VULGARE

Prisons are perhaps the most resource-intensive institutional infrastructures. This is largely a function of the unique nature of the building typology, which requires continuous operation, high levels of lighting (for security) and water consumption (for the inmates). Moreover, prison cells that contain toilet fixtures are required to have exhaust venting, increasing heating and cooling loads and costs. With the number of prisons on the rise in the US, new green initiatives are being explored to offset these resource hogs.

Take, for instance, Cedar Creek Corrections Center (CCCC), located close to Olympia in Washington State. A couple of years ago, Cedar Creek set up a “Green Work” program, wherein inmates grow produce, compost and recycle waste, and harvest honey. They have also established a research venture with Evergreen State College, entitled the Sustainable Prisons Project. Cedar Creek (and prisons in general) provide an ideal environment to measure energy and food inputs and outputs due to the stability of the population. Further, the inmates are educated in green practices and gain job skills, equipping them to be part of the next generation of ‘green-collared’ workers.

Cedar Creek’s organic garden, recycling program, composting, beehive facility and water catchment tanks have impressive measurable figures; 15000 pounds of organic food was produced last year alone, while 2000 pounds of food was composted. Further, over 250 000 gallons of water was saved. The economic savings from landfill, water and food costs totaled $34,333 USD, or approximately $85.83 per inmate per annum. This has saved Washington State taxpayers $1.5 million dollars per year and allowed, in theory, money to be transferred to other social programs. Further, it has inspired the retrofitting of 34 facilities in Washington State to gain LEED certification.

Found via INFRANETLAB
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Tags: PRISON, Promenade

This entry was posted on Dimanche, mars 22nd, 2009 at 21:40 and is filed under Non classé. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.