Recycling is the universal sign of “going green.” It is a process that takes a waste material and converts it to a new product, thus reducing the consumption of raw materials, potentially reducing energy usage, and diverts materials from a landfill. Recycling is not only a great way to save our planet but a spectacular way to save money.
Recycled materials include wood, glass, metal, paper, plastic, electronics, and even fly ash. These materials used in a new product are counted as “Recycled Content.” There are two types of recycled content: “Pre-Consumer” and “Post-Consumer.”
Recycling should not be confused with composting, which is a great way to further reduce the amount of trash going to a landfill. To learn more about composting click HERE.
Pre-Consumer materials are generated by manufacturers and processors, and may consist of scrap, trimmings, and other by-products that were never used in the consumer market.
Post-Consumer material is an end product that has completed its life cycle as a consumer item and would otherwise have been disposed of as a solid waste. Post Consumer materials indicates the product was made with these materials that were recycled by residents and other businesses. Post consumer materials can introduce contaminants into the stream of products which makes recycled material harder to manufacture than pre-consumer or virgin raw materials. Additionally, items like paper and plastic have raw materials that degrade in quality each time it is recycled.
Recycling has become more of a challenge over the last few years with global supply chain changes. While the total amounts of products being recycled continue to grow, it is harder to find a place to send everything, for example, #3-#7 plastic, and manilla envelopes with interior plastic cushions cannot currently be recycled in Harrisonburg. On the other hand, more products are now readily available that are made from recycled content materials, such as plastic lumber for park benches, picnic tables, and lawn furniture. Newspapers are commonly recycled into building insulation, construction paper, and even countertops. So as you are thinking about whether to throw it away or recycle it, think about how that small decision, multiplied over a year’s worth of trash, can impact our future.
Rainwater harvesting is the collection of water for reuse before it reaches the aquifer.
Uses include landscape irrigation, car washing, flushing toilets, drinking water, and/or washing clothes. Rainwater provides protection against short-term droughts for keeping your garden alive. It can also reduce the impact of runoff in neighborhood streams and ponds. A rainwater collection system can also be used in the event that public water supply becomes unusable or polluted.
Rain water harvesting systems are easy to set up. You need a collection system like a gutter and roof and a storage system like a barrel or cistern. Adding a filter can prolong the life of your storage system and reduce the first flush pollutants from getting into the system.
In some areas in the mid-west, it is illegal to collect rain water. Charlottesville now has a Storm water Fee based on your impervious surface on your property. This fee may be reduced by having a rainwater harvesting system on your property.
This is my favorite time of year. Plants are blooming, trees are sprouting leaves, and my compost bin is working hard. Many soils in our area are made largely of clay. You need to add good organic matter, compost, to have a successful garden and vibrant flowers. Composting is a great way to “grow better soil.”
Composting is the practice of mixing organic waste that can biodegrade quickly to create a planting medium called compost. This material can be used as a soil enrichment for your garden and flower beds. A quality compost is crumbly, earthy, and has the smell of decomposing organic matter. I used leaves, food scraps, yard waste, in mine mainly. The more you mix the matter the faster the compost is produced. I am a lazy composter so I built a huge bin and just let it set for a couple of years to do the work.
We hear about Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s) all the time in marketing of paint. That new paint smell that we have suffered through for years in the construction industry, well it turns out, is not good for you. Who would have thought all those air fresheners we added to our cars in the 90’s to get a new car smell was emulating chemical off gassing that is potentially causing us to get sick. The same off-gassing in cars happens in new homes.
A volatile organic compound is a chemical offgassing of a man made product. It has been shown in studies that breathing these chemicals has the potential of causing cancer. While these studies have been conclusive, it is still unclear to many of us in the industry what the real health impacts are and how the new products are impacting our bodies. Of course avoiding anything that has been shown to be harmful is virtually impossible – watching television, using the microwave, breathing…, using products that have reduced or removed VOC is clearly better for your health. The warning is that you need to do careful research for a replacement product to make sure it will be durable and meet the intended goal.
The thermal envelope is the barrier used to protect your interior environment from heat transfer from inside to outside. It may be portions of the exterior envelope and portions of interior elements. The effectiveness of this barrier is dependent on insulation levels, air tightness, and thermal properties of windows and doors.
Improvements in the thermal envelope can reduce heating and cooling requirements dramatically over code compliant construction practices at little to no added costs. It is the first line of defense in a home or office for comfort, low energy bills, and healthy indoor air quality.
The client is responsible for forming the best possible team to achieve the green building goals they, the client, sets for the project. In selecting your architect and contractor you must sort through the green washing that has become very prevalent in the construction industry. Your architect should have a proven understanding of building science as shown through past successful projects and appropriate certifications (Registered Architect, Construction Document Technologist, Certified Aging in Place Specialist, LEED Accredited Professional, and EarthCraft trained). Your contractor should have past experience building high performance homes, understand the team approach means all parties are involved through the entire project, and have an openness to innovative solutions.
A green home is one whose construction and lifetime operation assure the healthiest possible environment while representing the most efficient and least disruptive use of land, water, energy, and resources. Green building pays dividends to the home owner through lower monthly utility bills, healthy indoor air quality, low maintenance, and knowledge that you are having the minimal negative impact on future generations’ ability to achieve the same.
The thermal envelope is the barrier used to protect your interior environment from heat transfer from inside to outside. It may be portions of the exterior envelope and portions of interior elements. The effectiveness of this barrier is dependent on insulation levels, air tightness, and thermal properties of windows and doors.
