance by Xeriscaping. • Reduce chemical use by using native plants and organic biobased fertilizers.

  16. Reuse: • Key to effective management by making the most of your valuable resources - • Financial • Materials

  17. Reuse: • Waste - Chip woody waste and tree clippings into mulch for use on-site. • Reuse soils within the work site; create mounds or berms to serve as wind breaks or to add visual interest. • Water - Use collected rainwater for irrigation and water features.

  18. Ways to reuse: • Chip trees and wood waste into mulch. • Saves money on disposal costs and commercial mulch purchases • Provides benefits of mulch: • Moisture retention • Weed prevention • Erosion control

  19. Additional reuse options: • Disassemble and use structural wood elsewhere, sell or grind into mulch. Return wooden pallets to your supplier whenever possible. • Donate healthy plants to community gardens, schools, churches, or other local local non-profit organizations when updating or removing trees & shrubs from landscape. • Use alternative sources of irrigation water such as gray water, reclaimed water, and collected rain water.

  20. Recycle: • Save money on disposal costs, by recycling waste materials – you may even be able to get a few dollars for them.

  21. Recycle: • Waste - Send green waste and food waste that cannot be composted on site to a local composting facility. • Waste - Provide recycling receptacles next to trash receptacles. • Water - Recycle gray water for irrigation and equipment wash downs.

  22. Consider: • Recycle plastic fencing, barriers, plant & pesticide containers. • Collect and recycle used oil & tires from your vehicles and equipment.

  23. Rebuy: • Rebuying means re-thinking your purchasing habits. • Look for products that meet your needs but have a better environmental profile than your current product purchases.

  24. Consider: • Recycled content • Biobased products (incl. fuels & lubricants) • Renewable energy & products • Energy & water efficient Rebuying is key to sustainability by putting valuable materials back to work . Change your thinking: It’s not waste – it’s another resource.

  25. Rebuy: • Waste - Select long-lived durable products such as composite lumber. • Water - Install a green vegetated roof to reduce or eliminate stormwater and "heat island" effect. • Fertilizers - Purchase organic, biobased, or slow-release fertilizers • Energy - Use high efficiency lighting for roadways, parking lots, security, and landscaping.

  26. For example: • Use compost to minimize / eliminate: • Soil erosion • Runoff • Nonpoint source pollution • Irrigation • Fertilizers • Pesticides It’s both a recycled & biobased product.

  27. A Proven Technique • Compost blankets, berms, and filter socks have been added to the US EPA menu of Best Management Practices (BMPs) for storm water management - NPDES. • State DoT’s are specifying compost for roadside erosion control. (http://www.dot.state.tx.us/des/landscape/compost/topsoil.htm)

  28. Did You Know?: • For every 1% of organic matter, the soil can hold 16,000 gallons of plant-available water per acre of soil down to one foot deep! • Most soils average approx. 1% organic content • Healthy soils average 5-6% (5 x 16,000 = 80,000 gallons water holding capacity)

  29. Better, Faster, Cheaper Cleanups • Provides an inexpensive & straightforward solution to managing hazardous industrial waste streams & remediating soils contaminated with toxic organic and inorganic compounds.

  30. Proven effective for: • Chlorinated & nonchlorinated hydrocarbons • Wood-preserving chemicals • Solvents • Heavy metals • Pesticides • Petroleum products • Explosives

  31. Returns site to precontamination condition • Provides soil conditioning • Nutrients • Water retention • Erosion control • Micro-organisms essential for healthy soil

  32. Rebuy • Select plastic lumber made from recycled bottles & bags. • Extremely durable • Lasts longer than wood • Requires less maintenance than wood • Labor • Paint / solvents • Repairs • Significant long-term savings.

  33. Rebuy • Specify rubberized asphalt (made from recycled tires) for: • Walking paths • Bike paths • Cart paths • Parking lots Extends the life of the trails and reduces frequency of repairs.

  34. Benefits of just these 3 products:CompostPlastic lumberRubberized asphaltEvery scrap of organics, plastics (LDPE, HDPE, PET), and tires generated in the entire U.S could be put to use by the landscaping industry alone.

  35. Benefits: • Equal or better performance • Material cost savings • Labor cost savings • All of this means money in your pocket.

  36. Reduced water use Reduced irrigation costs – water & energy Reduced plant growth Reduced plant maintenance Reduced waste generation Reduced labor – time & cost (maint. & disposal) Reduced equipment operating times Reduced equip. maint. – labor & supplies Reduced fuel use Reduced emissions Reduced fertilizer use – material & labor savings Reduced pesticide use –material & labor savings Reduced nonpoint source pollution Reduced exposure to hazardous materials Reduce insurance costs The Economic & Environmental Benefits of GreenScaping:

  37. Additional Benefits of GreenScaping: • Reduced exposure to your customers, employees, and yourself from potentially harmful chemicals, solvents, fuels, and pesticides.

  38. Additional Benefits of GreenScaping: • Improved competitive edge with reduced costs and improved materials & energy efficiency.

  39. Additional Benefits of GreenScaping: • Improved public perception of your business.

  40. Additional Benefits of GreenScaping: • Knowledge that you are making a difference by helping prevent pollution, curb climate change, and reduce your “environmental footprint” on the Earth.

  41. GreenScapes EPA Partnership program to implement & promote “green” landscaping practices • Partners & Allies • Provides state-of-the-art recommendations • Web-based cost calculators & resources • Multi-media … continually updated • Large & Small scale National Recognition Program & Case Studies

  42. GreenScapes: • A growing group of organizations, large and small, coming together to promote green landscaping practices. • Currently 185+ including: • US Green Building Council • American Society of Landscape Architects • American Nursery & Landscape Association • Home Depot

  43. Coordination with other national efforts: • GreenScapesand EPA is actively involved in the Sustainable Sites Initiative • Many site features are not fully addressed under the current Green Building LEED® standards, but are essential to the sustainability of green spaces • Establish a standard for sustainable site design, construction, and maintenance with clearly defined metrics. The USGBC will incorporate SSI into the next version of LEED – a “bookshelf” system • For more info: sustainablesites.org

  44. GreenScapes is also working with: • EMS guidance to enhance and amplify green landscaping www.fedcenter.gov • The Federal “Green Highways” initiative • Both encourage more “sustainable” construction & maintenance practices

  45. Waste Water Pesticides Air quality Energy Chemicals CPG / EPP Green Buildings Brownfields Smart Growth Low Impact Development Green Infrastructure GreenScapes involves:

  46. GreenScapes now includes information & recommendations for Homeowners Commercial business Homeowner guide & industry guide

  47. … educating homeowners by • Working with local governments, homeowner associations, county extension agents • Working with large retail organizations such as Home Depot & Walmart • Working with and supporting our 190+ GreenScapes Partners & Allies

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