Green Glossary provided by Greenzer

Green Glossary

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Landfill

A landfill is a disposal site for non-hazardous solid wastes. These wastes are spread in layers and compacted into the smallest practical volume. Landfills are carefully designed to prevent waste from mixing with groundwater and to reduce odor. Most landfills have a thick plastic liner between the piles of trash and the ground. An additional layer of soil is added on top of the trash layer every day. Materials deposited in a landfill do not decompose quickly.

LED

Short for light-emitting diode, these lighting sources boast a number of consumer and environmental benefits. LEDs are capable of emitting color of any wavelength on their own including red, green, blue and amber, while incandescent bulbs require the use of color filters. They’re also durable and difficult to break thanks to the solid-state technology, while incandescent bulbs are extremely fragile and break easily. LEDs have an extremely long life span when compared to incandescent bulbs – in many cases they last twenty times longer – and they consume less energy than incandescent lights. Plus, they’re purdy.

Life cycle assessment

A life cycle assessment (LCA) is the investigation and valuation of the environmental impact of a given product or service. It is also known as life cycle analysis, ecobalance, or cradle-to-grave analysis. This analysis helps consumers select a product that has the least detrimental effect on the environment.

Light pollution

Light pollution, also known as photo pollution or luminous pollution, is the excess or obtrusive light created by humans. Light trespass, over-illumination, glare, clutter, and sky glow are the various types of light pollution. Light pollution disrupts ecosystems, causes adverse health effects, obscures the stars for city dwellers, and interferes with astronomical observatories.

Low emission vehicles

A Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (SULEV) is a conventionally powered or gas-electric hybrid vehicle that emits extremely low levels of air pollutants compared to a gasoline only vehicle. The use of three-way catalytic converters in these vehicles reduces hydrocarbon, nitrous oxide, and carbon monoxide pollution.

Low or No VOC

First of all, what’s a VOC? VOC stands for volatile organic compound – basically, any organic compound that evaporates readily into the atmosphere. Here, the term ‘organic’ isn’t a good thing - it just means a compound that contains carbon. Typical sources of VOCs include paints, varnishes, moth balls, solvents, gasoline, newspaper, cleaning chemicals, vinyl floors, carpets, adhesives, sealing caulks, air fresheners, and pressed wood furniture. For you, exposure to VOCs can mean eye, nose, and throat irritation, headache, nausea, dizziness, asthma exacerbation, cancer, and liver, kidney, and central nervous system damage. Environmentally, these compounds contribute to global warming and can also damage soil and groundwater. Yikes! Definitely better to steer clear.

Lyocell

Lyocell is produced from cellulose, the main material in plant cells, and constitutes a new fibre for clothing, hygiene, medical and technical applications. The production process for Lyocell is extremely environmentally friendly – the fibre has all the advantages of a natural material and is 100% bio-degradable. Lyocell is often referred to as Tencel® - the brand name owned by Lenzing Fiber of Germany that made a recently improved Lyocell Fabric.

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