Denver Zoo Plans Nation's First LEED Certified Habitat

Lion's Share of Zoo Waste to be Recycled, Gasified

Hamburger wrappers, cotton candy sticks and leopard dung may soon be powering the country’s first ever LEED-certified habitat at the Denver Zoo.

If all goes as planned, the 50 million dollar, ten-acre Asia Tropics campus will be LEED Gold certified by the U.S. Green Building Council. The habitat, which should be completed in 2011, will primarily house Asian elephants, Indian rhinoceroses, and Malayan tapirs.

Many zoos have LEED certified buildings or exhibits, but no other zoo in the U.S. has sought certification for an entire habitat.

“Our mission is to educate the public, to be a leader in conservation and protector of animals,” says Paul Quick, a mechanical engineer and industrial designer working on the project. “There are a lot of zoos that are interested in doing this. I think we just got on board a little bit sooner than they did.”

In fact, the Denver Zoo is in the midst of a complete makeover of its product purchasing and waste disposal practices.

Quick was originally hired to evaluate the possibility of building a waste-to-energy facility at the zoo. He first analyzed the park’s waste stream.

“But I found that the problem was further down the line,” said Quick. “So we said, ‘Let’s evaluate our product purchasing from the beginning.’”

Using data from 2007, Quick is now rating the zoo’s purchases based on both environmental and social standards. While most preferred purchasing metrics focus on the recycled content of products, Quick says, he evaluates where products come from and how they’re manufactured, as well as how a company’s workers are paid and what benefits they get.

Developers are currently designing software that crunches this data and helps makes environmentally and socially sustainable purchasing decisions.

“It’s grown into something where we’re really completely defining and refining the campus’s philosophy on conservation as a whole,” says Ana Bowie, director of marketing at the zoo.

Also on tap is a first-of-its-kind gasification plant, expected to supply more than ten percent of the zoo’s power.

“The science is not new,” Bowie says, “but the product we will be using for gasification has never been used before.”

Bowie’s referring to both the volume and type of garbage generated by the facility, which receives over 1.5 million visitors a year and is home to more than 3,500 animals representing over 650 species. The zoo intends to gasify over 90 percent of the waste it produces.

Bowie says the gasification plant’s recipe will change daily as animals and humans generate different quantities and types of waste. Most gasification plants rely on consistent feedstock, such as woodchips.

“If we get this thing developed and get the kinks out, the science behind it will be available because this will have huge impact globally,” says Bowie .

Another zoo, Happy Hollow Park and Zoo in San Jose , California plans to re-open its gates in 2009 as a LEED Silver certified facility. Happy Hollow will cover 16.5 acres when renovations are complete. The zoo will not, however, generate any of its own power.

Photo Caption: Mimi and Dolly, Asian elephants at the Denver Zoo, are expected to reside in the zoo’s new Asian Tropics habitat, slated to open in 2011 as a LEED Gold certified facility. (Photo Courtesy of the Denver Zoo)