From Scrap to Sustainable: Building Green
by Tara Nelson

It might take some creative thinking to see the connection between old beer bottles, blue jeans, cork bark scraps, cashew nuts and houses, but that’s exactly what the Green Building Conference and Trade Show attempted to do
These items were showcased as sustainable building materials at the conference last October at the Fairhaven Cruise Terminal in Bellingham. And what are they used for? Scrap denim material is shredded, soaked in boric acid – a non-toxic fire retardant – and then spun into fluffy batts that resemble lint from a dryer screen and create the insulation that Skagit County architect Julie Blazek of Henry Klein Partnership uses in her home. There is no formaldehyde used in the process and lint is relatively harmless when inhaled or when contact is made with skin.
The tiles presented by Environmental Home Center, a distributor of sustainable building products in Seattle, used resin from the oil of the cashew nut, linseed oil, wood flour and organic pigments to create a non-toxic alternative to linoleum. Environmental Home Center also featured beautiful multi-colored bath tiles created from glass bottles, separated by color, cleaned, crushed and remolded with environmentally-safe pigments such as iron oxide.
Cork wood scraps left over from manufacturing wine corks are pressed into resilient tiles and planks and treated with a water-based polyurethane finish that have the look and warmth of real wood. Cork comes from the bark of the cork tree and is a rapidly renewable resource, said Ed Hoban, owner of Hoban Hardwood and Remodeling in Bellingham.
These innovative products, however, were just a few of the items on display at the event, sponsored by the Builders Industry Association of Whatcom County, a non-profit advocacy group representing the building industry, and Sustainable Connections, a non-profit network of local businesses interested in sustainable local economies.

LEEDing the way
In 2000, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), a non-profit group representing the interests of builders nationwide, started the Leadership and Energy in Environmental Designs rating system or LEED, to establish a national standard for sustainable practices.
The system was designed to encourage and accelerate innovation for green building practices through an incentives-based system that recognizes sustainable developers.
In order for a building project to become LEED-certified, a project must adopt a minimum number of LEED standards for a number of different areas including environmental sustainability, energy efficiency and indoor air and light quality. •
Dara Zycherman, LEED program coordinator for the USGBC, said that as of September 2005, there were more than 268 LEED-certified projects in the United States and one third of those projects were located on the West Coast.
Washington State has more than 25 LEED-certified buildings, including the Fischer Pavilion in the Seattle Center, Puget Sound Energy Corporate Headquarters in Bellevue, the North Cascades Institute for Environmental Learning Center at Lake Diablo, and Microsoft Buildings 30, 31, and 32 in Redmond.
Another 2,655 projects in the United States are registered to become LEED-certified, Zycherman said. Of those, 113 are in Washington State and more than 22 are in Whatcom and Skagit counties. Those include the Anacortes Multimodal Ferry Terminal, Western Washington University’s Student Recreation Center, Whatcom Educational Credit Union’s new Loan Center and Puget Sound Energy’s Skagit Service Center in Burlington.
Also, the Community Food Co-op’s planned 18,600-square-foot extension store next to Whatcom Community College on Cordata Parkway may join that list. Jim Williams, head architect of the project, said while the final design has not been completed, he wants to obtain a LEED silver rating and plans to use such methods as active solar panels, appliance heat recovery technology, Forest Stewardship Council, or FSC-certified sustainably-harvested lumber, low volatile organic compound (VOC) materials and floors made from rapidly renewable sources to earn that rating.
“We’ll look at using as many renewable sources as we can,” he said.
Overall, Williams said he wants to simulate the feeling of the co-op’s existing building at 1220 N. Forest Street in Bellingham. The store is scheduled to open in September 2007.
In Skagit County, LEED-certified architectural group, Henry Klein Partnership will also strive for a silver rating with one of its newest projects, the Bellingham Technical College Welding and Auto Collision Repair Technology Center. Senior associate, Julie Blazek, said the $12 million, 55,000 square-foot project was designed to meet LEED’s silver rating by using a combination of radiant heating, day lighting, reused materials, energy efficient appliances, green roof panels, storm water management, construction waste management practices during the building phase, and design for indoor environmental quality. The project’s completion is planned for spring of 2007.
Other options
LEED, however, isn’t the only green certification program available in Whatcom County. The Building Industry Association of Whatcom County (BIA) has adopted a similar rating system called Built Green, started in 1995 in Denver, Colorado by the Home Builders Association of Metro Denver.
Nick Hartrich, program developer with the BIA, said he helped launch the program less than a year ago and it has proven successful, so far.
Although the two rating systems vary – mostly with regards to the Built Green program’s use of vinyl siding, which is strongly discouraged in the LEED program – they are similar in design. The Built Green program also rates building projects based on six categories: building to green codes, selection of a sustainable building site, water conservation and energy efficiency, health and indoor quality, using locally-produced and efficient materials and environmental impact.
“It’s similar in the fact that it uses a checklist,” Hartrich said.
Hartrich marvels over some of the avant-garde building material samples on his desk, including a large, straw-colored block of material he said the Lynden Door Company uses to make its GreenDor product line.
“This is made from wheat straw and sunflower,” he said. “It’s urea-formaldehyde free.”
The door uses a 100 percent reclaimed agricultural fiber, a rapidly renewable resource, and does not emit toxic gasses. Because of this, the door would meet standards for both LEED and Built Green rating programs.
Hartrich said he thinks the best part of his job is educating people about cutting-edge ecological building materials and – more importantly – that being green doesn’t always have to be expensive.
“The cool part about our program is the more the regular consumer becomes educated the more they’re going to ask builders to implement those things,” Hartrich said. “Anything to get the word out about these things is important. And someone is going to take the job and build it to Built Green or LEED standards because it will pay.”
Hartrich added that the Built Green certification costs less than LEED certification because it deals with smaller-scale residential projects.
“Ours is pretty inexpensive,” he said. “In comparison, it’s actually really cheap. Our certification fee is $100 per home. And the builder pays the fee.”
The average Built Green project will cost the home owner about three to five percent more than a conventionally-built home, he said.
The USBGC also launched a LEED for Homes on August 3, 2005 but it is still in its pilot phase.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also offers a voluntary labeling system for energy efficient appliances and equipment. The Energy Star program, a voluntary labeling system sponsored by the EPA, the U.S. Department of Energy and industry leaders, promotes energy efficiency of appliances and other products.
So far, their efforts have proven successful. A joint study by the EPA and the DOE found that nearly 10 percent of all homes built in 2004 earned the Energy Star label, which saved homeowners approximately $85 million in energy costs and eliminated 1.7 billion pounds of greenhouse gasses during that year.
To meet Energy Star standards, homes must be at least 30 percent more energy efficient than homes built by that national standard for energy efficiency, or 15 percent more efficient than the state-wide standard for energy efficiency, whichever is more stringent. In addition, on July 1, 2006, the EPA will increase requirements to include higher levels of insulation, inspections for proper insulation installation, high-efficiency appliances with regards to the climate and more energy-efficient lighting and heating equipment in general, according to a September press release.

