Winners of the seventh annual Green Awards were honored at a special luncheon during Pollution Prevention Week in September, hosted by the Green Awards Consortium. The Consortium is made up of APCD, Santa Barbara County Solid Waste Division, Traffic Solutions, Santa Barbara County Water Resources, and the Community Environmental Council. Common themes sounded by the winners (past and present) included the importance of cooperative efforts, and of sharing success with others...

Dennis Allen

(excerpt from article)

Allen Associates

The importance of cooperative efforts was also noted by Dennis Allen, accepting a 2000 Green Award for his company, Allen Associates, a general contractor in Santa Barbara, that uses sustainable building practices, and trains local contractors in these practices. Allen noted, "There are so many individuals involved in the building process-and anyone person can sabotage efforts to make the process environmentally friendly, at any stage." Allen Associates recycles approximately 75% of waste at new construction sites, and up to 90% of waste at deconstruction (demolition) sites. Recycled waste includes drywall, carpet, wood, metals, and concrete, which is crushed for reuse as road base. Allen Associates attends national and regional conferences and workshops to educate other businesses about sustainable building...