Press Release
Innovative household materials collection facility first of its kind to use green technology
News Release For Immediate Release
Innovative household materials collection facility first of its kind to use green technology City’s household materials and electronics recycling facility officially opens
(CHICAGO - December 12, 2006) – The newly-opened Household Materials and Electronics Recycling Center, located on historic Goose Island, is the first facility of its kind to use green technology. GreenWorks Studio and partner company, Harley Ellis Devereaux partnered to provide Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) consulting services, as well as exterior and interior design for the Chicago area’s newest drop-off point for household waste
As part of Mayor Richard M. Daley’s continuing efforts to make Chicago the greenest city in the nation, the Chicago Department of the Environment, Department of General Services, the Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development and the State of Illinois hired a multidisciplinary team* to design an innovative materials collection facility. The result is a holistic approach to sustainability that incorporates not only the physical building but also the mission of the services inside and the people who perform them: a true triple bottom line project.
One of only a few permanent facilities in Illinois, residents of Chicago and surrounding communities now have a “safe” place to dispose of chemical and other wastes such as paints, solvents, motor oil, household cleaners, lawn and garden chemicals, gasoline, mercury and fluorescent light bulbs as well as electronic equipment, computers, and cell phones. Innovative household materials collection facility first of its kind to use green technology, p. 2
And in addition to the environmental aspects, there is a social responsibility component as well: as part of the Mayor’s WorkNet Chicago initiative, previously incarcerated individuals are offered job opportunities and training within the facility in the refurbishing or recycling/disposal of donated electronic equipment brought to the Center. The refurbished equipment is then donated to schools, non-profits and low income families.
Located on the site of a former warehouse and incinerator space, the 14,000-square foot building required substantial retrofitting to meet current government regulations and building codes. This adaptive reuse project was designed to be LEED certified per The Chicago Standard, introduced in 2004 and derived from the U.S. Green Building Code’s LEED rating system to “conserve energy, reduce costs and improve quality of life.” The site is shared with other City offices and a working dock on the North Branch of the Chicago River.
The Center is comprised of two separate structures—a collection and processing building for the drop off of materials and a training center used for the teaching of ex-offenders in the recycling and refurbishing of electronic equipment.
Sustainable design components include a solar wall for passive pre-heating of the air, vegetative wall system, water efficient fixtures and underground storm water infiltration and retention system, including a bioswale to assist in storm water retention and ground water purification. In addition, the training facility features day lighting sensors combined with natural skylights for energy efficiency as well as a new lightweight vegetative roofing system. The Center also incorporates creative reuse of materials such as metal siding
Innovative household materials collection facility first of its kind to use green technology, p. 3
removed from the exterior of a demolished portion of the existing structure and reinstalled in the training facility to provide protection for spray-applied fiberglass insulation made of post-consumer recycled glass. .