The Greening of Summit County
Photography: Timothy Thimmes
According to Kermit the Frog, it’s not easy being green. Well, he needs to talk to the people in Summit County, especially Park City. As a resort town, Park City faces a dilemma when it comes to making the community more sustainable: balancing the needs of its many visitors with efforts to preserve the environment those visitors are here to enjoy.
According to Lola Beatlebrox, outreach director for Recycle Utah, Summit County creates 13 pounds of trash per person per day — almost triple the national average. That’s because local residents are shouldering the burden of discarding tourists’ trash. To help combat this statistic, Recycle Utah has created a program that helps hotels recycle refuse. Self-service recycling centers are stationed at participating hotels and condominium complexes that allow guests to recycle glass, plastic, paper, cardboard and aluminum. Currently 14 local resort facilities are participating in the program. And how do guests like it? Beatlebrox says they now expect to be able to recycle. “Recycling is the amenity for the 21st century,” she says.
Retaining the green that already exists in Park City is vital if the beautiful, natural place that attracts so many people in the first place is to remain intact. That’s what the Summit Land Conservancy is trying to accomplish. According to Executive Director Cheryl Fox, the Land Conservancy holds easements on over 2,000 acres in and around Park City. These conservation easements allow landowners to sell development rights yet retain use of the property — an arrangement that passes on to future buyers or heirs. One of the projects the Conservancy is most excited about is the 120-acre parcel that makes up the McPolin Farm located on Route 224. “That open space, that view,” says Fox, “will be the same for generations to come.”
A sprouting roof, busses operating on bio-diesel fuel, wind power and 300-foot-deep holes … these are a few of the green measures put into place by the city government in Park City. Environmental Affairs and Project Manager Alison Butz says the city began purchasing wind power in 2003, and today 16 percent of its electric use comes from wind power. The city has also purchased 5,300 acres of open space through $40 million in bonds. And in May 2007, the city council passed an ordinance that all new municipal construction has to meet the minimum 75 energy star rating and the minimum certified LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) level. And those 300-foot-deep holes? You’ll find 30 of them at the police facility. They’re part of a ground loop heat source that helps keep heating and cooling costs down by tapping into 65-degree water deep in the earth.
Considering all that Park City and Summit County are doing to protect the environment and become more energy efficient, maybe the city should extend an invitation to Kermit to set up residence. He just may have to rewrite that song.
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