GEOTHERMAL HEATING NATURAL DAYLIGHT
RECYCLED ASPHALT REGRINDS REDUCED PESTICIDES
FLOW-CONTROLLED FAUCETS AND TOILETS
trash, YLW’s recycling program resulted in a phenomenal 34 metric tonnes of material staying out of the landfills in 2011. The airport even recycles the sand used on the airport’s groundside roads and parking lots every spring. The groundside snow removal teams are also using an environmentally-friendly pre- treatment on road surfaces when snow and ice are expected to reduce the need to plough, another means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Of course not everything can be recycled, so YLW compacts its unrecyclable garbage to reduce both the space it takes up in landfills and the frequency of trucks needed to haul it to the dump. They even store the garbage in a sealed container to prevent waste leakage that could contaminate waterways.
Vehicle use is another area where YLW has taken steps to reduce its environmental impact. As James Hall explains, some heavy equipment such as that used to clear the runway in winter has to be kept ready to go at a moment’s notice, which used to mean a lot of time spent with the engine idling. The solution was to provide a covered storage area to keep the big trucks warm, reducing idling and warm-up time. New snow-removal equipment was chosen to meet the highest available EPA ratings and when it came time to replace the vehicle used for the frequent safety-
critical runway inspections that Airport Operations performs, YLW chose a hybrid pick-up. Another part-electric vehicle shuttles passengers to the terminal from the long-term parking lot in winter while in summer it’s replaced by the ultimate in environmentally- friendly rides: an electric golf-cart.
Further energy consumption- reducing initiatives are under way. Following a successful trial on one of six hazard beacons on the nearby hillsides, the airport is converting the remaining five beacons to solar- powered LEDs, reducing both energy use and maintenance time. A study is also underway to determine what opportunities may exist in the use of LED lights on the runway and taxiways to reduce electrical consumption.
With existing and planned initiatives, YLW is a ground-breaker airport in reducing its environmental impact. “We want to be good environmental stewards” says Hall, and while the environmentally-friendly way may not always be the cheapest option (it’s not easy being green,) the investment can be offset by a reduction in operating and energy costs. In the words of Brad Gibson of design company DIALOG, the Kelowna International Airport project not only helps the City of Kelowna reduce its overall carbon footprint, it “ leads the way throughout British Columbia; it shows what’s possible.”.
ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY PRE-TREATMENT XERISCAPE RECYCLING
HYBRID PICK-UP
ELECTRIC GOLF-CART SOLAR-POWERED LEDS
SPRING 2012 | 5
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