The center's recycling program will focus on five target materials--white paper, mixed office paper, newspaper, cardboard and plastics—and will collect items from 553 campus buildings, the university says in a news release. The university is paying for the facility with revenues generated by the recycled materials.

"The facility emphasizes the reuse and recycling functions that are critical to keeping waste out of the landfill," said Ruth Daoust, manager of the facility.

In pursuing LEED certification for environmentally conscious design and construction, the center incorporates numerous green features, such as:

• The building gutter system can collect and route to collection tanks a maximum of 5,000 gallons of nonpotable rainwater. The water is then treated and used in toilets and other nonpotable water devices.
• 192 photovoltaic panels on the center's roof will produce an estimated 37,257 kilowatt hours per year of energy--10 percent of the electricity for the building--a value of $2,831 per year. Panels also are situated on some of the parking lot street lamps.
• Conditioned air exhausted from restrooms powers the energy ventilation recovery system to help cool incoming fresh outdoor air. This reduces the cost of cooling or heating fresh air and helps eliminate ozone-depleting refrigerants in the air conditioning systems.
• High-volume, low-speed ceiling fans save energy by moving a very large volume of air at low speeds. They produce a breeze large enough to lower the temperature 8 to 16 degrees in the summer. In the winter, they help circulate warm air and reduce heating bills by 25 percent or more. The fans range from eight to 12 feet in diameter (compared with the average four-foot home ceiling fan).
• The building's northeast parking lot consists of porous asphalt, which naturally filters sediment from rainwater, which is absorbed into the soil in an otherwise impervious 1.2-acre area. Four rain gardens on the outside edges of the pavement will help absorb and filter rainwater, prevent flooding and reduce storm-water runoff by 30 percent.
• Large numbers of windows enable daylighting to illuminate much of the facility.
• Motion sensors control lights within high-traffic areas.
• Low-flow fixtures in restrooms reduce water use.
• The conference table and some countertops are constructed with 100 percent recycled glass, giving them the appearance and durability of granite. They are free of volatile organic compounds and don’t require the removal of granite from the earth through mining practices. In addition, concrete around the building includes recycled green glass within the mix, replacing 15 percent of the original cement. The substitution strengthens the concrete and repurposes the glass.

In addition to the recycling operation, the facility includes MSU's Surplus Store, which collects university property no longer being used and sells it to the public, donates it to charity, or recycles it. The building also has an education center, where visitors are able to learn about recycling and reuse and see how the center operates.

Read more about the facility here.

• 9,156: In square feet, the size of the green roof atop the Biology building at the University of Texas at El Paso. The school says the roof is covered with such plants as regal mist, white evening primrose and sun gold gazania.

Source: University of Texas at El Paso

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