| Eco Facts | The Eco Depot office will give a 76% reduction in energy use compared to a traditionally built, air-conditioned office of the same size. The energy efficiency of the Eco Depot office will give savings of 155 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. Water consumption will be reduced by 50%, when recycled rainwater is used for washing vehicles. Electricity generated on site, from renewable sources, will provide 12% of the amount currently used. Environmentally friendly materials will save 1746 tonnes of carbon dioxide. |
The Commercial Services Depot in York is soon to be renamed the Foss Islands ecoDepot, and that's for one very simple reason. It's about to become a much more economically and environmentally sound place. Located at Hazel Court, James Street, off Hull Road the depot will be highly energy and water efficient, operating with renewable energy and recycled water. At the centre of it all will be an office building made up of a timber frame and straw bale cladding. The 'eco office' will be the biggest building of its type in Europe. The whole depot will be a national exemplar of sustainable construction, and its performance will be constantly monitored.听It will be a national resource for learning and education on sustainable construction. Already the building has been shortlisted for the St. Andrews Prize for the Environment 2006.听The aim of the prize is to find innovative solutions to environmental problems.听Solutions must be practical, combining good science, economic reality and political acceptability. The ecoDepot scheme is a partnership of the City of York Council, Yorkshire Forward, Mowlem and White Design. What are we wasting for! At present, the office space at Foss Islands Waste Depot is made up of a group of temporary buildings, which are poorly insulated and ventilated, a situation which results in excess energy being used for heating and cooling.
The straw bale walls of the new building will provide super insulation - three times better than building regulations demand! This will mean that the energy used for heating and cooling will be reduced by a whopping 76%! Currently, council vehicles are washed at the depot using tap water (ie. drinking water). This costs a total of 拢25,000 a year. With the new system, vehicles will be washed with recycled 'grey' water, reducing water consumption by 50%. Work has already begun to create the new ecoDepot, with foundations being dug before Christmas 2005, and actual building work commencing in the New Year. Keep an eye out for our ecoDepot webcam, through which you'll be able to track the development of the construction. Eco blog Christian Vassie is a local councillor and has been involved with the project from the start. He鈥檒l be keeping us up to date with developments via regular blogs. Keep checking our website to find out how the project's going, what's going to plan, and what isn't... | 
