Building Sustainability From the Ground Up

GreenScapes is: Multi-media EPA Partnership Program designed to promote a wide variety of environmentally beneficial landscaping and land management practices.

GreenScapes is: Designed to help preserve natural resources and prevent waste and pollution by encouraging more holistic decisions regarding waste, water, chemicals, energy, and land use.

GreenScapes is: Designed to provide cost-efficient and environmentally friendly solutions - improving both an organization’s bottom-line and the environment.

Think Big: Roads & Highways Commercial Buildings Industrial Sites Military Installations Brownfields Colleges & Universities Recreation areas - parks, golf courses, ski resorts, amusement parks, …

Think about: Millions of tons of waste materials that are –Hauled away to a landfill, –Buried, or –Burned Each and every day from landscaping construction and maintenance operations: Trees Shrubs, Brush Lumber Asphalt Concrete, etc…

Also, consider the millions of gallons of: Water Pesticides Fertilizers Fuels Oil Used each & every day in building and maintaining these lands.

Make more holistic and sustainable decisions regarding: –Waste generation & disposal –Use of Water Chemicals Air Plants Energy Land & Wetlands

The GreenScapes Solution Focus on the 4 Rs Reduce Reuse Recycle Rebuy

Reduce: The first and most important step towards efficient materials use & pollution prevention.

Examples: Reduce site and soil disruptions Reduce waste generation by utilizing slow-growing, low maintenance plant materials.

Avoid landscaping products that require frequent replacement or maintenance to reduce future waste. Durable products will long outlast those of lesser quality, reducing future waste generation and the need to purchase new or replacement products.

Consider: Reduce or eliminate plastic silt fencing. –Substitute with blankets, berms, and filter-socks made of compost.

Compost provides: Superior filtration & erosion prevention/control More easily installed & maintained Control & reduction of non-point source pollution. Does not require removal or disposal from site once job is complete

A few additional ways to reduce: Reduce nonpermeable hardscape to minimize rainwater runoff & erosion. Switch from benches, boardwalks & bridges made from wood to long-lived plastic lumber. Conserve water and reduce maintenance by Xeriscaping. Reduce chemical use by using native plants and organic biobased fertilizers.

Reuse: Key to effective management by making the most of your valuable resources - –Financial –Materials

Ways to reuse: Chip trees and wood waste into mulch. –Saves money on disposal costs and commercial mulch purchases –Provides benefits of mulch: Moisture retention Weed prevention Erosion control

Additional reuse options: Disassemble and use structural wood elsewhere, sell or grind into mulch. Return wooden pallets to your supplier whenever possible. Donate healthy plants to community gardens, schools, churches, or other local local non-profit organizations when updating or removing trees & shrubs from landscape. Use alternative sources of irrigation water such as gray water, reclaimed water, and collected rain water.

Recycle: Save money on disposal costs, by recycling waste materials – you may even be able to get a few dollars for them.

Consider: Send wood waste & trimmings that cannot be composted on site to a local composting facility. Recycle plastic fencing, barriers, plant & pesticide containers. Collect and recycle used oil & tires from your vehicles and equipment.

Rebuy: Rebuying means re-thinking your purchasing habits. Look for products that meet your needs but have a better environmental profile than your current product purchases.

Consider: Recycled content Biobased products (incl. fuels & lubricants) Renewable energy & products Energy & water efficient Rebuying is key to sustainability by putting valuable materials back to work. Change your thinking: It’s not waste – it’s another resource.

For example: Use compost to minimize / eliminate: –Soil erosion –Runoff –Nonpoint source pollution –Irrigation –Fertilizers –Pesticides It’s both a recycled & biobased product.

A Proven Technique Compost blankets, berms, and filter socks have been added to the US EPA menu of Best Management Practices (BMPs) for storm water management - NPDES. State DoT’s are specifying compost for roadside erosion control. (

Did You Know?: For every 1% of organic matter, the soil can hold 16,000 gallons of plant- available water per acre of soil down to one foot deep! Most soils average approx. 1% organic content Healthy soils average 5-6% (5 x 16,000 = 80,000 gallons water holding capacity)

Better, Faster, Cheaper Cleanups Provides an inexpensive & straightforward solution to managing hazardous industrial waste streams & remediating soils contaminated with toxic organic and inorganic compounds.

