There was a LOT going on in Gwinnett County, GA this weekend in celebration of the upcoming Earth Day.  Two of the coolest events were the Grand Opening of the Recycling Bank of Gwinnett in Duluth and the Earth Day Celebration at the Gwinnett Environmental & Heritage Center in Buford.

After T-ball in the morning, we headed up to the Recycling Bank of Gwinnett to see what was going on with the Grand Opening.  They had tours and displays and fun stuff for the kids.

I know… it doesn’t sound like the most glamorous event, but it was a lot of fun.  It was cool to see the technology inside the buildings.  Currently most trash carriers only handle 7 items for recycling.  The RBG is trying to push that to 35 items.  The have the ability to hold 250 garbage truck loads of recyclables while they are processed.  Cardboard, aluminum, paper and many types of plastic are all easily classified, separated and packaged fro shipment.  This can help reduce the loads on the current landfill system, as well as save money for the county.

After an enlightening view inside the RBG, we headed out towards Buford to visit the Gwinnett Environmental & Heritage Center for their Earth Day Celebration.  We were running late and much of the crowd had already started to dissipate.  Some of the vendors and exhibitors had also packed it up.  However, there was still a lot to do, especially for Garrett.  At only 4 (almost 5) much of the science and ecology are lost on him, but he likes to walk the trails and visit the water room.

Personally, I love seeing the technology that makes the center one of the few LEED Silver Certified buildings in the southeast.  The ‘Green Roof’ and the water feature which functions as a heat exchanger are a couple of the items that top the cool list.  They have achieved a 35% reduction in energy usage for the center through the use of design, water feature, the planted roof and daylight utilization.

Either of these would be a great field trip.

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from GwinnettGarageGuy.com