Welcome to the premier edition of the Green Team newsletter. This newsletter will report on the inner workings of the Green the Capitol office, profile members of the Green Team and provide news from environmental outlets with analysis from the GTC staff on changes in the “greening industry,” among other features.
The House’s food waste is put into a machine called a pulper, where it is crushed and shredded
It’s the new circle of waste at the House: food is thrown away in the cafeteria. It’s crushed and shredded. It’s turned into nutrient rich compost, added to topsoil and sold to grow new food and landscape yards.
“It’s an exciting process,” Chief Administrative Officer Dan Beard said. “We’re doing everything we can to reduce the House’s impact on the environment and this is a good example of our success.”
The House recently introduced a new recycling system that created a category called “compostable” to recycle food, cups, plates, napkins, utensils and carryout containers provided in the House eateries.
When members, employees and visitors throw their waste away it’s taken near Longworth’s loading docks, where a machine called a pulper crushes, shreds and squeezes it. The waste comes out looking something like coleslaw.
The House's waste is dumped, along with waste from Whole Foods, at a commercial compost facility in Maryland
The pulper extracts the water from the food, reducing the weight of the waste by as much as 70 percent and leading to savings in transportation costs, Green the Capitol Deputy Director Perry Plumart said. Even the green bags that hold the waste are compostable.
The amount of solid waste sent to landfills has decreased by nearly 120 tons since the House began composting.
After it’s composted, the waste is either taken to a commercial composting facility called Chesterfield Farms in Crofton, Maryland or the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s composting facility in Beltsville, Maryland.
A front end loader mixes the waste with wood chips and other organic materials
Commercial hauler Bates Trucking takes the House’s waste to Chesterfield Farms six days a week. The compost is dumped at the Crofton facility and mixed with leaves and grass clippings.
Then, the mixture is put into rows and turned every few days, to ensure that it maintains a proper temperature and balance of carbon and nitrogen. For the organic material to break down properly, it’s also critical that the moisture content stay between 40 and 60 percent.
“It’s an all natural process,” Alan Boehm, owner of Chesterfield Farms, said. “Just give (microbes) enough air and water and make sure they have enough food.”
The mixture is hauled to a large pile
When the cycle is complete the process not only keeps tons of waste out of landfills, but it also creates a new, valuable product, Boehm's wife Marsha said.
Soil enriched with composted material is, “a lot better to grow fruits and vegetables,” Marsha Boehm said.
The compost enriched topsoil is then sold — to the Pentagon for a recent restoration project or to Capitol Hill community gardens, for example.
It’s often takes time for people to get in the habit of separating their waste, Alan Boehm said, noting that the House’s composted material has fewer “contaminants,” such as potato chip bags, than when the program first began.
The piles of waste and wood chips are formed into rows
“It’s definitely a process,” he said. “People have to want to do it.”
Beard said he’s seen staffers go back to the cafeterias after they’re done eating. And not for dessert. Employees are returning to put their trash in the proper compost bins.
“It’s a good sign. It means people understand that we need their help to Green the Capitol.” Beard said, noting the House now has a program that allows employees to request compost bins in their offices.
Less than three months later, the material is put through a machine which filters it so it can be used in soil
The Department of Agriculture has a slightly different process than the one at Chesterfield Farms.
A front end loader mixes the waste with leaves, old hay and sawdust that comes from the House Cabinet Shop. The mix is turned periodically and then put into a machine, called a composting unit, where exhaust air is delivered to a bio filter that contains odorant digesting microbes. Two weeks later, the material goes into a “curing pile” where it’s turned periodically and eventually used on the USDA’s fields.
By summer time, the soil will be ready to go back to the House, where it will be used on the grounds.
Beard said: “We’re coming full circle with our waste stream here at the House.”
Brandon Naylor » Rep. Dennis Moore (D-Kansas)
Brandon Naylor represents one of the Green the Capitol program’s greatest assets — the enthusiastic volunteer.
The office manager for Rep. Dennis Moore (D-Kansas) said being a native of Kansas inspired an early interest in all things green.