Proven effective for: Chlorinated & nonchlorinated hydrocarbons Wood-preserving chemicals Solvents Heavy metals Pesticides Petroleum products Explosives

Returns site to precontamination condition Provides soil conditioning Nutrients Water retention Erosion control Micro-organisms essential for healthy soil

Select plastic lumber made from recycled bottles & bags. –Extremely durable –Lasts longer than wood –Requires less maintenance than wood Labor Paint / solvents Repairs –Significant long-term savings.

Specify rubberized asphalt (made from recycled tires) for: –Walking paths –Bike paths –Cart paths –Parking lots Extends the life of the trails and reduces frequency of repairs.

Benefits of just these 3 products: Compost Plastic lumber Rubberized asphalt Every scrap of organics, plastics (LDPE, HDPE, PET), and tires generated in the entire U.S could be put to use by the landscaping industry alone.

Benefits: Equal or better performance Material cost savings Labor cost savings All of this means money in your pocket.

Apply the 4 Rs to everything you do: Reduce water use –Implement “hydrozones”- grouping plants by water needs –Irrigation sensors –Use compost & mulch Reuse and recycle water – use gray & rain water Compost to reduce waste and reuse nutrients Reduce pesticide and fertilizer use –Test to determine needs –Use only where & when needed – spot treat. Buy -Organic fertilizers and pest controls whenever possible. -Native, slow-growing, low- maintenance plants & grasses

The Economic & Environmental Benefits of GreenScaping: Reduced water use Reduced irrigation costs – water & energy Reduced plant growth Reduced plant maintenance Reduced waste generation Reduced labor – time & cost (maint. & disposal) Reduced equipment operating times Reduced equip. maint. – labor & supplies Reduced fuel use Reduced emissions Reduced fertilizer use – material & labor savings Reduced pesticide use – material & labor savings Reduced nonpoint source pollution Reduced exposure to hazardous materials Reduce insurance costs?

Additional Benefits of GreenScaping: Reduced exposure to your customers, employees, and yourself from potentially harmful chemicals, solvents, fuels, and pesticides.

Additional Benefits of GreenScaping: Improved competitive edge with reduced costs and improved materials & energy efficiency.

Additional Benefits of GreenScaping: Improved public perception of your business.

Additional Benefits of GreenScaping: Knowledge that you are making a difference by helping prevent pollution, curb climate change, and reduce your “environmental footprint” on the Earth.

GreenScapes EPA Partnership program to implement & promote “green” landscaping practices >Partners & Allies >Provides state-of-the-art recommendations >Web-based menu of options & resources >Multi-media … continually updated >Small scale & Large scale  National Recognition Program & Case Studies

GreenScapes: A growing group of organizations, large and small, coming together to promote green landscaping practices. US Green Building Council & American Society of Landscape ArchitectsCurrently 100+ incl. US Green Building Council & American Society of Landscape Architects

The USGBC LEED ® connection: GreenScapes is working with the ALSA and others on the Sustainable Sites Initiative Many site features are not fully addressed under the current LEED® standards, but are essential to the sustainability of green spaces Establish a standard for sustainable site design, construction, and maintenance with clearly defined metrics sustainablesites.orgIdentify & recognize sites that meet a defined standard of sustainability and help educate and promote sustainable design. For more info: sustainablesites.org

Why is this needed? Some of our most sensitive environments are being developed without buildings –Such as hiking trails, boardwalk trails through wetlands, sports field complex Some projects which have the greatest impact on the environment are not currently eligible to receive LEED certification –Dams, roads, powerline corridors, parks, streetscapes, etc. Often the impacts of site development are much greater than the impacts of the associated building, leading to a false sense of sustainability. –For example a “park & ride” with a stellar building for restrooms and ticket sales but has a 500 car parking lot that is highly lit, with impervious surfaces, built on a filled wetland with a high-maintenance landscape

GreenScapes is also working with: EMS guidance to enhance and amplify green landscaping The Federal “Green Highways” initiative Both encourage more “sustainable” construction & maintenance practices

The Future is Now – Get Ahead of the Game More Federal, State, and local gov’ts will spec “sustainable” & “low impact development” techniques. The US Green Building Council LEEDs will be requiring a growing list of “greener” practices and products. Architects and industry are focusing on sustainability.

Homeowners GreenScapes now includes information & recommendations for Homeowners Commercial brochure Homeowner brochure

… educating homeowners by Working with local governments, homeowner associations, county extension agents Working with large retail organizations such as Home Depot & Walmart Working with and supporting our GreenScapes Partners & Allies Join Us!

For more info … Questions? Contact: Jean Schwab Phone: (703)