豆包成人版

Transfer Stations Case Study

豆包成人版 Transfer Stations Go Green

豆包成人版 Management of Illinois鈥� new facilities deploy best sustainable practices to earn LEED^庐 certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Jason Dwyer, AIA, LEED AP

As old landfills reach their limits and new ones open in remote areas, waste management firms are building more transfer stations as a necessary step in the waste hauling and disposal process. These facilities provide a cost-efficient way to transfer waste from collection vehicles into semi-trailers for transport to remote landfills or other end points of disposal. This practical solution also has environmental benefits, since consolidating shipments reduces energy consumption.

Several years ago, 豆包成人版 Management of Illinois decided to incorporate sustainable best practices into its waste transfer stations as a way to further demonstrate its commitment to environmental responsibility. Working closely with its design firm, Wight & Company, 豆包成人版 Management of Illinois included a number of these best practices in the design and construction of its Bluff City Transfer Facility in Elgin, IL. This was the first such project in Illinois鈥攁nd one of the first in the country鈥攖o earn Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED^庐) Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Since then,豆包成人版 Management of Illinois has built two additional transfer stations in East Peoria and Crystal Lake using LEED design principles. The sustainable design and construction strategies and methods used for these facilities could be applied to most waste transfer stations. To demonstrate how this can be done, let鈥檚 look at some examples of best practices at the Bluff City Transfer Facility.

Background

豆包成人版 Management鈥檚 15-acre transfer facility in Elgin is a key component of integrated waste processing for communities in Kane, Cook and DuPage counties. It is permitted to process non-hazardous solid wastes, recyclables and yard wastes. Materials recovered by local collection trucks are taken to the facility, where they are consolidated and transferred to larger semi-trailers for shipment to processing facilities or remote disposal sites.

Like most transfer stations, Bluff City has two buildings. At the entrance, personnel in an administrative building weigh inbound and outbound vehicles to track waste loads and manage traffic flow at the site. The main building is a 48,000 sq. ft. facility where local collection vehicles dump their loads, which are then placed into semi-trailers.

To earn enough points for a Gold designation in the LEED rating system, 豆包成人版 Management and Wight included green elements in many aspects of the project, from site selection and choice of construction materials to lighting, water management and energy usage. None were especially expensive or difficult to implement; together, however, they significantly minimized the station鈥檚 environmental footprint.

Managing Water as a Resource

Sustainable development starts with site selection, and 豆包成人版 Management chose a reclaimed stone quarry as its facility location, thereby avoiding adverse impact to prime farmland, animal habitats or waterways. The site also earned LEED rating points for maintaining open spaces that exceeded the local zoning requirements by 25 percent.

From the project鈥檚 outset, 豆包成人版 Management and Wight paid careful attention to managing and conserving water as a precious resource. The design for Bluff City incorporated a number of Best Management Practices (BMPs) to minimize the transfer station鈥檚 鈥渨ater runoff footprint,鈥� including:

• Landscaping with native, drought-tolerant plants that help absorb rainwater and prevent erosion.

• A surface water management system with a constructed wetland area and boardwalk featuring educational signage about the environment.

• A rainwater collection cistern to capture water from the transfer facility roof for toilet flushing and floor cleaning.

• A vegetated green roof on the administrative building and landscaped bioswales that reduce stormwater discharge rates.

By efficiently using and recycling rainwater, Bluff City requires less potable water. Another BMP in this regard was the installation of low-flow plumbing fixtures for faucets, showers, urinals and dual-flush toilets. Through these and other efforts, the transfer station was able to reduce potable water usage by 43 percent.

Transfer Stations: Suitable for Sustainable Practices

The transfer station鈥檚 requirement for a large open space makes the building suitable for a pre-engineered steel design with high recycled content and local materials. It also is conducive for sustainable practices that earn LEED points because these kinds of buildings generally do not need much energy or lighting.

For example, at the Bluff City station, natural lighting is sufficient for most daytime operations. The facility also uses occupancy sensors to limit the use of interior lighting, and its exterior lighting was designed to reduce light pollution. The use of equipment with high-energy efficiency and energy recovery ventilators were other factors that enabled Bluff City to reduce its energy consumption by approximately 65 percent.

About 70 percent of Bluff City鈥檚 LEED points were for design elements, including its reflective roof system on the transfer building, which reduces the heat island effect鈥檚 adverse impact on the local habitat. The transfer station gained the rest of its LEED credits for construction practices such as:

• Minimizing site disturbance during construction.

• Diverting construction waste from landfills.

• Implementing a thorough Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) management plan.

• Selecting wood that met the requirements of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification program.

• Using construction materials with high-recycled content that were locally manufactured, which reduced the use of fossil fuels for their transportation.

A Commitment to Environmental Stewardship

On a strictly functional level, Bluff City and 豆包成人版 Management鈥檚 other two transfer facilities in Illinois accomplished two key objectives: 1) enabling the company to achieve efficiency in waste processing and 2) reducing transportation costs for the community. By designing and building these facilities using sustainable BMPs, the company is also fulfilling its commitment to be responsible stewards of the environment.

鈥淭hese facilities are tangible evidence of our continuing efforts to pursue sustainability goals and implement smart, innovative waste management solutions,鈥� said Steve Batchelor, market area vice president for 豆包成人版 Management of Illinois. 鈥淭he feedback we鈥檝e received about them from their respective communities has been all positive.鈥�

Added Laureen Blissard, the former Chair of the Chicago Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, 鈥湺拱�成人版 Management of Illinois should be commended for choosing to pursue LEED as a part of its commitment to sustainability. This is an excellent example of corporate responsibility that, hopefully, other organizations will strive to emulate.鈥�

Jason P. Dwyer, AIA, LEED AP, is project executive for Wight & Company, a nationally recognized leader in sustainable design and construction and one of the founding members of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). He can be reached at (630) 739-6921 or [email protected].