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Sustainability at Oak Ridge National Laboratory > Questions, Comments, Ideas > Questions
Welcome to our Questions Blog!

To ask a question, you must first sign in to the site as an ORNL user at the upper right of this page, then click Create a Post under Admin Links to the immediate right.

We will try to post a reply to your question in a timely manner. Questions with the most merit will remain on the Questions Blog for an extended period of time. Come back to read your reply and others at any time.

Note that you must be signed in to the site as an ORNL user to post items.

9/19/2012

Sprinkler System near 1520
Yesterday, 18Sep around noon (during the rain) the sprinkler system near 1520 was running creating a small stream of freshwater flowing across the round-about walk way. The sprinkler system was running at 5pm when I left yesterday and was running at 8:30 this morning when I arrived. Is the system being tested? Is it broken?
 
Lynn Cox, Roads and Grounds Manager in the Logistical Services Division, responds:
There is a problem with the system. Eastwood was contacted early this morning and we hope to have the system fixed soon.
Posted at 9:07 AM by Hetrick, Shelaine L. | Category: Saving energy at ORNL | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

9/10/2012

Effectiveness of paper recycling questioned
Ken Gawne asks:
 
I can't help but wonder and ask why is it we have these garbage cans with a compartment for paper to be recycled when all they do is dump it in the trash. Unfortunately the only route to recycle paper is in the secure receptacle which is shredded on site by a mobile shredder. This has to be more expensive energy wise as well as financially. It seems wasteful to be sending used paper out through this method when it does not warrant the security. I just think we can do better.
Posted at 3:48 PM by Shumpert, Barry L. | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

8/13/2012

Recycling wastes from laboratories
Donna Kridelbaugh poses the following question:
 
I noticed in the recent newsletter that there is a mandate to reduce the amount of waste at ORNL. In my area (Biosciences Division), there can be a lot of waste generated from packaging material (i.e., styrofoam shipping boxes) and empty containers (i.e., pipette tip containers) in the laboratory. I was told items that have been in the laboratory cannot be recycled, since people would be worried about the origins. Is this true that they cannot be recycled? If this is not true, I would like to suggest that perhaps more recycling bin areas could be set up on each floor of a research building to allow researchers to discard these materials. Thanks for your time.
Posted at 10:16 AM by Shumpert, Barry L. | Category: Recycling | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

8/8/2012

How to recycle used paper towels
Tiffany Mintz poses the following question:
 
After reading about ORNL's desire to increase its recycling effort for municipal waste, I thought about the abundance of paper towels that are used throughout the campus. I have read that paper towels are not able to be processed at traditional recycling facilities, but that there are more unconventional ways of recycling them. Two very good suggestions that I read about were to use paper towels as compost to create high-quality mulch, or adding paper towels to yard waste. Is ORNL connected with any facility or program that implements these practices or similar, less traditional methods for recycling?
Posted at 12:54 PM by Shumpert, Barry L. | Category: Recycling | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

5/3/2012

Paper Towels vs Air Dryers
Ed D'Azevedo asks,
 
I would like to know which is more "green" or sustainable: paper towels or air dryers? I think most washrooms on campus use paper towels, but I wonder which is really greener.
 
Greg Palko, of the Facilities Management Division responds:
The short answer is that, in general, the hand dryers ultimately have a smaller overall impact on the environment than paper towels.
 
There are a lot of assumptions that are required for the general case, so this isn't perfect science here. That said, the newer forced air dryers (e.g., the Dyson Airblade or the Excel's XLerator) are much more efficient than earlier dryers. But for a one-time installation, good for say ten years, it's a calculation of the energy to manufacture and deliver the dryer, plus the electricity consumed over those years.
 
For paper towels, the pulp industry is itself very energy-intensive. I think we use towels with recycled content, so that helps a great deal. But, from what I've been able to find out, the dryers are a "greener" choice.
 
We have installed Dyson Airblades in some restrooms in Melton Valley because of a local desire to eliminate the paper towel delivery, storage and disposal. They have been in service for a couple of years now. That said, there is an up-front cost of conversion that has been somewhat of a deterrent to transitioning the rest of the Lab.
 
Susan Michaud of the Environmental Protection and Waste Services Division adds:
I concur with everything Greg said. If you try just a little, you can find "scientific" arguments for either case. Transportation is likely to be the tipping factor for the greeness of air dryers since they only get shipped once. Paper towels get driven here from manufacturing/distribution, and then they get driven to the landfill.
Posted at 3:15 PM by Shumpert, Barry L. | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)
Recycling old textbooks
Debbie Ottaway asks,
 
Do you have any suggestions for disposing of or recycling very old (>25 years old) textbooks that are clearly outdated? I don't want to just throw them away, but have not found a "green" way to get them out of my house. McKay's will not take them.
 
