A Presentation By Mr. Allah Dad Khan Visiting Professor the University of Agriculture Peshawar allahdad52@gmail.com

2. Biodivesity and Building
Sustainability
By
Mr.Allah Dad Khan

3. GreenScapes is:
• Multi-media EPA Partnership
Program designed to promote a
wide variety of environmentally
beneficial landscaping and land
management practices.

4. GreenScapes is:
• Designed to help preserve natural
resources and prevent waste and
pollution by encouraging more
holistic decisions regarding waste,
water, chemicals, energy, and
land use.

5. GreenScapes is:
• Designed to provide cost-efficient
and environmentally friendly
solutions - improving both an
organization’s bottom-line and the
environment.

6. Think Big:
• Roads & Highways
• Commercial Buildings
• Industrial Sites
• Military Installations
• Brownfields
• Colleges & Universities
• Recreation areas - parks, golf courses, ski
resorts, amusement parks, …

7. Think about:
• Millions of tons of waste materials that are
– Hauled away to a landfill,
– Buried, or
– Burned
Each and every day from landscaping construction
and maintenance operations:
• Trees
• Shrubs,
• Brush
• Lumber
• Asphalt
• Concrete, etc…

8. Also, consider the millions of gallons of:
• Water
• Pesticides
• Fertilizers
• Fuels
• Oil
Used each & every day in building and
maintaining these lands.

9. Make more holistic and sustainable decisions
regarding:
– Waste generation & disposal
– Use of
• Water
• Chemicals
• Air
• Plants
• Energy
• Land & Wetlands

10. The GreenScapes Solution
Focus on the 4 Rs
• Reduce
• Reuse
• Recycle
• Rebuy

11. Reduce:
• The first and most important step
towards efficient materials use &
pollution prevention.

12. Examples:
• Reduce site and soil disruptions
• Reduce waste generation by utilizing
slow-growing, low maintenance plant
materials.

13. • Avoid landscaping products that
require frequent replacement or
maintenance to reduce future waste.
• Durable products will long outlast those of
lesser quality, reducing future waste
generation and the need to purchase new or
replacement products.

14. Consider:
• Reduce or
eliminate plastic
silt fencing.
–Substitute with
blankets, berms,
and filter-socks
made of
compost.

15. Compost provides:
• Superior filtration &
erosion
prevention/control
• More easily installed
& maintained
• Control & reduction of
non-point source
pollution.
• Does not require
removal or disposal
from site once job is
complete

16. A few additional ways to reduce:
• Reduce nonpermeable hardscape to minimize
rainwater runoff & erosion.
• Switch from benches, boardwalks & bridges
made from wood to long-lived plastic lumber.
• Conserve water and reduce maintenance by
Xeriscaping.
• Reduce chemical use by using native plants
and organic biobased fertilizers.

17. Reuse:
• Key to effective management
by making the most of your
valuable resources -
–Financial
–Materials

18. Ways to reuse:
• Chip trees and wood
waste into mulch.
– Saves money on
disposal costs and
commercial mulch
purchases
– Provides benefits of
mulch:
• Moisture retention
• Weed prevention
• Erosion control

19. Additional reuse options:
• Disassemble and use structural wood elsewhere,
sell or grind into mulch. Return wooden pallets to
your supplier whenever possible.
• Donate healthy plants to community gardens,
schools, churches, or other local local non-profit
organizations when updating or removing trees &
shrubs from landscape.
• Use alternative sources of irrigation water such as
gray water, reclaimed water, and collected rain
water.

20. Recycle:
• Save money on disposal costs, by
recycling waste materials
– you may even be able to get a few dollars for
them.

21. Consider: • Send wood waste &
trimmings that cannot be
composted on site to a
local composting facility.
• Recycle plastic fencing,
barriers, plant & pesticide
containers.
• Collect and recycle used
oil & tires from your
vehicles and equipment.

22. Rebuy:
• Rebuying means re-thinking
your purchasing habits.
• Look for products that meet your needs
but have a better environmental profile
than your current product purchases.

23. Consider:
• Recycled content
• Biobased products (incl. fuels & lubricants)
• Renewable energy & products
• Energy & water efficient
Rebuying is key to sustainability by putting
valuable materials back to work .
Change your thinking:
It’s not waste – it’s another resource.

24. For example:
• Use compost to
minimize / eliminate:
– Soil erosion
– Runoff
– Nonpoint source
pollution
– Irrigation
– Fertilizers
– Pesticides
It’s both a recycled &
biobased product.

25. A Proven Technique
• Compost blankets, berms, and filter socks
have been added to the US EPA menu of Best
Management Practices (BMPs) for storm
water management - NPDES.
• State DoT’s are specifying compost for
roadside erosion control.
(http://www.dot.state.tx.us/des/landscape/compost/topsoil.htm)

26. Did You Know?:
• For every 1% of organic matter, the
soil can hold 16,000 gallons of plant-
available water per acre of soil down
to one foot deep!
• Most soils average approx. 1% organic
content
• Healthy soils average 5-6%
(5 x 16,000 = 80,000 gallons water holding
capacity)

27. Better, Faster, Cheaper Cleanups
• Provides an inexpensive & straightforward
solution to managing hazardous industrial
waste streams & remediating soils
contaminated with toxic organic and inorganic
compounds.

