Gwinnett County government officials today announced a comprehensive effort to promote environmentally sustainable policies and practices.
The new Gwinnett Environmental Sustainability Program involves specific initiatives in 10 categories, including transportation and air quality, recycling and waste reduction, water conservation, energy efficiency and green building. The County’s two main areas of focus will be energy efficiency and water conservation.
“With specific goals in mind for this new program, we are not simply following the ‘green’ trend but taking a hard look at day-to-day operations to find real ways to reduce costs and minimize our impact on the environment,” said District 2 Commissioner Bert Nasuti.
Gwinnett County already has taken steps to become an ENERGY STAR® partner with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Energy and will seek certification through the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Green Communities Program.
One of the energy efficiency goals calls for a 10 percent reduction in energy consumption. “Our estimates show that this will equate to a reduction of 20 to 30 million kilowatt-hours of energy usage, a savings of $1 million to the County’s utility budget, and 15,000 to 20,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions that won’t be placed into our atmosphere,” said Dennis Baxter, environmental sustainability program coordinator.
In the area of water conservation, measures will be taken to further reduce water consumption. Periodic water audits will take place and the County will continue to drastically limit irrigation, while older plumbing will be replaced with high-efficiency fixtures and ultra low-flow toilets. Through this process, the County is projecting to reduce its water consumption by 15 million gallons and save approximately $100,000 in its annual water utility billings.
Commission Chairman Charles Bannister added, “One of the things we are hoping to get from this program is involvement by Gwinnett County employees and citizens as good environmental stewards, both in the workplace and at home.”
Even though curbside recycling is expanding later this month, the Peachtree City Recycling Center remains open for its regular hours – Wednesdays from 1 to 4:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
