Friday, April 22, 2011

How do we "Go Green" at Braces by White?


My wife and I have always had the "green" mindset. She developed hers from living in Colorado during college and I was an avid backpacker in Arizona during my tour at Luke Air Force base in the 70's.

But the real push came when we realized that our children and grandchildren might not inherit the pristine world that we grew up in.

We personally have been recycling everything that we can for years, even before curbside pickup and local dropoffs. Both offices have containers for glass, plastic, metal, and paper recycleables.

When I designed the newer office location in Hudson, I intentionally chose a smaller space and hired a certified "green" architect to take care of the details. The carpeting is 40% post consumer recycled product and is designed to have the sections repositioned every few years to extend the useful lifecycle. The manufacturer also guarantees that they will 100% recycle all of their products when replaced. The wood flooring is rapidly renewable bamboo.
The plastic panels etc are 40-60% recycled. And we added 8 "sky tubes" to bring in natural light above the chairs. Water heaters are tankless demand units to save energy. The office is wired for solar panels on the upper deck in the future.

Both offices use digital x-ray equipment, eliminating the use of chemicals for processing.

During our computer upgrades taking place this May/June we will be reducing the use of paper significantly.

And finally, we contribute to several national environmental funds regularly since we believe that leaving the world a prettier and healthier place is more than just the smiles that we create for our patients.

- Dr. White

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