Our Vision for an Efficient Baltimore
Our current consumption of natural resources is simply unsustainable. The world’s population is predicted to increase by 3 billion people in the next 50 years, yet the natural resources the earth’s inhabitants must rely upon for basic needs are rapidly depleting. In order to thrive into the future, the Baltimore community must learn to use natural resources more wisely and efficiently.
Impacts of the rising global demand for energy, water, raw materials, and land are felt locally, right here in Baltimore. As population and energy demand in our region continue to grow, the state of Maryland will face a shortage in electrical capacity.[1] There are two impending outcomes if Maryland does not address this state-wide shortfall in energy generating capacity: rising electric rates and the possibility of service interruption in the form of blackouts and brownouts.[2] If the gap between supply and demand continues to widen, as it is predicted to do, by 2012 prices will likely continue to increase and it may become impossible to meet Maryland’s electricity needs.[3] Building more power plants to fill this gap not only has major environmental and siting challenges, it is also very expensive. Reducing our energy use is the more economically, socially, and environmentally sound response to this challenge.
Excessive water consumption is another unsustainable habit which warrants attention. While the Baltimore region enjoys relatively plentiful rainfall and water sources, climate change, population increases, and global demand for water resources threaten to challenge this situation. Climate change is predicted to create longer periods of drought, shifting the patterns of rainfall which we have come to rely upon. Based on projections of population increases throughout the U.S., over 30 states, including Maryland, will face some kind of water shortage by the year 2013.[4] In addition, a great deal of energy is required to treat and deliver water to end-users in homes and businesses and to collect and treat wastewater after use. As a result, in addition to the value of water conservation, reducing water use has the potential to significantly reduce energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions from water and wastewater processing. Not only will more efficient practices help the environment, but it can also reduce everyday costs—the average U.S. household spends $500 per year on water and sewer bills.[5]
The current pace of logging, mining, refining, and transporting natural resources and other materials for consumption is also not sustainable, and those communities that create ways to do more with less will be more likely to thrive. As the global demand for raw materials such as timber, metals, and minerals continues to escalate, finding ways to conserve materials will become increasingly critical. Not only will reducing, reusing, and recycling materials alleviate the pressure to cut down forests and mine land, these strategies can also prevent unnecessary landfill buildup and reduce the need for new landfill creation. The amount of waste Americans create per person per day has nearly doubled since 1960;[6] and right here in Baltimore, the City’s Bureau of Solid Waste disposes 750 tons of trash everyday.[7]
The City of Baltimore has made great strides in the area of recycling. Since the introduction of single-stream recycling in January 2008, Baltimore’s recycling has increased by more than 20%, yet there are still many individuals, businesses, and institutions that throw recyclable materials out with the trash. In addition to environmental benefits, recycling makes good financial sense. Roughly half of all household trash can be recycled and therefore holds value.[8] For example, recycling an aluminum can save 95% of the energy required to make another from raw materials. While throwing away recyclable materials, such as glass or plastic bottles, costs taxpayers money in the form of tipping fees, recycling that same bottle actually creates a revenue stream for the City. Recycling and material reuse industries also have great job creation potential. One local company, CDM E-cycling, which recycles electronics equipment, employs nearly 100 people and helped divert 9.5 million tons of electronics from landfills in 2007.
Conserving energy, water, and raw materials protects natural resources, saves money, creates jobs, and helps equip communities to deal with shortages in the future, ultimately creating a more sustainable future.
Resource Conservation Goal 1
Reduce Baltimore’s electricity use by 15% by 2015
Reducing our electricity consumption can help improve our air quality, reduce our dependence on foreign fuels, curb our greenhouse gas emissions, prevent the construction of more power plants, reduce the risk of blackouts, and save us all money on electric bills. By equipping our buildings to use less energy and informing our community about how to conserve, we can mitigate the effects of potential price increases in the future. These efforts align well with existing state and federal programs such as the EmPOWER Maryland Initiative, Governor O’Malley’s goal of reducing electricity consumption in the state by 15% by the year 2015, and the EPA’s ENERGY STAR program of which the City of Baltimore is a member.