Green economics
Green building represents $7 billion market in the United States, according to a study by the USGBC and that number is expected to grow quickly. Many government programs have long offered tax incentives for energy efficiency, but now banks and other lending institutions are recognizing the value of green. Countrywide Home Loans, for example, offers a higher loan amount to builders of energy efficient homes to cover improvements that help the environment and conserve energy, said Bellingham branch sales manager Alycia Jackson.
Membership to the USGBC has also increased 1,000 percent in the past four years and spin-offs of the program are appearing throughout the country, said Derek Long, co-founder of Sustainable Connections. The organization, as of September 2005, had more than 5,700 members including private companies, architects and governmental agencies.
In Whatcom County, more than 20 local architects and engineers passed the LEED accreditation exam this year.
In addition, as consumer knowledge is increasing, demand for energy efficient and environmentally sustainable building practices is growing.
A 2000 survey by Professional Builder magazine found that 56 percent of consumers are willing to pay between $2,500 and $5,000 for improvements that would make their homes more environmentally-friendly or healthier to themselves.
Hartrich said he thinks Whatcom County builders are becoming more receptive to change.
“We’re starting to see local flooring companies carrying these products; lumber yards carrying FSC certified woods; appliance companies carrying energy efficient and on demand water heaters,” he said.
Wayne Crider, executive officer of the Skagit and Island County Builders Association (SICBA), agreed. Crider said he has also noticed a nationwide trend in the consumer demand for more environmentally-friendly homes. The SICBA, he said, is moving quickly to adopt a branding mechanism that will allow them to capture that segment of the market.
“There is an increased demand for green branded houses across the nation,” he said, adding that according to Washington State Energy Code and other state regulations, developers are already building to a certain level of green. “Our program will allow these builders to utilize a branding mechanism that will allow them to better market their homes.”
Crider said he hopes to have a builder’s checklist, manual and program up and running by February, 2006.
Hartrich said certification increases the marketability of homes and many builders are rushing to join.
“Someone is going to take the job and build it to LEED or Built Green standards because it will pay,” Hartrich said.
Developer Rob Staveland of Aiki Homes in Bellingham agreed.
“With energy prices going up, energy efficiency is about to become extremely desirable,” he said. The biggest problem, he said is educating the public on the kinds of choices they have.
“It’s partly just marketing,” Staveland said. “We’re working on that.”

