CST Environmental
CST Environmental is recognized for the demolition of the Charlotte Coliseum.  This past year, the Coliseum was taken down to make room for a new development.  And it was taken down in the same great style that it enjoyed during its heyday.

Before the building was imploded, as much of the building as possible was salvaged.  The 24,000 seats along with the basketball court and other items were either sold or donated to various other sports facilities including Lowes Motor Speedway.  The team of CST Environmental then began removing as much as possible of the masonry brick and block exterior as well as a large quantity of metal. 
When everything had been removed that could safely be removed the building was imploded and recycling began again.

The team then worked with the City of Charlotte Engineering Department to incorporate 80,000 tons of concrete from the demolition back into the new site as fill material.  CST removed 18,000 tons of asphalt from parking lots and prepared this material for reuse in the 3-mile loop recreational trail that will be part of the new development.

In the end, 90 percent of the coliseum was recycled, with 80 percent of the waste reused on-site, saving transportation costs and associated pollution.
 
                                                                                                                        
Choate Construction
Choate Construction has been working with clients to design and develop LEED certified buildings for over 5 years.  Choate Construction’s expansion into a new office space in Charlotte, NC was the perfect opportunity to demonstrate the company’s commitment by constructing a LEED Gold, 18,000 square foot interior of their own.

Their commitment began by using regional materials to minimize pollution associated with longer transportation distances, as well as to support the local economy.  Nearly 46% of the materials in this new space come from the immediate region. This includes materials which are both extracted and manufactured within 500 miles of the project.

The company also made a commitment to reduce the use of virgin materials. Choate Construction’s interior space is built with more than 40% pre-consumer and post-consumer recycled content.

Through controlled waste collection strategies, 49 tons of construction wastes were diverted from landfills. This rigorous practice of recycling eliminated 86% of landfill wastes for the entire project.

To ease water use, the combined use of a low-flow faucets, toilets and lavatory sink aerators with cut-off sensors reduce Choate’s water consumption by 46%.  With this same ethic, Choate uses light sensors and provides nearly 70% daylighting to reduce its energy use by 15%.

Banister Homes
Banister Homes is building two homes on Lyndhurst Avenue. Banister is seeking green home certification for both homes; one is registered as LEED for Homes™ and the other with North Carolina Solar Center’s Healthy Built Homes™ program.  Both homes are also being built as Energy Star™ homes.

Some of the environmental features in the Lyndhurst Avenue homes include:
 
• Solar tube natural lighting   
• rainwater collection and usage systems  
• recycled content carpets and countertops
• tankless water heaters
• bamboo flooring and countertops
• formaldehyde-free Icynene spray foam insulation throughout and
• high-efficiency 15 SEER HVAC systems
 

To reduce waste, the project began with an extensive salvage of the pre-existing structures, salvaged items included the
• Slate roof
• Brick- face and foundation
• Framing
• Flooring, decking, paneling and diagonal house sheathing
• Doors
• Kitchen cabinets, appliances, countertops and
• Plumbing fixtures
Some of the wood from the previous structure will be remilled to produce flooring for the new house.  Countertops will be made from  recycled paper-stone, recycled glass and salvage remnant granite.

Banister Homes has been recycling cardboard, drywall waste, concrete, and metals.  They are reducing lumber waste by sharing lumber between the two houses, and sending unused lumber to other job sites.  We wish Banister Homes the best of luck in achieving the desired certifications for these homes and hope that they inspire others to pursue this path.

Gensler
Gensler renovated the 11th and 12th floors of the 525 N. Tryon Building for their client Bank of America and earned the project a LEED Silver certification.

In so doing, a little over 97% of the waste was either reused or recycled – including
 
• Carpet tiles
• Drywall
• Metal
• Ceiling tile
• Shelving
• Lights
• Batt Insulation
• Doors/Frames/Hardware
 
In addition to reusing or recycling a huge percentage of potential waste materials from the project, the 29.9 percent recycled content of their building materials was just a fraction of a point shy of achieving the full credit from LEED for this effort.  Recycled content materials used included:
 
• Steel studs
• Batt insulation
• Furniture (including 50% recycled content chairs)
• Substrate in millwork
• Doors
• Drywall
• Linoleum flooring
• ceiling tile
 

Extensive use of daylighting reduces energy consumption and improves worklife for occupants.

Will Weaver
In addition, the County recognized Will Weaver with Genzler for his leadership of the Charlotte Chapter of the US Green Building Council and his stewardship of green building efforts in the region.  Thank you.