28. Proven effective for:
• Chlorinated & nonchlorinated hydrocarbons
• Wood-preserving chemicals
• Solvents
• Heavy metals
• Pesticides
• Petroleum products
• Explosives

29. Returns site to precontamination condition
• Provides soil conditioning
• Nutrients
• Water retention
• Erosion control
• Micro-organisms essential for healthy soil

30. • Select plastic lumber
made from recycled
bottles & bags.
– Extremely durable
– Lasts longer than
wood
– Requires less
maintenance than
wood
• Labor
• Paint / solvents
• Repairs
– Significant long-term
savings.

31. • Specify rubberized
asphalt (made from
recycled tires) for:
– Walking paths
– Bike paths
– Cart paths
– Parking lots
Extends the life of the
trails and reduces
frequency of
repairs.

32. Benefits of just these 3 products:
Compost
Plastic lumber
Rubberized asphalt
Every scrap of organics, plastics (LDPE, HDPE, PET),
and tires generated in the entire U.S could be put
to use by the landscaping industry alone.

33. Benefits:
• Equal or better performance
• Material cost savings
• Labor cost savings
• All of this means money in your
pocket.

34. Apply the 4 Rs to everything you do:
• Reduce water use
– Implement “hydrozones”-
grouping plants by water
needs
– Irrigation sensors
– Use compost & mulch
Reuse and recycle water – use
gray & rain water
Compost to reduce waste and
reuse nutrients
• Reduce pesticide and
fertilizer use
– Test to determine needs
– Use only where & when
needed – spot treat.
Buy
- Organic fertilizers and pest
controls whenever
possible.
- Native, slow-growing, low-
maintenance plants &
grasses

35. The Economic & Environmental Benefits of
GreenScaping:• Reduced water use
• Reduced irrigation costs
– water & energy
• Reduced plant growth
• Reduced plant
maintenance
• Reduced waste
generation
• Reduced labor – time &
cost (maint. & disposal)
• Reduced equipment
operating times
• Reduced equip. maint. –
labor & supplies
• Reduced fuel use
• Reduced emissions
• Reduced fertilizer use –
material & labor savings
• Reduced pesticide use –
material & labor savings
• Reduced nonpoint source
pollution
• Reduced exposure to
hazardous materials
• Reduce insurance costs?

36. Additional Benefits of GreenScaping:
• Reduced exposure to
your customers,
employees, and yourself
from potentially harmful
chemicals, solvents, fuels,
and pesticides.

37. Additional Benefits of GreenScaping:
• Improved competitive edge with
reduced costs and improved
materials & energy efficiency.

38. Additional Benefits of GreenScaping:
• Improved public perception of
your business.

39. Additional Benefits of GreenScaping:
• Knowledge that you are making a
difference by helping prevent
pollution, curb climate change,
and reduce your “environmental
footprint” on the Earth.

40. GreenScapes
EPA Partnership program to implement &
promote “green” landscaping practices
 Partners & Allies
 Provides state-of-the-art recommendations
 Web-based menu of options & resources
 Multi-media … continually updated
 Small scale & Large scale
National Recognition Program & Case Studies

41. GreenScapes:GreenScapes:
• A growing group of organizations, large and
small, coming together to promote green
landscaping practices.
• Currently 100+ incl. US Green BuildingUS Green Building
CouncilCouncil && American Society of LandscapeAmerican Society of Landscape
ArchitectsArchitects

42. The USGBC LEED ® connection:
• GreenScapes is working with the ALSA and others on the
Sustainable Sites Initiative
• Many site features are not fully addressed under the current
LEED® standards, but are essential to the sustainability of
green spaces
• Establish a standard for sustainable site design,
construction, and maintenance with clearly defined metrics
• Identify & recognize sites that meet a defined standard of
sustainability and help educate and promote sustainable
design. For more info: sustainablesites.orgsustainablesites.org

43. Why is this needed?
• Some of our most sensitive environments are being
developed without buildings
– Such as hiking trails, boardwalk trails through wetlands, sports field complex
• Some projects which have the greatest impact on the
environment are not currently eligible to receive LEED
certification
– Dams, roads, powerline corridors, parks, streetscapes, etc.
• Often the impacts of site development are much greater
than the impacts of the associated building, leading to a
false sense of sustainability.
– For example a “park & ride” with a stellar building for restrooms and ticket sales but
has a 500 car parking lot that is highly lit, with impervious surfaces, built on a filled
wetland with a high-maintenance landscape

44. GreenScapes is also working with:
• EMS guidance to enhance and amplify
green landscaping www.fedcenter.gov
• The Federal “Green Highways” initiative
• Both encourage more “sustainable”
construction & maintenance practices

45. The Future is Now –
Get Ahead of the Game
• More Federal, State, and local gov’ts will spec
“sustainable” & “low impact development”
techniques.
• The US Green Building Council LEEDs will be
requiring a growing list of “greener” practices and
products.
• Architects and industry are focusing on
sustainability.

46. GreenScapes now includes information &
recommendations for HomeownersHomeowners
Commercial brochure Homeowner
brochure

47. … educating homeowners by
• Working with local governments, homeowner
associations, county extension agents
• Working with large retail organizations such as
Home Depot & Walmart
• Working with and supporting our
GreenScapes Partners & Allies
Join Us!

48. For more info …
www.epa.gov/greenscapeswww.epa.gov/greenscapes
Questions?
• Contact: Jean Schwab
• Email: schwab.jean@epa.gov
• Phone: (703) 308-8669