TR Circular E-C058_9th LRT Conference_2003.pdf - Florida ...

598 Transportation Research Circular E-C058: 9th National Light Rail Transit Conference
Criteria, Elements, Costs, and Benefits–—Sustainability as a Balancing Act
Achieving sustainability will require the balance of several factors: economics, environmental
needs, and community social needs. Elements that balance the needs of all three factors are
sustainable. In business, this increasingly popular notion of three integrated sustainability goals
is sometimes referred to as the “triple bottom line:” increasing profits, improving the
environment, and improving people’s lives.
The CEO of Electrolux once stated, “I’m convinced that we are seeing the birth of a new
perspective of the world where ecology and economics are two sides of the same coin” (Swedenbased
Electrolux adopted the The Next Step sustainability framework after it lost a multimillion-dollar
deal because it did not offer a refrigeration system without chlorofluorocarbons).
In its final state, sustainability will always make economic sense. However, in the
transition from now until this sustainable future, some sustainable elements will not survive costbenefit
analysis. Favorable cost-benefit analysis does not even strictly parallel the low to high
technology continuum, nor are the results of cost-benefit analysis constant from place to place or
project to project. Unfortunately, there are few “silver bullets” in sustainability. The way to
decide which sustainable elements do make sense is through good old fashioned engineering
analysis, keeping in mind three concepts: 1) make sure that life-cycle costs are included in the
analysis; 2) account for all costs, even externalized costs; and 3) realize that balance, not
maximization of one variable, is the goal.
In most basic terms, sustainability is just another project criteria to be balanced against all
the others.
Project Specific Examples of Sustainable Elements
Reusing and Recycling Materials
The City of Portland is a leader in recycling policy. It currently requires building projects with a
permit value of $50,000 or more to separate and recycle certain materials from the job site. City
construction specifications for improvements to streets and sidewalks within the City right of
way do not set specific performance standards but require projects to “recycle, reuse, or salvage
whenever practical.” TriMet’s internal philosophy was compatible with the City’s and the two
agencies worked together to use recycled materials for use in roadway and sidewalk
construction.
Recycled Concrete and Asphalt—Low Tech TriMet’s contractor sorted demolished concrete
and asphalt from other materials at the project site and then transported it to a crushing plant
operated by Pacific Cascade Resources. The material was graded and mixed with some standard
aggregate base to produce a material that met the engineering criteria for base rock suitable for
roads, sidewalks, and concrete paved track slab. In all, 80,000 cubic yards of material was
reused, saving TriMet $100,000 on the purchase of materials and on disposal fees.
Recycled Bollards—Moderate Tech Interstate MAX is the first project to make use of bollards
and chain made from recycled plastic in paved track portions of the trackway. At the time of
design, no bollards meeting TriMet’s recycling goals and criteria were available, so the
contractor was asked to fabricate them. The result was bollards made from recycled plastic, 20%