Kansas is one of the country’s top producers of ethanol, the biofuel that is often made from materials such as sugar cane.
Naylor is pumped up about greening the Capitol and he’s making changes in his office to help make the House more environmentally friendly. He’s replaced most of the incandescent bulbs with more energy efficient fluorescent ones in his Longworth office. The staff has committed to using recycled paper in their printers and copiers. He proudly said that six of the nine staff members in his office use public transportation.
He also focuses on saving energy at home. He and his roommate conserve energy in their basement apartment by remembering to turn off lights when they leave a room and relying on fresh air instead of air conditioning, that is until the heat and humidity of the summer becomes unbearable. “Our average energy bill is around $60,” he said.
While Brandon is committed to doing his part, he still has a sense of humor when it comes to the greening program. He and another staff member shared a laugh about where the new office compost bins should go. Maybe right beside his desk? With a laugh, he assured everyone that the new bins won’t contain egg shells and earthworms. They will be taken out and emptied every night. “Just like the trash,” he explained with a smile.
CAO Dan Beard spoke about Green the Capitol at the Better Living Expo in Portland, Oregon
Beard was the featured speaker at the University of Oregon's (UO's) new environmentally friendly White Stag Building.
Portland's daily newspaper, The Oregonian, described the building as follows:
The $37 million renovation has connected the gothic Bickel building, designed in 1883, with the 1889 Skidmore building, both distinct for cast-iron features such as building fronts, columns and window shutters. They are joined to the more industrial White Stag building, designed in 1907 and well-known for the neon Made in Oregon sign on its roof.
UO is leasing 103,000 square feet of classroom, office and event space -- double what it has had in Southwest Portland's Willamette Building and other offices scattered around town.
The building should accommodate expansions in the university's education programs for 20 years, said Terri L. Warpinski, the vice provost for academic affairs who oversees the university's off-campus education programs.
"We like its symbolism," Warpinski said of the new building. "We love the visibility."
Renovators made the buildings open and airy, exploiting natural light with windows and glass ceilings. They also used environmentally friendly materials and designed features to save water and energy.
Warpinksi invited Beard to be one of the first people to tour the White Stag Building and to speak to those on the university's staff involved in the University's greening efforts. Beard explained the Green the Capitol Initiative in a round-table discussion aimed at learning how the Capitol's attempt at greening compared to UO's.
The LEED-certified White Stag building boasts rainwater harvesting, water-saving fixtures, energy efficient cooling and heating systems, recycled building materials and non-toxic paints, glues, carpeting, sealants and finishes. The building will also have a green roof and solar arrays in the near future.
On his recent trip to the City of Roses, which was marked by a snap snow storm, Beard also met with a delegation from the City of Portland to discuss the House's new bike sharing program, Wheels4Wellness.
At the meeting, which was held in downtown Portland, city officials and their community advisors shared their thoughts on how to launch an effective bike sharing program, which they are currently planning. Tom Miller, the City of Portland's Chief of Staff said "convenience" is the key to the success of any bike sharing roll-out. The City is in the process of figuring out how many bikes they should purchase for their program. European cities that have encountered the most success, like Paris, made bikes widely available and easily accessible, he noted.
Some of the city's advisors suggested that rather than making bikes available on racks, the House should consider "valet" attendants for the bikes.
Beard plans on purchasing 30 bicycles as part of the House's program, the details of which are being worked out.
While in the "greenest city in America," Beard also met with Jeff Harvey, president and CEO of Burgerville, a chain of 39 Pacific Northwest quick-service restaurants known for their support of local farmers and ranchers, as well as the environment.
Harvey explained the company is proud of their employee-led recycling and composting program, through which they plan to save a minimum of $100,000 in annual hauling fees to landfills. The company is also converting all of their used cooking oil to biodiesel fuel.
Beard shared with Harvey the news that the House's eateries are also composting waste and, like Burgerville, taking advantage of locally produced food.
Beard will also travel to Los Angeles and San Francisco in the coming months to discuss the challenges and successes of the effort to make the House a model of sustainability.