Eco-Knight Spotlight

Published June 9, 2008
By Corey Dahl
21st Space Wing Public Affairs

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- Who: Senior Airman Heith Remund, electrical systems specialist with the 21st Civil Engineer Squadron

What he's doing to go green: Airman Remund has started recycling more on base and at home, especially when it comes to his aluminum cans. He and his wife also reuse their plastics when possible, getting more mileage out of plastic water bottles and using cleaned, reused plastic containers to hold leftover food.

Airman Remund is also cutting back on his energy use. He's replaced most of his incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents, which are more energy efficient. He's also driving less, carpooling with friends when he and his wife go out and condensing errands into one trip. "With gas prices today, who wants to drive more?" he said.

Eco-friendly benefits: Some of the steps Airman Remund has taken have produced noticeable economic benefits. Recycling on base earns the wing money toward offsetting garbage-hauling costs on base, which in turn frees up more money for the base's units. And cutting back on driving has saved Airman Remund money at the pump.
But Airman Remund says he lives green mostly for the feel-good benefits. "I just feel better about it overall," he said. "The amount of waste that goes into our landfills is just incredible. If we got more conscious about what's reusable and recyclable, we could be less dependent on some of the natural resources that are used to make these products."