|
Good Prescription for Health of the Environment - Recycling Ceiling Tiles
Old ceiling tiles at Lancaster General Health Columbia Outpatient Center are finding new life as a result of a ceiling recycling program offered by Armstrong World Industries, the country’s largest producer of acoustical ceilings.
Approximately 22,000 square feet of old ceiling tiles were removed recently from a demolished twostory wing and 8,000 more from the renovated section at the outpatient facility on North Seventh Street in Columbia Borough.
This resulted in more than 50 tons of old acoustical ceiling tiles being diverted from landfills, helping LG Health fulfill its ongoing commitment to protect the environment. Since the program began in 2006, LG Health has recycled more than 100,000 square feet of old ceiling tiles.
Other “green” efforts during the renovation at Columbia included separating out steel, copper and aluminum for recycling. Masonry was taken to a site for crushing to use in road beds. |
Protecting Patients and the Environment by Going Green
At Lancaster General Health, our efforts to “go green” complement our Mission of advancing the health and well-being of the communities we serve. They also advance our efforts to create an extraordinary place to receive care.
Saving Precious Resources
|
Scott Garrety, Director,
Environmental Services,
Lancaster General Hospital
|
LG Health has created a green cleaning program that protects both our patients’ health and the environment. Our Environmental Services team uses green cleaning chemicals, which sanitize our facilities without jeopardizing the health of patients, visitors and employees.
One small aspect of the program, a simple cleaning mop, produces big cost savings. “We use a microfiber mop that saves water and chemicals,” explained Scott Garrety, Director, Environmental Services at Lancaster General Hospital.
“With this type of mop, we don’t have to dump excess water and cleaning chemicals down drains after cleaning only a few rooms as we did before. Because of this, we’ve reduced the amount of water we use by about 1,000 gallons a day, which represents a huge savings.”
Aimee Smith, RN, and Carly Hoover, Unit Clerk,
work in the new energy-efficient 5 West Nursing
Unit at LGH. Natural and recycled building
materials and energy-saving technologies
used in the renovation project included flooring,
wall coverings, fabrics, ceiling tile, solid surfaces
and lighting.
Building Energy-Efficiency
LG Health employs energy-efficient products in all construction and renovation efforts. A recently installed reflective coating on the roof of several Lancaster General Hospital nursing units drastically reduces the amount of energy needed to cool the building, and extends the life of the existing roof.
Many LG Health offices are now equipped with color-balanced florescent lamps that feature energy-saving dimming mechanisms and motion detectors. Highperformance glass and new heating and cooling technologies further reduce our energy demand.
Commitment to Recycling
Since January 2003, our paper recycling program has been very successful, saving hundreds of trees each year.
|
Lou Papadoplos, Senior
Director, Guest Services,
Lancaster General Health
|
”In 2008, we saved a total of 3,975 trees which equals 404 tons of recycled paper,” said Lou Papadoplos, Senior Director, Guest Services at LG Health. “Our employees are very committed to this initiative.”
In addition to paper, aluminum cans and plastic bottles are recycled with steel cans in a single recycling stream weekly. LG Health also recycles aluminum, steel and concrete debris from construction projects.
Any waste that isn’t recycled goes to the Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority’s Waste-to-Energy facility, where it is converted to renewable electricity that powers one in six homes in Lancaster County.