The 9 PILLARS OF SUSTAINABILITY
Waste Management
People and businesses produce garbage, which is removed from the city and taken to landfills. The soil in the landfill areas is toxic, killing the surrounding animal and plant life and limiting building development in its proximity. Sewage is another waste product that must also be removed and filtered, using massive amounts of natural resources to do so. Waste management focuses on solutions that will reduce, recycle, and reuse.
Reduce
Architects and builders can plan structures that are small, so that fewer materials are used, and less waste is made.
Adaptive Reduce
Architects can take existing structures and turn them into something else. Rather than demolishing a structure, which creates waste and requires an enormous amount of energy, adaptive reuse is a great way to renew a structure and give it a new life.
Recycle
Building materials can be made of recycled products that may be comprised of glass, plastic, or wood. By recycling building materials, less waste may be contributed to the landfills and minimize the need to procure and manufacture new products.