Strategy A: Require aggressive energy efficiency standards as part of the Baltimore Green Building Standards
Incorporate energy efficiencient building standards into the original green building standards for commercialand multi-use projects over 10,000 sq ft that Baltimore is creating. Making a building energy efficient is most cost-effective when done during initial construction. The standard that Baltimore is creating should include stringent energy requirements to help new buildings insulate their operating costs from future spikes in energy price and reduce their contribution to climate change.
- Timeframe: Short-term
- Type: Standards
- Funding Source: Cost Neutral
- Lead Partners: Green Building Consulting Team, Housing and Community Development (HCD), BOS
Strategy B: Improve the energy efficiency of existing homes and buildings
Institute programs to help Baltimore’s existing building stock, most of which is decades old, use energy more efficiently. Home weatherization is one of the most cost-effective ways to improve energy efficiency. Consideration should be given to a range of policies and programs, including the use of financial incentives when appropriate. Priority should be given to low-income and public housing structures. For commercial buildings, ENERGY STAR’s free Portfolio Manager tool will be recommended as a great first step to measure and improve energy performance in existing structures.
- Timeframe: Short-term
- Type: Partnership
- Funding Source: State and Federal Funds; Grant Programs
- Lead Partners: BOS, Mayor and City Council, Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE)
Strategy C: Increase renewable energy generation in Baltimore City
Create more renewable energy capacity within Baltimore City as a means of reducing demand on the over-stretched electric grid, air pollution from power plants, and our contribution to climate change. There are plans to create up to 7MW of renewable power by methane-capture technology at the City’s two wastewater treatment facilities. In addition to these efforts, Baltimore should strive to increase both small and large scale renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and geothermal to a combined capacity of 50MW by 2020.
- Timeframe: Long-term
- Type: Partnership
- Funding Source: State and Federal Funds, Private Sector
- Lead Partners: BGE, BEO
Strategy D: Mandate efficiency upgrades to homes at point of sale
Many of the current energy and water efficiency codes were not in place when Baltimore’s homes were built, therefore they continue to operate in an inefficient and costly manner. Mandating efficiency improvements to bring buildings into compliance with current codes at the point of sale can help ensure that buyers are investing in a property that uses resources affordably and efficiently.
- Timeframe: Short-term
- Type: Legislative, Standards
- Funding Source: Cost and Funding Analysis Needed
- Lead Partners:BCS, City Council, Real Estate Organizations
Strategy E: Increase energy conservation by residents, City government, businesses, and institutions
Promote energy conservation. Designing and building energy efficient systems is only half the battle, individuals must use these systems and our resources efficiently as well. We can help motivate this change in behavior by tapping into existing marketing resources, such as ENERGY STAR, and tailoring these materials to Baltimore City. Creating a multi-sector Baltimore Energy Challenge could engage and motivate citizens, businesses, and institutions toward this goal citywide.
- Timeframe: Short-term
- Type: Education
- Funding Source: City, State and Federal Funds; Private Sector; Grant Programs
- Lead Partners: BOS, BEO, NGOs
Strategy E: Dedicate resources to assist Baltimore in leveraging state and federal funds for energy efficiency
Provide the BOS and/or the BEO with informational resources to offer assistance to residents and businesses as they apply for state and federal funds for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.
- Timeframe: Short-term
- Type: Education, Advocacy
- Funding Source: Cost Neutral
- Lead Partners:BOS, BEO
Resource Conservation Goal 2
Reduce Baltimore’s water use while supporting system maintenance
The Baltimore City Bureau of Water and Wastewater operates and maintains three reservoirs and three water filtration plants to distribute an average of 265 million gallons of drinking water in Baltimore City and surrounding counties daily. Not only does excessive water use deplete our freshwater, it also requires significant amounts of energy to treat and deliver water for use and then to collect and treat wastewater after use. According to the EPA, letting a faucet run for five minutes requires as much energy as lighting a 60-watt bulb for 14 hours. Proper protection and wise use of our water resources, along with maintenance of the City’s water supply system, will help sustain this system so that Baltimore residents can continue to have clean, readily-available water.
