Fame and Saving Resources

Check out my official byline!

I wrote an article for the American Public Works Association's national magazine, the APWA Reporter. I know, I know, I'll try not forget the little people as I ascend the heights of solid waste superstardom. Heh heh. Okay, I kid.

This article features the bulk of information that we're hoping to roll out as the Save Green Go Green program. More information on that will be coming shortly but in the meantime, here is the entirety of my APWA article. Enjoy!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Making a positive impact in Boone County
Forging partnerships, encouraging creativity and choosing to make small changes

Becky Haltermon
Education and Litter Abatement Coordinator
Boone County Public Works
Division of Solid Waste Management
Burlington, Kentucky

You’ve probably noticed that we are currently riding a sinking economic recession. Conserving taxpayer dollars is a priority for every local entity and certainly Boone County, Kentucky is no exception. Wonderfully, we ladies of Boone County Solid Waste work closely with the Public Works Department, creating a reciprocated relationship that pools resources for maximum public service.

We have teamed up with road crews, the Sign Division, the County Engineer, and every hardworking hand at the Department for almost a decade. While we spend our time fine-tuning environmental programs like recycling, community cleanups, enforcement, and public education and outreach, Boone County Public Works has our backs every step of the way. We are given support, advice, and serious aid from the most hard-working folks in Kentucky.

So in the spirit of superior cooperation, we too share our expertise, giving a little something to the Department and County that has made our programs possible. The conservation of fiscal resources begins with environmental conservation which could save taxpayer dollars while spurring us towards a smaller ecological footprint. Many of these suggestions are easy and could be implemented with little or no cost while immediately improving the bottom line.

Fuel

Remarkably, it is simple to cut outrageous fuel costs: common-sense driving practices are the single most effective method of increasing fleet efficiency.

This means squashing aggressive driving. Stomping on the gas, slamming on the brakes, and revving up all lower gas mileage by five percent in city driving and thirty-three percent on the highway. We need merely increase the calm with which we approach driving government vehicles to save bucks. The same goes for speeding: Vehicles are built to run most efficiently at around fifty-five miles per hour so for every five miles above sixty miles per hour, the vehicle is wasting seven to twenty-three percent more fuel. Obviously, idling an engine will get you the worst gas mileage possible: zero miles per gallon. We ask that our coworkers keep an eye out the amount of time spent idling by being wary of running the engine when no one is in the vehicle and by avoiding long drive-thru lines.

Adding excess weight to a truck can also impacts its efficiency. For every one hundred pounds of extra junk on a vehicle, miles per gallon are reduced by two percent. While it is often the norm that County trucks haul heavy stuff, it couldn’t hurt to investigate each vehicle to see if its load can be reduced.

Operating the A/C can also affect fuel economy. For city driving, using the A/C can lower a vehicle’s efficiency by about a mile per gallon. At speeds of fifty-five mile per hour and higher, however, open windows create drag and can actually reduce fuel economy even more than the A/C. Therefore, we can maintain optimum fuel efficiency by using the A/C while highway driving and rolling down the windows when in stop and go traffic.

Other ideas to keep in mind include using the cruise control when covering level land because it keeps speeds constant, using the highest gears possible to lower the vehicle’s engine speed, carpooling when workable, and combining trips.

Sources: The US government’s website on fuel economy, www.fueleconomy.gov; www.cartalk.com; www.edmunds.com; www.npr.org; www.doe.gov; www.epa.gov

Offices

Office spaces are often rife with waste but minute changes can seriously cut costs. For example, by simply changing the margins of Word documents, agencies can cut the amount of paper consumed. The Penn State Green Destiny Council estimated that by changing paper margins to .75” on all sides, there is an estimated 4.75% reduction in paper use. Similarly, paper consumption can be reduced by using both sides of the sheet as some companies have seen a 10% reduction in paper use by setting their copier defaults to print on both sides instead of one. For serious print reduction, move files to a solely electronically-based format and increase employee access to computers. Everyone appreciates fewer printed memos. Also, posting instructions near copiers diminishes paper waste due to mistakes made when copying and reducing the size of a document when copying can turn two pages into one. For a final paper-saving tip, collect paper that has a blank side and then cut and staple it into note pads. In five minutes, employees can save paper from being wasted and save taxpayers a bit of money by not buying new notepads.

Other ideas for office efficiency include repairing, instead of replacing, office furniture and equipment, sharing old office supplies like plastic binders, file holders, clips, etc., keeping reusable kitchen supplies like silverware and ceramic mugs, buying bulk creamer and sugar, taking advantage of water coolers instead of buying bottled water, and cutting water waste by fixing leaky faucets and toilets as fast as possible.

Sources: http://www.changethemargins.com/; Cutting Costs and Preventing Waste in NYC Office Buildings and Institutions: Three Case Studies. http://www.p2pays.org/ref%5C03/02229.pdf; SFU Sustainable Campus Coalition’s Green Practices Guide: Green Practices for the Home and Office, http://www.sfu.ca/~sustain/pdf/green_practices_guide.pdf; Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Greening SEPA: Going Green, http://www.sepa.org.uk/green/guidance.htm

Energy

Reducing the energy bill is a key component of fiscal responsibility. Thirty percent of all energy use in the US goes towards heating and cooling buildings so that thermostat downstairs is a major player in increasing monetary supplies and decreasing pollution. In the winter, open blinds to let the sun inside and warm offices. In the summer, drawn blinds can help cool these rooms. This uses a free natural resource – the sun – as a replacement for an expensive resource – coal-fueled electricity. Keep doors and windows shut to keep in the warm/cool air and avoid heating or cooling to the extreme. Easy.

Lighting a building can suck up electricity so we offer natural light as the best option whenever it is possible. Also, task-specific lighting uses less energy because you end up brightening only the corners of a building that need it. Naturally, it is best to turn out the lights whenever they’re not needed.

Computers are another energy vulture. Allowing a computer to go into standby mode can use as much as 30% the machine’s normal energy expenditure so turning it off is smarter than letting it settle into standby. Just turning off a computer monitor when going to lunch saves electricity as monitors use 60% of the energy devoured by computers. For other energy savings, investigate purchasing Energy Star equipment. These are machines that have been certified by the EPA as preferable because of decreased energy consumption.

Here are some other facts to keep in mind: Laptops use up to 90% less energy than the standard desktop, ink-jet printers use up to 90% less energy than laser printers, Flat screen LCDs use approximately 1/3 the energy required for a CRT monitor, and taking the stairs uses no electricity and costs no money, making it a far better choice than taking the elevator.

Sources: SFU Sustainable Campus Coalition’s Green Practices Guide: Green Practices for the Home and Office, http://www.sfu.ca/~sustain/pdf/green_practices_guide.pdf; Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Greening SEPA: Going Green, http://www.sepa.org.uk/green/guidance.htm

So sure, lean times have come upon many of us in local government. But by forging partnerships, encouraging creativity, choosing to make small changes, and opting for conservation, we can all have a positive impact on our agency’s finances and the environment. I know that we here in Boone County will be banding together to do just that.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------