April 28, 1999

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (BUSINESS WIRE) - In a move that will change

the face of commercial and residential building in the 21st century,

the California Integrated Waste Management Board launched

an ambitious plan Tuesday that targets the "greening" of state and

local government facilities as well as private sector buildings

in the years to come.

Yesterday, the Waste Board -- the State's leading recycling and solid

waste management agency -- adopted a Sustainable Building Plan and

allocated $500,000 in funding to lay the groundwork for increased

sustainable or "green" building construction throughout

California. Sustainable buildings are designed to be resource

efficient, improve indoor air quality, use recycled-content and

environmentally sensitive building materials, and preserve the

natural environment outside the building.

"California is once again becoming a nationwide trend-setter by

taking the lead in ensuring that government facilities operate in

an ecological and resource-efficient manner," said Waste Board

Chairman Dan Eaton. "By constructing them with recycled-content

materials, using energy and water efficiently, and improving the

indoor environment, green buildings operate less expensively while

protecting worker health and improving employee productivity."

To assist the Board in its efforts, State Senator Debra Bowen

(D-Redondo Beach) has also introduced SB 280, which would

require new state and local government buildings that are

designed and built in 2002 and beyond to exceed the minimum

standards for energy efficiency and follow "green" building

standards. SB 280 would also require the Waste Board to develop

new statewide regulations covering all aspects of sustainable

building design and construction.

The $500,000 approved today will allow the Board to:

(1) Create a Sustainable Building Executive Level Committee,

comprised of State department, board, and agency chiefs,

sustainable building experts and private sector representatives

such as utility companies;

2) Design a grant program to fund building design efforts, as well

as workshops and education forums on sustainable building; and

(3) Develop a sustainable building "tool kit," which among other

things will include guidelines to assist local governments in

communicating their green building goals and requirements to

design and construction bidders.

Through the increasing emphasis on sustainable building and

design, the Waste Board is working to improve the market for

reused and recycled-content building and landscape materials and

use resources more efficiently. These efforts will help cities and

counties around California meet the mandates of AB 939, which

calls a 50 percent cut in the amount of waste landfilled by 2000.

The six-member Integrated Waste Management Board is

responsible for protecting the public's health and safety and the

environment through management of the estimated 56 million

tons of solid waste generated in California each year. The Board's

mandate is to work in partnership with local government,

industry, and the public to achieve a 50 percent reduction in

waste disposed by the year 2000, while ensuring environmentally

safe landfill disposal capacity. Currently, California's diversion

rate is at an all-time high of 33 percent.

The Waste Board is one of six boards and departments within the

California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA).

Visit us on the Internet at http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Pressroom/