Did you know that Washington DC was the first LEED Platinum City in the world! In 2017 it was awarded the LEED for Cities Certification, an honor given to cities containing the most green buildings and sustainable building initiatives. For a world capital, the District of Columbia is surprisingly green! But it didn’t happen by accident. Mayor Muriel Bowser and the city chose to leverage technology and data to achieve resiliency and sustainability goals to create a healthy and safe community.
According to the US Green Building Council (USGBC), “The LEED platform recognizes the outcomes of a city’s leadership in creating a sustainable and resilient-built environment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, support clean energy innovation, and focus on inclusive prosperity and livability in all eight wards.”
One example is the American Geophysical Union (AGU) headquarters, with its net zero energy renovation. The energy used to power the building and activities within is the same or less than energy generated onsite through renewable energy. This building has 700 solar panels installed on the roof and a rainwater collection system. Another example is the Discovery School in Arlington, VA, Virginia’s first net zero energy building, with 1706 solar panels on its roof to help power its 100% LED lighting.
Even More Greenest Honors
Washington DC/Arlington/Alexandria also came in third place as one of the greenest American cities with more than 1 million people on a ListShack survey, just behind number one Austin/Round Rock, Texas and Portland, Oregon. Cities were rated based on five “green points:” the number of LEED-certified buildings (per 1,000 residents); the percentage of parkland; miles of bike lanes (per 10,000 residents); the number of farmer’s markets (per 10,000 residents); and the quantity of electric car plug-in locations (per 10,000 residents).
And in 2021, Washington, DC appeared in the 7th position in the Greenest Cities in America list provided by WalletHub, based on 28 key indicators of environmental friendliness and sustainability that promote a green lifestyle.
Other Greenest Initiatives
Washington DC was the first city in North America to institute a bikeshare system—Capital Bikeshare, and more than 60% of travel around the city is done by bicycle, walking or public transport, where many of the buses run on alternative fuels.
DC’s food scene is also green. You’ll find “farm to table” restaurants and hotels featuring their own gardens and beehives to supply food, and with access to farmer’s markets, locally-sourced foods and beverages are often found on the menu. Catering companies switched from single-use cutlery to reusable or biodegradable options, plastic and paper bags received a surcharge, and polystyrene food packaging and cartons were banned.
Another initiative, DC’s RiverSmart program, gives financial rebates to property owners who use rain barrels and rain gardens, shade trees and green roofs to capture water. These enable rainwater to stay on site and soak into the ground where pollutants are removed by natural processes. The program was initiated to help reduce stormwater runoff that can harm both DC’s waterways and the Chesapeake Bay.
123JUNK is Committed to “Going Green”
At 123JUNK, we founded our business with environmental sustainability at the forefront of our mission. We like to think we’re the “greenest” junk removal company in our area! Our 3-step “Donate-Recycle-Dispose” process helps keep items out of area landfills, and often recirculates them back into the community through our charitable partners.
Learn more about our 1-2-3 junk disposal process and our convenient flat-fee pricing, and contact 123JUNK when you need to clear out your home or office. There’s no need to sort items in advance; our team is glad to do that for you. Just point us towards the items you’d like to donate or remove and we’ll do the rest.
For the greenest, most environmentally-friendly Junk Removal in DC, Northern VA and MD, contact 123JUNK.