Bob Conrad of the Information Technology Services Division responds:
 
The Oak Ridge solid waste facility can recycle old textbooks as mixed paper, but not with the hard back covers. The covers should be torn off first and disposed of in regular trash before placing the pages in the mixed paper bin.
 
According to John Homa, Knoxville Solid Waste Project Manager, hardback books, including the covers, can be recycled in mixed paper bins at the Goodwill recycle center at Cedar Bluff (341 Parkvillage Rd). The http://cityofknoxville.org/solidwaste/recycle.asp web site indicates that other Knoxville recycling centers will also accept hard-bound books in the mixed paper bins.
Posted at 3:11 PM by Shumpert, Barry L. | Category: Recycling | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

1/9/2012

Environmental Tip of the Day?
ORNL still points to this site to get the Environmental Tip of the Day but I can't seem to find it. If it's on ORNL Today shouldn't it be obvious when I get to the site?
Thanks,
Diane
 
Barry Shumpert of the Environmental Sciences Division responds:
Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Diane. The Sustainable Campus Initiative website has been undergoing a redesign recently, and the Sustainability Tips feature was inadvertently left off. It has now been restored. Look for it near the center of the home page and click on "EPA Environmental Tip of the Day" to see the daily tip.
Posted at 7:45 AM by Merrill, Diane Marie | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

12/7/2011

Recycle clothing and shoes
Lots of times we retire safety shoes, jackets, coveralls and such because it has reached the end of it's useful life... many times resoling would give the leather uppers new life, and just because a jacket does not have it's flame retardent capabilites and/or is badly faded doesn't mean it cannot still keep someone warm.  We live in some of the poorest parts of the country with children and families of the Appalachia who would love just have shoes to cover their feet and coats for their backs.  It would be nice to rad clear this clothing and donate it to charitable organizations who can give this 'experienced' clothing a second life without them landing in a landfill and help out the less fortunate.
Posted at 3:21 PM by Cofer, Timothy J. | Category: Recycling | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

11/21/2011

Emissions controls on ORNL trucks
It is not unusual to observe clouds of black smoke coming from the tailpipes of older ORNL trucks (especially the larger ones).  While not required by the State of Tennessee, could ORNL commit to voluntarily reducing emissions for its company trucks?  The NTRC and others have worked on diesel particulate filters that greatly reduce emissions and thereby help eliminate vehicle pollution.
 
Kathye Settles of ORNL Fleet Management responds:

This is a good observation and we are glad you brought it to our attention.  ORNL has taken great strides to implement biodiesel blends in all diesel vehicles which helps reduce black smoke as well as replacing older diesel vehicles with newer ones with diesel particulate matter control devices as funding has allowed.  If an ORNL diesel vehicle (with government plates) is seen emitting black smoke this is of interest to ORNL Logistical Services Division. The seven diesel vehicles that fall within the < 1994 diesel model vehicles do have annual DOT safety inspection which identifies any mechanical problems.  Our expectation is that the driver of a vehicle which is emitting black smoke would immediately bring the vehicle to Garage Services for evaluation.  There is a long-standing emissions reduction plan in place focusing on reducing greenhouse gas emissions through the use of alternative fuels, the use of more fuel efficient vehicles, and replacement of older vehicles with modern vehicles that have fewer emissions as funding allows.

 

Diesel particulate matter control retrofits are expensive but are much less expensive than the cost of purchasing a new vehicle and may be an option for any legacy vehicles that may not have such control and cannot be replaced in a timely manner. Most often when black smoke is seen coming out of a tailpipe, it is from an on-site subcontractor’s vehicle. Unfortunately, there is not much that can currently be done to prevent outside contractor’s’ vehicles which meet TDOT regulations from coming on campus. This issue has also been raised by other federal facilities trying to reduce air pollution from frequent on-site transportation contractors.  However, if you continue to observe vehicles of this nature, please note if it is a government or commercial license plate.  If a government license plate, it would be helpful to us in identifying such vehicles.
Posted at 1:11 PM by Goudy, Christine | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)
Automatic paper towel dispenser

Is it possible to decrease the amount of paper towel that is provided by the automatic dispensers?  It seems to me that ~12” is not necessary to dry your hands.  I have been in restaurants and airports where 6” is supplied.

Hurtis Hodges of the Facilities Management Division responds:

It is possible to decrease the amount of paper towel dispensed from the automatic dispensers.  I’m many cases, this dispenser has an adjustment for approximately 8”, 12” and 16”. The sheet length of 12” is identified as the optimal hand dry capacity is some of the manufacturers literature.

Posted at 12:24 PM by Hun, Diana E. | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)
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