HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

304

TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2010

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING the Department of accounting and general services and the department of transportation to explore the feasibility of using the cleancem process in state procedures and projects.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii supports innovation that contributes to a safer environment and recognized that the preservation of national resources is beneficial to the local community and economy; and

 

     WHEREAS, trends toward more sustainable construction materials are intensifying and are now a $30 billion dollar market in the nation alone, growing at a 5-year compound annual growth rate of 45%, and

 

     WHEREAS, close to 10% of all commercial projects are expected to be made with sustainable construction materials in 2010, with cement substitution playing an important role in green construction, as cement production is ranked as the 4th most polluting industry by carbon dioxide emissions, with every ton of cement that is manufactured, close to 0.85 tons of carbon dioxide are released in the atmosphere; and

 

     WHEREAS, coal fired power plants have emerged as a major cause in the debate about global warming and carbon footprint, but also, along with other ash generating industries, for the large quantities of ash derived from the burning of coal; and

 

     WHEREAS, the total quantity of ash generated in the production of electricity has grown steadily over the last decades, with, in 2007, over 50 million tons of fly ash, bottom ash and boiler slag were deposited in landfills in the US, with an estimated total disposal cost in excess of $1 billion, and close to 60% of total ash generated are still land filled today; and   

 

     WHEREAS, Ash Improvement Technology (AIT) was created in 2008 as a response to the trends of more adequate regulation to protect our environment, and for the growing need for "green" materials in the construction industry and has developed the CLEANCEM process, an efficient and cost effective way to convert ash that would otherwise be land filled into a sustainable building material used as a cement substitute; and

 

     WHEREAS, by virtue of substituting cement, each ton of CLEANCEM avoids not only the disposal and storage of coal ash, but also carbon dioxide emissions, as the manufacturing of cement releases on average 0.85 tons of carbon dioxide  per ton of cement produced; and

 

     WHEREAS, the benefits of using the CLEANCEM process include:

     1) the avoidance of placing potential hazardous materials     in landfills

     2) a net revenue generator

     3) a way to trap heavy metals when used in concrete

     4) a process to enhance pollution control of sulfur oxide

     5) a substantial decrease of carbon dioxide emissions; and

 

     WHEREAS, by "going green" we reduce the carbon footprint of built structures and this is a key objective of sustainable building standards; now, therefore

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2010, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Accounting and General Services and the Department of Transportation research the feasibility of using the CLEANCEM process in procedures and projects; and

 

                BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the Director of the Department of Accounting and General Services, the Director of the Department of Transportation, the Department of Transportation Services, the Hawaii Public Housing Authority, the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism's Strategic Industries Division, the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, the Mayor of the County of Hawaii, the Mayor of the County of Maui, and the Mayor of the County of Kauai.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

CLEANCEM process; feasibility research