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CASE STUDY

Thanks to the Surplus Reuse Program offered by Eco One Solutions, IHS Global Insight was able to save money and make a significant charitable donation when removing surplus inventory during a recent relocation. Not only that, but by reusing the property – as opposed to recycling or disposing in a dumpster – the Lexington, Mass., company was helping the environment.

“Reusing surplus property is not only the most cost-effective method of disposal, it is the most environmentally responsible route,” explained Stacey Clark, project manager for Eco One Solutions (E1S), a subsidiary of Integrated Green Building Solutions, LLC.

“Recycling the materials or dumping them in a landfill requires energy and produces greenhouse gas emissions. By reusing the property, the only emissions are created by transport.”

The reuse of 5.6 tons of office equipment avoids greenhouse gas emissions of approximately 101 metric tons. That’s equivalent to taking five cars off the road for a year.

Plus, the property was donated to a charitable organization for use in its disaster relief efforts. Considering the monetary savings of 25-30 percent, on average, it’s a win-win situation for everyone.

“With such a surplus of inventory on our hands, it was an easy decision to make in choosing to work with E1S,” said Alison Powers, Executive Assistant of IHS Global Insight. “From start to finish, the removal was coordinated in a professional and friendly manner and knowing that our items would not end up in a landfill but in the hands of those in need made it a ‘feel good’ process.”

EMISSIONS REDUCTION
Eco One Solutions Surplus Reuse Program
Project: IHS Global Insight (Lexington, Mass.), completed Jan. 2009
Tonnage of reused property: 5.6
Recycling rate: 100 percent
Greenhouse gas reduction*: 101 metric tons
Equivalent to 5 cars off the road for one year
*compared to simple disposal (no recycling)
Source for calculations: Northeast Recycling Council (www.nerc.org)

Eco One Solutions handles every aspect of the project, including site management, coordination with donation outlets, truck scheduling, project reporting and customs documentation (if the items are shipped overseas). Costs are less because E1S uses shipping containers to transport the items directly to the recipients, thus avoiding additional handling charges.

One shipping container holds the equivalent of three to four 30-yard roll-off dumpsters. It is faster, and less expensive, for a moving crew to load a container than to load and transport the equivalent number of dumpsters to the landfill.

Amazingly, more than 90 percent of surplus property projects wind up in dumpsters. It is far less expensive, and much more socially responsible, to work with Eco One on a Surplus Reuse Program.

CASE STUDY

By working with Eco One Solutions, Taulman Construction was able to recycle 96.2 percent of the waste and surplus materials from a recent laboratory renovation project at Yale University – while reducing recycling costs by 25 percent. In so doing, Taulman Construction not only earned extra LEED credits for the project, qualifying for an Innovation Credit for Exemplary Performance in Waste Management, but also significantly lessened the environmental impacts of the work.

“Eco One was the key to our success in reaching construction waste management and recycling goals,” said John F. Raccuia, president of Taulman Construction Company. “Their ability and willingness to educate and inform our subcontractors and staff is exceptional. Eco One’s expertise and their network of industry contacts are valuable resources.”

Recycled materials included concrete, masonry, wood, gypsum and cardboard (from new property packed in boxes). The higher recycling rate was the result of a more thorough sorting process, which also makes the materials more valuable to recycling companies.

Compared to a LEED MR2.1 rating (50 percent recycling), this project prevented the emission of 874 tons of greenhouse gases, equivalent to removing 46 cars from the road for one year.

EMISSIONS REDUCTION
Eco One Solutions/Taulman Construction recycling project at Yale University
Completed: Feb. 2009
Tonnage of recycled materials: 147
Building size: 7,600 sq. ft.
Recycling rate: 96.2%
Greenhouse gas reduction (compared to simple disposal, no recycling):
1,389 metric tons
Equivalent to removing 74 cars from the road for one year
Source for calculations: Northeast Recycling Council (www.nerc.org)

“These types of projects can have a huge positive impact on the environment,” explained Rick Roberts, project manager for Eco One Solutions, a subsidiary of Integrated Green Building Solutions, LLC. “For example, manufacturing new steel from scratch is far more energy intensive than producing it from recycled steel. The same holds true for all of the other recycled materials.”

As part of the project, more than 26 tons of furniture and other school property were recycled through charitable donations – instead of piling up in Connecticut landfills. In addition, Eco One monitored the indoor air quality (IAQ), creating a safer working environment for contractors and cleaner air for future occupants. An IAQ report that meets LEED specifications also earns additional LEED credits.

With New England rapidly running out of landfill space, high levels of recycling are more cost effective, and socially responsible, than ever before. That’s why the Eco One plan makes sense – for everyone.