Solid Waste Reduction - Success Story – Cleveland Vocational Industries ñTop of Pageñ
Waste Reduction Partners assessor, Richard Burke, began to assist Cleveland Vocational Industries with a solid waste problem. Cleveland Vocational employs mentally challenged individuals to recycle textile dye tubes provided by area manufacturers. While Cleveland Vocational reclaims the plastic tubes for recycling, they also were disposing of 650,000 pounds/year of contaminated yarn still left on the tubes. Mr. Burke was able to determine cleaner way of removing the yarn, which can now be sold for $0.03/pound. The net savings for this non-profit is $40,000 per year. (Cleveland Co.)
Waste Pallets to New Flooring Project ñTop of Pageñ
Waste Reduction Partners is leading a public/private partnership to demonstrate and commercialize a process to make wood flooring from waste pallets that cannot be recycled. A 750 square foot demonstration floor has been installed in a public market in Asheville. The flooring product is beautiful and shows great market and economic potential. The project has a goal of producing 50,000 sq. ft. in the first two years. In NC over 300,000 tons of pallets waste are landfilled annually.
(Jackson County and others)
Mecklenburg Businesses Save Landfill Space and Money
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Over the past 2 years, Waste Reduction
Partners (WRP), working in conjunction with
Carbon Waste Recycling ñTop of Pageñ
WRP Assessor, Tom McCullough, began working with a carbon processor in Burke County that wanted to dispose of a large stock pile of carbon waste materials through the county's waste transfer facility. Mr. McCullough worked to find a crushing operation that was able to grind the waste into an acceptable form for the steel processing industry. The company has been crushing 600 tons per month and will ultimately process over 25,000 tons of waste carbon into a resalable product. The waste stockpile area will be redeveloped into soccer fields. The net economic benefit of these efforts for the client business is over $80 per ton.
(Burke County)
UNCA Deconstruction Project of the Highsmith Center ñTop of Pageñ
UNCA approached Waste Reduction Partners in February 2002 to ask for assistance in organizing the salvage of usable materials from the Highsmith Student Center that was scheduled for demolition. WRP volunteer Matt Seigel coordinated an effort to reclaim 50,000 pounds of construction materials that were reused by seven non-profits throughout WNC. The estimated value of the materials was $34,000 for the non-profits' and UNCA campus uses.
(Buncombe County)
WRP Assists State Agencies ñTop of Pageñ
In 2002, the State Energy Office requested WRP staff to help conduct Utility Saving Initiative O&M surveys at 3.0 million sq. ft. of state agencies and universities in the WNC. These surveys identified areas of low cost/no cost energy and costs savings opportunities that agencies are now acting upon.
(WNC Region)
Energy Audits to WNC Public Facilities ñTop of Pageñ
With funding from the State Energy Office, Waste Reduction Partners energy assessors have provided 33 energy audits to non-profits, public schools, and local governments in 14 WNC counties. The surveys recommend over $169,000 per year of energy cost savings, an average reduction of 13 percent of energy bills. The first round of follow-up surveys showed that nearly 40 percent of the recommendations had been implemented by these organizations.
(14 WNC counties)
Highschool Students to Audit Own School ñTop of Pageñ
WRP Lighting Efficiency Assessor, Art Lins, worked with a group of students at Asheville High School. After some instruction by Mr.Lins and teacher Cindy Bryon, the students conducted an energy analysis of the school’s hall lighting. The students made calculations and assembled a report of significant lighting upgrades. The class presented their findings to the High School principal, and later, to the City of Asheville School Board for implementation consideration. WRP has conducted similar water efficiency instruction to high school students in both Asheville and Hendersonville.
(Buncombe & Henderson Counties)
WRP Drought Assistance: ñTop of Pageñ
During the 2002 drought, WRP water efficiency assessors mobilized technical assistance efforts for affected WNC communities. WRP mailed water efficiency fact sheets to the largest industrial/commercial water users in the Town/Cities of Statesville, Shelby, Forrest City, Bessemer City, and Cherryville. WRP conducted six on-site water efficiency assessments at requesting businesses. WRP staff also conducted on-site training for hospitality businesses in Statesville and trained City of Monroe water resources staff on commercial water efficiency programs.
(Iredell, Cleveland, & Rutherford, Mecklenburg Counties)
Sustainable Building Initiatives: ñTop of Pageñ
During the past 18 months Waste Reduction Partners has heavily supported the efforts of a recently formed non-profit, the WNC Green Building Council. WRP was instrumental in helping develop and publish an 86-page directory of green building professionals, vendors, materials, and educational articles. Ten thousand copies of this directory have been distributed free in 9 WNC counties to build awareness and demand for energy efficient and sustainable building practices. WRP also staffs a half-time Green Building Hotline where the public and industry professionals can get answers to sustainable building questions.
ISO 14001 – A System to Improve Environmental Performance ñTop of Pageñ
The Waste Reduction Partners program has been supporting WNC organizations to pursue the implementation of the ISO 14001 international standards for Environmental Management Systems. WRP staff is currently assisting Blue Ridge Parkway and Warren Wilson College to implement this standard. WRP also organized low-cost two-day ISO implementation course and has publicly recognized area businesses registered ISO in Asheville Chamber and Newspaper publications.