Autumn leaves provide a burst of twirling, majestic color to our world for a few weeks each year before they promptly become a huge nuisance for months after that. Because of this, it is tempting to simply leave these crunchy burdens where they fall and wait for old man winter to cover them up. However, this can pose some very real environmental and financial threats so before you let sleeping leaves lie, consider the importance of getting them properly swept.
Water supply quality is one of the top concerns for the environment as a whole as well as for individual communities like the ones serviced by The Pennichuck Brook Watershed. Pennichuck, which provides drinking water to the greater Nashua, New Hampshire area is, like many water supplies, facing the effects of developed land. They are now addressing the issues of drainage basins, stormwater management, and runoff to improve water quality.
A surprising source of contaminants comes from the lack of maintenance to commercial and private parking lots and driveways. While surrounding communities do regular sweeps of roadways and major streets, these smaller areas are infrequently swept and significantly contribute to water pollution. Sweeping along with regular catch basin cleaning and stormwater management has been shown to effectively remove phosphorus and sediment from watersheds.
The Pennichuck Catch Basin Cleaning Feasibility report found that many businesses do not perform regular sweeps, do them ineffectively with push brooms or only have them done once a year after the snow melts. Drainage basin cleanings are also only done on an as-needed basis. The report found that with regular adherence to watershed maintenance there would be the significant reduction in total suspended solids (TSS) in the stormwater runoff.
A parking lot maintenance program combined with catch basin cleaning would contribute a total phosphorus and TSS reduction of 147 lbs/yr., a significant portion of the total goal of 2,258 lbs/yr. It is Important to note that it was also found that hiring outside companies was more cost effective than purchasing and maintaining equipment by the city. Additionally, having a city run program would ensure a higher level of participation by businesses.
ProSweep has been busy establishing business practices that will keep our company and our environment healthy and growing for years to come. So, how does an eco-friendly business like Progressive Sweeping make their company even greener and more cost-effective at the same time?
Our recently implemented in-office recycling program ensures we minimize our paper and supply consumption and recycle what we do use. By using less, we are saving more and connecting our staff through the shared goal of creating a company that cares about the environment as much as the job we do.
ProSweep is not only addressing physical waste like oil, tires, and mechanical parts but recognizing the growing carbon footprint of the Internet. The ProSweep website is now powered with renewable energy and Green hosting from GreenGeeks.com. With this new hosting, we are creating a positive impact by replacing three times the amount of energy our website uses with wind energy credits.
While green technology is the cutting edge of environmental sustainability, traditional waste materials are also still a problem. What happens to all those materials ProSweep uses to get the job done?
We look forward to seeing the effects of all our changes and doing even more to create a company culture of environmental sustainability while providing our customers with services we can all be proud of.
