Chamber of Commerce

} } Greengiant By Khary McGhee For a city that’s already Army green, Fayetteville is also going Green. A school with solar panels, the second-largest plastic bottle recycling plant in the country, new “green” buildings, the first Green Business Conference, plus an annual urban garden tour, it all adds up to a county working to reduce its carbon footprint. Fayetteville’s curbside recycling program alone reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 2,240 tons a month and 26,880 tons every year, according to the Business Civic Leadership Center, an affiliate organization of the United States Chamber of Commerce. And the city did not stop there. Thanks to a partnership with Waste Management and Pratt Industries, a material recovery facility or MURF processes almost all of the city’s recyclable waste, right here in town. The city saw another opportunity with DAK Americas, LLC and Shaw Industries Group, Inc., to build the Clear Path Recycling plant in the Cedar Creek community. When it opens for business late in 2010, it will become the largest plant on the continent turning plastic bottles into high-quality carpet. Jon Parsons is executive director of Sustainable Sandhills, an organization helping to coordinate green projects and policies in eight counties in southeastern North Carolina, including Cumberland. “I think about it as institutionalizing green practices,” Parsons said. “We have to make these practices typical.” The city and county are leading the way. Fayetteville’s Public Works Commission built a new customer service building on Old Wilmington Road, the city’s first public building to be certified by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program, ensuring that it meets specific environmental standards. The 12,000-square-foot, $4 million building features ground-source heat pumps, automated energy-saving features and special parking for fuel-efficient vehicles. Just down the street is the Fayetteville Community Garden, smack in the middle More and more Fayetteville companies are becoming certified as “green” businesses by Sustainable Sandhills, including the Fayetteville-Cumberland County Chamber of Commerce. Visit www.sustainblesandhills.org for more information. of a neighborhood slated for revitalization through a $20 million Hope VI grant, administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Garden plots are available to anyone who wishes to rent a space and grow their own flowers, vegetables or herbs. Talk about going green. Even if you can’t grow your own produce, check out the slew of local produce stands and farmer’s markets. On Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings, farmers can be found selling their wares downtown, so scoop up locally-grown produce, honey, baked goods, eggs and more near Festival Park or the Cumberland County Courthouse. And that’s not the only market in Cumberland County. The Sandhills Family Heritage Association sponsors the Sandhills Farmers Market near Spring Lake, Open June through October, the market is located at 230 Chapel Hill Road. And like its sister market in Fayetteville, the Spring Lake market often offers cooking demonostrations in addition to the best local produce, jams, honey and more. www.FayettevilleNCChamber.org | 33

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