Solid Waste Department Thinks Green

The walls aren’t green, but almost everything else about the building is.

The new headquarters for Athens Clarke County’s has received the highest rating from the U.S. Green Building Council. The council has a LEED (Leadership In Energy and Environmental Design) rating system that certifies buildings as sustainable. Athens Clarke County has several LEED certified buildings.

“We wanted a green building because we really push the green,” said department director Jim Corley. Waste reduction and recycling, waste collection and composting, are all concerns of the department.

The building works like an environmentally conscious individual, wasting as little as possible. It captures and stores rainwater in cisterns and uses it to flush toilets. The carpet is composed of individual tiles from Interface Flooring that are made of recycled materials. The off-white wall paint contains few chemicals. The windows open, and there are skylights to maximize the use of natural light.

The electric lights are on sensors, and they dim and brighten depending on natural light. It's not uncommon for staff members not to use their lights at all.

When the building was being constructed, said ACC waste reduction administrator Suki Janssen, about 75 percent of the wrapping was captured and recycled. And recycled materials were used whenever possible. The shoe molding in the building has recycled content, and the ceiling tiles are made of paper.

The $3.6 million price tag covers the cost of the land, the administration building and a nearby 17,000-square-foot maintenance facility for the department's many vehicles. The truck wash uses treated "reclaimed" water, said Corley, taken from cisterns, filtered and cleaned. 

One thing you won’t see is a typical bio-retention pond. The parking lot is made of porous pavement that absorbs rainwater — and any pollutants from vehicles -- like a giant sponge. The water from the administration building and the nearby materials recycling center is channeled underground to a pond filled with plants and trees. The vegetation slows water percolation into the soil and filters engine oil or transmission fluid.

Blowers and heat exchangers use water taken from geo-thermal wells, each drilled to 314 feet, to cool and heat the 5,000-square-foot building. The initial $40,000 drilling fee will be recovered quickly because maintaining a comfortable temperature with a geo-thermal heat pump costs so little, Corley said.

The recycling division lends glasses, cups and plates to various government offices that don’t want to use plastic for a reception or luncheon. The small staff kitchen in the administration building contains an energy-star dishwasher for cleaning tableware.

"In less than five years, we will recover any additional costs we might have incurred because of adhering to higher standards," Corley said. "Over time, the savings will be significant because of our energy efficiency measures."