Houston Zoo Green Taskforce

Our Mission:

The Green Task Force at the Houston Zoo develops and implements proactive, fiscally responsible, and eco-friendly initiatives that will allow us to emerge as recognized leaders in the local and national conservation communities. 

Recycling:

• The Houston Zoo recycles cardboard, paper, aluminum, bimetal cans, and plastics 1 & 2.  As of September 2008 our recycled tonnage (bi-metal, plastic and cardboard) to date was 38.14 tons! That's a lot of recycled tonnage! That's equal to     12-14 female adult Asian elephants or 200 adult male orangutans or 38,000 Goliath frogs! 7,200 naked mole rats, 2 male gorillas, 1 pygmy sperm whale. . .that is the equivalence in weight of how many aluminum cans we have recycled so far this year. At an average of 90lbs per month, we have recycled 900lbs of aluminum!!!
  
• The Houston Zoo also recycles cell phones. This year we have raised close to $900 for Conservation programs at the Zoo by recycling old cell phones. To learn more about our cell phone recycling program click here. Internally, we also recycle batteries and mobile phone chargers.
  
• The Houston Zoo recycles our printer cartridges.
  
• We recycle or reuse all Vinyl banners printed for events and zoo grounds information.
  
  

The Zoo Horticulture Team is green in more ways than one:

• The Horticulture department composts our green waste.
  
• All of the fertilizers used on Zoo grounds are organic products.
  
• Every plant in the Zoo is treated with compost tea. Compost tea inoculates the soil
  with beneficial microbes that burrow and break down organic material into usable
  nutrients for the plants. Many of these microbes, like fungus and bacteria, fight off
  pathogens and keep plants healthy and happy.
  
• We use high-quality compost and mulch to promote soil biology. When a lawn
  and garden has healthy soil, plants, and beneficial organisms, together over time
  they are able to maintain a sustainable self-healing environment. We use horticultural vinegar to kill weeds instead of dangerous herbicides.
  
• The Zoo has eliminated a substantial amount of turf on grounds to reduce the
  amount of mowing that is necessary. The pollutants that are generated from these
  mowers are a contributor of greenhouse gasses.
  
• The Horticulture Department is also diligently working to eradicate all invasive
  species within our campus. Invasive species can be very damaging to the local
  ecology by out-competing native species.
  
  

Water Wise at the Zoo:

• Our recent redesign of Duck Lake is helping the Houston Zoo save thousands of gallons of water every day! Installed in the 1950s, the old system was in great need of repairs. Now our modern and much more efficient system not only helps our inhabitants have a nicer home, but it helps us conserve too! After the Zoo uses its water, much of it flows underground to our neighbors at Hermann Park where it is recycled again to refresh the grass on the golf course. 
  
  

Solar Power:

The Houston Zoo and Green Mountain Energy Company have partnered to create the Zoo's and Texas' first solar-powered animal exhibit. The solar array was installed in April 2008.

• The Green Mountain Energy® Solar at the Houston Zoo will help power the Zoo's African lion exhibit - providing approximately 33 percent of the exhibit's electrical power requirements.
  
• Located on the roof of the Zoo's African lion exhibit, the solar array is visible to Zoo visitors.
  
• The array contains 36 photovoltaic (PV) solar panels that are 36" x 60" and produce 6.4 kilowatt hours (kWh) of clean energy.
  
• Each year the solar array can offset over 17,500 pounds of carbon dioxide (C02), a greenhouse gas that is a leading contributor of global warming. That's equivalent to not driving over 19,000 miles a year, planting more than 1,000 trees or recycling over 44,000 aluminum cans.

Animal Enrichment:

Animal Departments at the Zoo find new use for household items and make the animals very happy campers in the process.

• Some of the items that are reused for animal enrichment are cardboard boxes, shredded paper, magazines, telephone books, newspaper, towels, sheets, blankets, pillow cases, stuffed animals, clothing, pantyhose, carpet remnants, tires, bowling balls, PVC pipes, gift wrap, Tupperware and plastic barrels. Click here to learn more about animal enrichment at the Houston Zoo.

Green Communication:

We are reaching out to all of our members and asking them to voluntarily go to paperless communication with the Houston Zoo.  We are asking those members with e-mail addresses to allow us to send them all notification about their membership by e-mail only.  With 32,000+ members this will allow us to eliminate an enormous amount of paper and postage.  This effort will have an impact in multiple ways including the obvious elimination of paper but also the money we save on postage ultimately means better care for our animals.  So everyone wins!

Eating Green at the Zoo:

Sodexo, the Houston Zoos onsite catering and food service company also thinks it's important to go green! Sodexo's goal is to drive greater satisfaction. Diversity and inclusion, sustainability, wellness, and fighting hunger are fundamental to Sodexo's commitment to making every day a better day for us all.