county green team

YOUR KAUAI COUNTY GREEN TEAM

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‘Let’s Go Green Team – get it done!’Green team Open House

How did the Green Team start?In February 2012, Mayor Carvalho and Glenn Sato, the County Sustainability Manager, pulled together a team of County agency representatives to move our County operations in a “greener,” more sustainable direction.

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Who is part of the green team?Green team members come from many different agencies and positions across the County. They are individuals who have a strong interest in helping our County make a transition to more sustainable operations. Ultimately, we consider all employees to be ‘part of the team’ and welcome ideas and participation from everyone!

A few Green Team Members meeting to share ideas

Green team Open House


County Green Team Members show off some reused glass artwork

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What does the Green Team do?The Green Team is simply a means to encourage sustainable operations and behavior within County Government. We meet once a month for a couple hours and work on small



We help raise awareness on efforts YOU already have underway!

(manageable) but visible (impactful) projects to help highlight some of the efforts so many of you have already initiated…whether it’s to save energy, water, or to reduce waste, etc. With these projects we hope to help raise awareness and accelerate many of the outstanding efforts already underway!

Refrigerator Replacement Program

Make the Switch ‐ Disposables to Reusables

Ride the Bus or be Cool in a Carpool

Your Office: Cool, Comfortable, and Efficient

Paper Reduction Campaign

YOUR GREEN TEAM AT WORK

11/16/2012 4Green team Open House

Age: 20 years oldBrought in by a county employee as a goodwill gestureConsumes 2,300 kWh per yearEstimated savings per year if replaced with a new refrigerator: $755.00Simple payback for replacement unit: 0.9 years

ENERGY HOG REFRIGERATOR

Q: What do old refrigerators do when they retire?A: Some go to work in county offices!!

REFRIGERATOR REPLACEMENT PROGRAM


KILL‐A‐WATT METER

• Call up the County Energy Coordinator at 241‐4955 and we’ll help you get a ‘kill‐o‐watt’ meter on that old fridge!

• We’re planning to replace the worst “energy hog” refrigerators located throughout County facilities

• See the results posted on the Green Team website

• Meters will also be available soon for employees to take home so you can determine if your fridge needs replacing to save energy and money at home too!


Here’s How the Program Works!



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New HE Refrigerator kWh/year ‐375 $/kWh Annual

Cost ‐ $146.25AnnualSavings

Simple payback

Planning 1,116.4 $0.39 $435.40 $289.15 2.42 yrs

IT Help Desk 974 $0.39 $379.86 $233.61 3 yrs

Transportation 949 $0.39 $370.11 $223.86 3.13 yrs

Housing 1 916.15 $0.39 $357.30 $211.05 3.32 yrs

Parks & Rec 2,311.2 $0.39 $901.37 $755.12 0.93 yrs

IT Dev 730 $0.39 $284.70 $138.45 5.06 yrs

Housing 2 675.25 $0.39 $263.35 $117.10 5.98 yrs

Fire Admin (Piikoi) 631 $0.39 $246.09 $99.84 7.01 yrs

Purchasing 513 $0.39 $200.07 $53.82 13.01 yrs

Housing 3 361.35 $0.39 $140.93 ($5.32) n/aGreen team Open House

Using reusable dishes and utensils, as well as avoiding bottled water in favor of alternatives goes a long way to prolonging the life of our landfill, reducing pollution, and saving money for the County.

Let’s work together to reduce what we send to the landfill!

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DISPOSABLES TO REUSABLES PROGRAM


The pie chart shown here represents the results of the County Waste Composition Study, which shows what we are throwing “away” every day, and more importantly, helps us understand how to better manage it!

What does our waste stream consist of?

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Paper, 33.9%

HHW, 0.6%Plastics, 13.5%

Sharps, 0.1%

Metals, 4.5%

Glass, 4.0%

Rubber, 0.3%

Yard Waste, 6.0%Other Inoraganic,

1.4%

Food Waste, 13.7%

Wood, 3.5%

C/R/D, 5.9%

Durables, 1.4%Textiles , 3.7%

Diapers, 2.0%Other Organic,

0.8%

Fines, 2.8%Other, 0.2%

Special Wastes, 1.7%


Planning Department rotates ‘kitchen duty’ among staff members and minimizes the use of disposable items

Transportation Agency has a clear policy against purchasing disposable dishware with department funds, and has nearly eliminated the use of disposable items.

Housing Agency recycles everything they can, including batteries! They also compost and are replacing ALL disposable kitchen items with reusables.

How do we stop creating all this junk?



Reusable dishware kits are available for your department functions

The Green Team now has reusable dishware kits available for loan for agency functions and parties.

Agencies are responsible for washing dishware after use.

Dishware kits can be borrowed by contacting Allison or Emily in the Recycling Office 241‐4841 or vial email [email protected]

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Bottled water It takes 2,000 times more energy to produce a bottle of water than it does to produce tap water.

