Base touts green initiatives Published April 30, 2010 By Kimberly L. Wright Air University Public Affairs MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- Officials at Maxwell Air Force Base, and the Department of Defense as a whole, are concerned about sustaining natural and energy resources. That consciousness is seeping into every aspect of base life, from the creation of buildings to the daily use of energy. "The Air Force is concerned about energy consumption and the cost of energy consumption," said Beth Osgood of Base Environmental. "It's important to reuse the resources wisely. We also try to divert a lot of waste so it doesn't end up in landfills." Environmental friendliness has made its way into the contracting process for new projects, which are evaluated for adherence to environmental standards, including energy efficiency and reuse of materials, said Jayme Ivey of Civil Engineering. "Out here at the base we are implementing 'green procurement' in all of our projects that we do." This emphasis on green procurement means time must be invested in ensuring building and construction projects meet the standards set by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. LEED is a third-party green building certification system applied to buildings and communities that are trying to improve their "energy savings, carbon dioxide emissions reduction, indoor environmental quality and water efficiency" as well as ensuring that materials used have a low environmental impact and are sustainable, Ms. Ivey said. This means most materials must either be made of recyclable materials or, when the material has reached the end of its life cycle, can be recycled into another product or energy instead of being discarded. For instance, recyclable tiles were used in the fitness center, and when tiles are removed during renovations, they are returned to the tile company for recycling. Carpeting is treated the same way, with old carpeting shipped to the manufacturer to be recycled, burned for energy or donated. "This process is new for us out here on base, so we are trying to implement it in all of our future projects, and trying to get people to understand what this is and how it will affect the future of the base," said Ms. Ivey. People on base are encouraged to be environmentally friendly by recycling paper at their offices. They can also take aluminum cans, plastic bottles and cardboard to recycling bins near the commissary, in the former Burger King parking lot. In addition, Base Transportation and the hobby shop collect old tires for recycling, said Lindsay Kennington of Base Environmental, an effort encouraged by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management's Scrap Tire Program. The ADEM Scrap Tire Program is designed to develop markets for scrap tires and "to promote the idea of using scrap tire material," so the public refrains from dumping the reusable material into landfills, said Ben Cordes of ADEM. Uses touted by the scrap tire program include playground and landscape beds, sidewalk tiles, parking stops used in parking lots, asphalt, artificial turf and fuel for kilns. Tires are "very efficient used as a fuel," said Mr. Cordes, and the kiln fuel is specially designed for use at very high temperatures so it doesn't create the black smoke and odor associated with burning rubber.