Strategy A: Conduct outreach campaign on reducing water consumption
Develop programs to inform and educate Baltimore residents about water use for purposes like landscaping, clothes washing, and bathing, to help promote more sustainable behavior. Seemingly minor choices made everyday can culminate into substantial water savings.
- Timeframe: Short-term
- Type: Education/Marketing
- Funding Source: Grant Programs
- Lead Partners:DPW, BOS, NGOs
Strategy B: Study methods to fund the construction and maintenance of Baltimore’s water supply System
Examine Baltimore City’s current rate structure to assure that sufficient funding is available to maintain and manage the existing system while also encouraging conservation through tiered use rates or other methods. This is critical because safe and available drinking water is depends on adequate source protection, treatment, and distribution systems.
- Timeframe: Short-term
- Type: Policy/Operations
- Funding Source: Existing Program Funds
- Lead Partners:DPW
Strategy C: Maintain a comprehensive water facilities master plan
Develop and implement a long term strategy to protect the water supply system cost effectively. This would include identification of areas where growth requires expansion and creation of a strategy for pipe replacement due to age. A comprehensive strategy will also help explain the costs of creating the water rate structure and maintaining a public document explaining long-term system maintenance issues.
- Timeframe: Mid-term
- Type: Policy and Operations
- Funding Source:Cost Neutral
- Lead Partners:DPW
Resource Conservation Goal 3
Minimize the production of waste
A pproximately one-third of all the trash that is thrown away in the U.S. is packaging , and the average American consumes about 66 pounds of packaging each year. There really is no such thing as “throwing something away,” the material simply goes to a landfill or another area that is not environmentally-sustainable. By addressing how waste is generated, Baltimore can reduce the amount of non-recyclable, non-organic, non-combustible materiasl that are use d and ultimately sent for disposal . Not only are landfills expensive to create and maintain, they generate groundwater pollution and take up vast amounts of land. They also are a serious environmental justice issue because most landfills are placed near lower income communities. If consumers, institutions, and businesses understand the lifecycle of products and materials, they will be more likely to adopt a set of best management practices that will limit the amount of materials entering the waste stream.
Strategy A: Distribute information on waste-reducing purchasing policies
Assist all businesses in Baltimore in making sustainable purchasing decisions by providing clear and adaptable information on how to purchase goods with less packaging and more potential to reuse or recycle materials. While examples of such policies and guidelines already exist, more can be done to promote and distribute these examples to area institutions and businesses.
- Timeframe: Short-term
- Strategy Type: Education
- Funding Source: Grant Programs
- Lead Partners: BOS, Chesapeake Sustainable Business Alliance (CSBA), BDC, Baltimore Mainstreets Program, and Other Business Organizations
Strategy B: Establish Baltimore City Green Purchasing guidelines
Study Baltimore’s existing purchasing policies and needs and make recommendations to improve specifications to meet sustainability objectives. Areas of focus can include purchasing office supplies that require less packaging, equipment that uses less energy, and printers that use less paper.
- Timeframe: Short-term
- Strategy Type: Policy & Operations
- Funding Source: Cost Neutral
- Lead Partners: BOS, Bureau of Purchasing, Department of Finance
Strategy C: Educate consumers about product life-cycle analysis
Use lifecycle analysis to inform more sustainable purchasing decisions by evaluating where materials for a product come from, how the product is used, and what happens to it at the end of its life. Develop tools and methods to educate the Baltimore community about this type of decision making to help reduce the amount of waste generated from packaging and produce disposal.
- Timeframe: Mid-term
- Strategy Type: Education
- Funding Source: Fundraising Needed
- Lead Partners: BOS
Strategy D: Link industrial and commercial users to close waste loops
Create mechanisms to link local industries and processors to help develop markets for byproducts, leading to fewer materials being considered waste and reducing the cost of materials for buyers. The byproduct of one entity can often be used as the input for another.
