Yellowknife (July 23/04) - Workers on the new federal building will go through tonnes of concrete and steel during construction.

It's just more work for them, but the government must keep track of everything that enters or leaves the site in order to achieve a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification for the building.

Workers are still pouring concrete. The federal building will be made mostly of concrete.

"During the construction process one of the biggest things to track is construction waste," said James Dykes of Public Works and Government Services Canada.

"You have to start your documentation from day one," Dykes said.

Day one was in September of 2002 when the old Canadian Tire building was demolished. Public Works kept track of waste from the demo, 90 per cent of which was recycled or re-used.

Scrap from the construction of the new federal building will also be tracked. Most will be re-used in town or sent south to be recycled.

"The most important thing is to keep this out of landfills," Dykes said.

The federal government gets "points" for recycling waste. The more points they have after the building is finished, the higher their environmental certification rating will be.

Keeping track of the materials on site saves them a big headache down the road.

"We've learned in the past that if you don't do this properly you're in trouble," Dykes said.

The federal government will apply to the Canada Green Building Council for environmental certification rating after the building is finished.

Tax breaks for green buildings in the Unites States popularized environmentally friendly buildings, but now building owners are realizing other economic benefits says Dykes.

"It is just a matter of getting peoples heads around what is good economic sense," Dykes said.

$70,000 dollars a year

According to the Government of Canada Web site the new building will save $70,000 dollars a year in energy costs compared to a standard building of the same size.

In the long term this will offset added costs of constructing the building. Dykes says the building will have, "a very long lifespan."