WORK ZONE

摘要

Like many cities, Fort Collins, Colo., set aggressive goals to curb air, water, and land pollution. Its approach, however, sets it apart. A soil recycling program launched by one public works department is spreading to others, moving the city slowly but surely toward land-filling 80% less waste by 2020. The idea came from the Utilities Departments Water Field Operations, which manages drinking water, wastewater conveyance, and stormwater. Digging up the ground for repairs and maintenance generates 18,000 cubic yards of debris every year, most of which is too wet or mixed to be immediately reused for backfill. Instead of buying new material to finish repairs, crews thought, why not recycle what was already there?