- Timeframe: Mid-term
- Strategy Type: Education, Partnerships
- Funding Source: Grant Programs
- Lead Partners: BOS, Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority (NEMWDA), BDC
Strategy E: Expand Baltimore’s composting program and opportunities
Create public/private partnerships to locate new composting facilities and expand existing operations to compost residential yard waste and commercial food waste to the greatest extent practical.
- Timeframe: Mid-term
- Strategy Type: Partnership, Operation, Capital
- Funding Source: Partnerships, Grant Programs; City Funds
- Lead Partners : BOS, NEMWDA, DPW, BOS, Composting Businesses
Strategy F: Develop and implement local legislation related to waste minimization
Study and introduce legislation related to waste reduction, litter prevention, and regulatory enforcement to support creative approaches to making Baltimore waste neutral. Baltimore can both learn from the policy successes and failures of other local jurisdictions and demonstrate national leadership for innovative waste reduction legislative proposals.
- Timeframe: Short-term
- Type: Legislative
- Funding Source: Funding Analysis Based on Individual Legislation Introduced
- Lead Partners: Baltimore Commission on Sustainability (BCS), Mayor and City Council
Resource Conservation Goal 4
Maximize reuse and recycling of materials
Baltimore has made great strides forward with its city-wide, single-stream recycling program. In January 2009, that program will be expanded to accept additional types of materials. The expansion of materials accepted into the program combined with an increase in recycling rates will not only reduce the amount of material entering the waste stream, it will also generate revenue and jobs; for every 1,000 tons of waste diverted, 4.7 jobs are created compared to only 2.5 jobs for every 1,000 tons of waste disposed.
Strategy A: Increase recycling opportunities throughout the City
Support existing pilot programs to maximize placement of recycling bins around the City. Move toward full distribution of recycling bins throughout the City as funding becomes available. Improve access to businesses and institutions recycling products beyond the existing single stream program, such as electronics.
- Timeframe: Short-term
- Type: Policy/Operations
- Funding Source: CleanerGreener Baltimore Initiative; Private Sector
- Lead Partners:DPW; NGOs Businesses
Strategy B: Increase resident and business participation in the single stream recycling program
Research the recycling operational needs of local businesses and appartment buildings. Use this information to modify operations to encourage their participation in the recycling program.
- Timeframe: Short-term
- Type: Partnerships, Education
- Funding Source: CleanerGreener Baltimore Initiative
- Lead Partners: DPW, Non-Governmental Organizations, Private Sector
Strategy C: Expand types of materials accepted by the single-stream recycling program
Coordinate with local recycling operations to find new markets for materials not currently accepted by Baltimore City’s recycling processor. As markets and technologies allow these materials to be added to the single-stream program, communicate the news to those participating in the program.
- Timeframe: Short-term
- Type: Partnership
- Funding Source: Cleaner Greener Baltimore Initiative
- Lead Partners: DPW
Strategy D: Establish construction and demolish waste regulations for reuse and/or recycling
Develop a standard approach to evaluating salvageable buildings and materials from Baltimore’s existing building stock, since much of it is constructed of high quality materials that have historical significance or are difficult or expensive to find today. If properly salvaged, there are markets for these materials. In other cases, construction waste can be recycled to make other building materials.
- Timeframe: Short-term
- Type: Legislative, Operations
- Funding Source: Cost Neutral
- Lead Partners: BOS, NGOs
[1] http://www.pulp.tc/MDPSCInterimReporttotheMDGA12-6-07.pdf
[2] http://www.pulp.tc/MDPSCInterimReporttotheMDGA12-6-07.pdf
[3] http://www.pulp.tc/MDPSCInterimReporttotheMDGA12-6-07.pdf
[4] http://www.epa.gov/watersense/water/why.htm
[5] http://www.epa.gov/watersense/water/benefits.htm
[6] http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/rrr/reduce.htm
[7] http://www.ci.baltimore.md.us/government/dpw/waste.php