Goal of living buildings, reality of single-stream recycling

When we think of things that breathe, move and live, there are some things that come to mind immediately – the people we encounter each day, the animals around us, the plants that line the landscape of the Earth. Well,  Biology Lecturer and Green Team chair Mark Bremer wants you to add something else to that list – “living buildings.”

In a recent lecture, “Beyond LEED: Living Buildings,” Bremer explained that buildings may not be walking around and shaking hands, but they are in fact, doing things like breathing and moving, just like people, animals and plants.

“Can a building adapt to its environment or evolve new features?’ Bremer asked the crowd. “Yes. It can.”

Using examples like the Syracuse Center of Excellence, which has an eight-layer, 17,000 square foot roof made up of things like concrete, a vapor barrier, gypsum board, membrane, drainage composite and growth media, topped with a very hearty plant known as Sedum, Bremer described how buildings have the ability to grow, literally. Through the use of that special-layered mix, the roof of the Center of Excellence grows every spring and goes dormant in the winter.

Bremer also noted how the use of things like solar technology on a building allow it to move as the solar panels trace the sun’s movement throughout the day, creating a structure that actually moves while it collects and sustains its own energy.

Even the Wildcat Field House has living-building features, Bremer said, noting the way that the windows in the Field House are installed and open, creating what is known as “natural ventilation” within the structure. Natural ventilation is the process of supplying and removing air through an indoor space without using mechanical systems.

Being green is not just about the energy within a building or how it’s created. Sometimes it can be just what the building is made out of. The materials that are used to create a structure can serve multiple purposes, helping to bring the building to life, but also giving new life to old materials when they are re-purposed.

“Wood from old buildings that are to be torn down, for example,” Bremer noted. “It can be used for more than just being burned for energy. It can be cleaned, re-salvaged, and used within buildings. It’s giving rebirth to these materials instead of having to go out and harvest them.”

The title of Bremer’s talk says it all:  “Beyond LEED.” By going beyond the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, a building can be much more than just green. It can come to life.

So what does it take to be a complete and true, Living Building? The building must meet the requirements of The Living Building Challenge, a green building certification program that defines the most advanced measure of sustainability in the constructed environment and works to eliminate the gap between what the current limits of sustainability are and ideal solutions to take it farther. The projects that can do this reach a level of performance that allows them to claim to be the ‘greenest’ anywhere and act as examples for others to follow.

The challenge is made up of criteria that must be met, as Bremer explained.

• Beauty and Inspiration “A living building tells a story,” Bremer said. “It doesn’t just exist. It inspires.
• Materials “The materials are safe and responsible. Not just for people, but for all species.”
• Site “The site for all living buildings must be brownfield sites. You can’t just go out and use a farmland.”
• Energy “Living buildings must produce all of their own energy.”
• Water “Living buildings must collect their own water or use underground wells and replenish that system.”
• Indoor Air Quality “The air is the best that it can be.” 

In his role as head of the Green Team, Bremer works to helping the campus become greener through  initiatives like “Lights-Off” stickers in Donovan Hall to encourage energy conservation, the first-ever Inventory of campus greenhouse gas emissions, the launch of a campus carpooling network, power-down events and many more.

The future of the campus continues to look a little brighter and greener, Bremer says, with plans to institute waste management and recycling improvements, faculty workshops for infusing sustainability into curriculum, and post-consumer food waste composting for dining halls. And last month, the campus took a big step: single-stream recycling. Just in time for the start of the fall semester, Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Authority’s and “RecycleOne – One and Done” program took effect on campus.

“Collecting recyclables will be easier than ever, and we appreciate everyone’s support and cooperation during the transition,” Bremer said.

* All recyclable items – paper, plastic, metal, and glass – should be mixed together loosely in one “RecycleOne” container.

*  Recyclables can be collected in plastic bags, however they must be dumped loosely into recycling bins with NO plastic bags, NO string, NO trash, and NO food.

*  One exception to the “no bag” rule: shredded paper may be collected in a clear plastic bag and placed in the RecycleOne bin.

Flyers have been provided to each department and office to help everyone understand what is and is not recyclable under the new program, and facilities staff have placed label RecycleOne bins next to trash bins in buildings across campus.

Clearly, Bremer and the Green Team are doing their part to not only educate, but encourage action on campus and in the community for a greener future.