Here's a sampling of innovations RDS has done over the years.
Poticrete: Turning Toilets to Sidewalks
In 2012, we got public attention outside the community for the clever effort of reusing 400 porcelain toilets to create Poticrete to pave new sidewalks in Bellingham.
RDS' participation can be seen in the King 5 news clip which highlights our recycling facility and our own Pete Edwards talking about how we helped recycle the porcelain into good use!
More details at: http://bellinghamwins.com/paving-the-way-to-a-sustainable-infrastructure/
Illustration of storm water collection system.
StormWater Management
Just because we collect garbage, doesn't mean we should dump garbage into our community water system. RDS has worked with the authorities to create an aggressive stormwater management system.
RDS utilizes six of the best response methods to control its stormwater discharges.
The first line of defense is to sweep up all surface contaminants and keep filters clean after every rain event.
Second is to trap contaminants in the Catch Basin's filtration systems and surface trenching directing water to sand filters.
Third is to allow settling inside of our under-ground storage capacity (we know this works because we annually clean it).
Fourth is to have all flow events pass through our multi-stage filter media within sand filters.
Fifth is to have the water pass through our Bio-swale which, must be maintained at least once a year.
Test more, learn more, and adapt.
Aggressive Recycling with a MRF Facility
What is MRF? It is a material recovery facility. A specialized building, machinery, and staff that will separate out usable recyclable materials for a new use; saving tons of discarded waste from being dumped into landfills. This saves our environment and provides jobs to the community; providing both green and economic benefits to Whatcom County.
In 2013, we created ten new local jobs pulling out recyclables that would have gone to the landfill. We are creating jobs and saving the planet!
We were the first and only company with a MRF in Whatcom County.
Below are different views of the MRF at RDS with Larry McCarter.
