OCC seeking solar panels

California’s top experts in environmentally friendly planning, building and education will gather next week for a summit in Los Angeles to discuss what schools statewide can do to “go green” and help the environment. That movement, however, has already gained traction in Orange County.

“With rising energy costs, going green is all the rage again, and it’s the right thing to do,” said Orange Coast College’s recycling coordinator Michael Carey. “We were green in the ’70s then [the movement] died out, and now it’s back.”

Last year Coast Community College district Chancellor Ken Yglesias signed the Presidents Climate Commitment, a pledge to increase environmentalism through remodeling and new construction standards.

All new buildings in the Coast Community College district will meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design’s minimum silver standards. These buildings save on energy bills by harnessing natural light and air circulation and recycled materials.

Carey has been at OCC for 23 years and has seen the school’s environmental footprint shrink over time.

Today the school exceeds state standards for diverting waste away from landfills.

Instead of throwing away grass and tree trimmings, OCC collects it. Twice a year, workers chip, chomp and grind two-thirds of it into a mulch for the school to reuse.

Last year, that amounted to 250,000 tons of waste that did not go into a landfill, Carey said.

The college’s plants are either drought-resistant or California native, decreasing irrigation needs.

Not only do they grow in recycled mulch and fertilizer, but they absorb water that is 95% reclaimed. Reclaimed water is processed water not safe for drinking but is acceptable for irrigation.

The school also plans on saving 30,000 gallons of water annually with retrofitted one-pint urinals. The Mesa Consolidated Water District gives the college a $400 rebate for every retrofitted urinal.

“We can almost put in the urinals for relatively no cost,” said Richard Pagel, vice president of administrative services.

Orange Coast College is working on a $95,000 deal to make the recycling center completely energy self-sufficient by using solar panels.

“The recycling center should generate enough electricity for the plant and give some power back [to Southern California Edison],” Carey said.

“There’s a lot of things we’re doing, but there’s more that we can do,” he said. “This green trend is going to be with us for awhile, and it isn’t going away.”

JOSEPH SERNA may be reached at (714) 966-4619 or at [email protected].