Water coolers often run 24 hrs/day and use significant amounts of energy.

Filtering Water Pitchers work with existing office refrigerators, do not generate additional trash, and provides low cost, clean, good tasting water to drink.

SIGN UP TODAY TO RECEIVE A FREE WATER PITCHER FOR YOUR OFFICE

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Let’s reduce our energy use and waste generation …with a cool glass of water

Why Ride the Bus or Carpool?Save money! ‐ Estimates indicate @ $2000/year saved from riding the bus.*

Save time! ‐ Although it might take a little longer to get to work, IT’S YOUR TIME. You can read a book, check email, or just catch some sleep on the way to and from work!

Save the Planet – Ground transportation accounts for over 1/3rd of all petroleum use in Hawaii, and an equivalent percentage of CO2 emissions.

Save $2000/year in gas!

RIDE THE BUS OR BE COOL IN A CARPOOL


http://www.publictransportation.org/tools/fuelsavings/Pages/default.aspx

Reducing our VMTWhat in the world is VMT?VMT = Vehicle Miles Traveled.1 person in one car driving 1 mile = 1 vehicle mile5 people in one car driving 1 mile = 1 vehicle mile


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This indicator tells us how much we are using our roadways. Higher VMT indicates more fuel consumption, more traffic, and more cost. Carpooling and bus riding are two great ways to reduce VMT.

Want to learn more about our multi‐modal transportation system? Check out www.movekauai.net


Start riding the bus today ‐ it’s easy!Locate the bus stops for your start point and end destination.

Determine the bus route.Check rider fees. (free to County employees!)

Information available at www.kauai.gov/bus or by calling ‐ 246‐8110

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Want to start a carpool?Willing to share a ride or needing a ride to/from work?

Let us know & we’ll try to connect you with other County employees from your area!

Email [email protected]



Take the Pledge! Try the bus – get free stuff

Pledge to try riding the Kaua‘i Bus for the first time before the end of the year, and receive some fee swag from the Kaua‘i Transportation Agency!

After you sign up, a County Green Team member will be following up to encourage you follow through with your commitment, and to get feedback on your experience.

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Why Target Paper Reduction?Cost Savings – Compared to 2007, we now save approximately $12,000/year as a result of departmental paper reduction initiatives.Environmental Savings ‐ Since 2007, we have reduced enough to save approximately 180 trees/year.Energy Savings – along with the trees, we have also saved the equivalent of 850 barrels of oil per year!

PAPER REDUCTION CAMPAIGN


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How are we reducing our paper use in the County?Purchasing – Initiated a transition to a paperless system last year and has been very successful at reducing paper useBuilding Division – Is beginning a transition to electronic plan submittal which will reduce huge volumes of plan documents and allow for streamlined document reviewsPlanning Department –Reuses old plans by making them into notebooks for departmental use. Solid Waste Division – has an aggressive awareness program and assures that every County office has the tools and understanding needed for paper reduction and recycling!



Recycling bins in every office

http://cok‐sp‐02/sites/Purchasing/SitePages/Home.aspx

Purchasing made the first big move to paperless and several others are following their lead!

REAM

S OF PA

PER USED AN

NUA

LLY


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GREAT WORK, COUNTY TEAM!


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Here’s how you can get involved and keep it going!



• Print only when needed & print on both sides of the page when possible

• Always buy paper with high recycled content

• Make sure your used paper ends up in the recycle bin and not in the trash!

• Send us your best ideas for reducing paper waste within the County

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We conducted a survey to find out how comfortable you are in County offices….

COOL, COMFORTABLE, AND EFFICIENT


comfortabletoo warmtoo cold

56%

31%

13%

Over 100 employees responded

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‘People complain that often times different areas of the offices are too cold, but then other areas are comfortable

‘Many of our employees use heaters to keep warm during the day in addition to jackets’

‘During the day, the temperature is perfect’

‘The temperature outside affects the temperature within the office. Sunny, lower setting. Rainy high setting’

‘Control over an office's environment should be left to a consensus among the office staff. We live in a democratic society and a majority is usually what works for everyone’



Lots of employees provided specific comments as well…

With all the different perspectives, it’s not an easy problem to solve…

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So what’s next? We’re investigating a number of ways to improve comfort while reducing energy use:



Minimum set point ‐ This simple step would allow individual offices to retain temperature control, but would establish the minimum temperature that thermostats could be set to Retrocommissioning – Retrocommissioning is a method for investigating how andwhy a building’s systems are operated and maintained, and for identifying ways to improve overall building performanceMixed mode operations ‐ “Mixed‐mode” refers to a hybrid approach to space conditioning that uses a combination of natural ventilation from operable windows (either manually or automatically controlled), and mechanical systems that include air distribution equipment and refrigeration equipment for cooling.

The Green Team welcomes your input and ideas!Email us at [email protected] or speak to one of

YOUR green team members today!

THE GREEN TEAM NEEDS YOU!