Washington: The greener state
Earlier this year, Washington State became even greener.
On April 8, Governor Christine Gregoire signed Senate Bill 5509, requiring all state buildings and renovations meet LEED silver ratings. The law took effect on July 24, and applies to any new construction or remodeling project of more than 5,000-square-feet, with a few exceptions for hospitals, pumping stations and research facilities. Washington was the first state in the nation to do so.
In 2003, former Governor Gary Locke had signed similar legislation – an executive order requiring all state buildings to be registered with LEED – but, because it did not require buildings to be certified, it lacked legal teeth.
In 2000, the city of Seattle became one of the first cities nationwide to adopt LEED standards. It currently has 16 projects registered with LEED, according to the city’s website. Portland, Oregon and King County followed closely behind, adopting LEED standards for its municipal buildings in 2001.
Closer to home, the Bellingham City Council passed a resolution in May, 2005 that would require all new and renovated city buildings larger than 5,000-square-feet to meet LEED’s silver rating. In July, the Whatcom County Council passed a similar resolution for county buildings.
Kim Spens, a planner for the city of Bellingham who attended the convention, said city officials realized that LEED-certified construction was compatible with its goals and policies for natural and social environmental health.
“We also, as a city, are really embracing and promoting development and design that is environmentally sustainable,” she said. “There may be more costs up front but there are fewer costs over time. And with the current energy climate, it just makes sense.”

Certification vs. reputation
Meanwhile, there is some dispute among the developing community whether costly accreditation is necessary.
Rob Staveland of Aiki said he has been experimenting with innovative and sustainable designs for most of his career but was never LEED-accredited. Instead, Staveland said he depends on his long-time reputation as a conscientious builder.
“We haven’t typically been as concerned with certifications,” he said. “But we have pushed the envelope here in Whatcom County.”
Staveland said, for example, in 1993, he submitted a home to Good Sense Environmental Homes and earned the highest score the organization had ever given a home. He contributes part of that, to his willingness to experiment.
“I used to really load up and try new things,” he said. “It was pretty risky, actually.”
Staveland, who is currently working on a 767-home project in the Kendall area, said his focus now is on high-quality, comfortable, competitively priced homes.
“We do resource efficient, healthy homes and that means efficient use of materials, energy efficiency, and recycled and reused materials where applicable,” he said.
The project, Staveland said, will use FSC-certified, sustainably-harvested wood that is cut, dried and milled in Whatcom County; low volatile organic compound (VOC) paints; Miraflex, a blown-in, non-toxic, foam insulation that is more energy efficient than fiberglass; and rain gardens, or layered strips of vegetation and sand alongside the road to absorb and filter storm water.
Staveland said he estimates the average home price to be between $175,000 and $300,000.
“We’re guessing they’re going to be about $50,000 less than comparable homes in Bellingham,” he said. “It’s going to be extremely affordable.”
When asked about how he manages to build affordable healthy homes, Staveland said the cost of building green is not much more than building quality homes.
“If goal is to build the cheapest low cost, you’re going to probably sacrifice environmental concerns as well,” he said. “If you’re putting out a quality product, however, in many cases, using more sustainable materials does not add a substantial amount of cost to the house, if any. Overall, our better insulation packages cost about 20 percent more than standard insulation. But insulation is cheap, so 20 percent more on an insulation package isn’t a lot. And then you’re saving every month.”
Andrew Vallee and Wesley Smith, of Smith and Vallee Woodworks in Skagit County, agreed. Vallee said the two long-time friends started out making custom furniture using FSC-certified, sustainably harvested wood from Whatcom County but until now, never marketed themselves as green and still managed to stay competitive with other manufacturers in their field.
“A lot of people associate a high premium with green products so we used to not talk about it,” he said. “We would just do it and then say, ‘Oh, by the way, this product is an environmentally sustainable product with low VOCs and built to last for a long time.’”

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