2008 Woodie Awards
Business Tries to Help Keep Earth Green
Dina Khiry
Issue date: 12/7/06 Section: News
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The Wayne Auto Spa is helping our environment, one car wash at a time.
The car wash and oil changing facility, located on Hamburg Turnpike in Wayne, serves the needs of customers, but also to the planet.
Rob Burke and his business partner bought the Wayne Auto Spa just over a year ago; they invested over $100,000 in finding and designing alternative approaches to make their business more environmentally friendly. He said he and his partner care a lot about the planet.
On Nov. 23, students from a William Paterson University environment science course received a tour of Wayne Auto Spa as part of their lab component. Burke gave them suggestions about simple steps they could take to help the environment.
"I thought the tour was really informative and I think what he is doing is a really good thing," said Katie Major, a senior communication major.
The site includes 58 solar panels, which are displayed on the roof of the facility. They generate about 15 to 20 percent of the electrical supply for the business. Burke said the layout of the building is perfect to create this large solar array.
The solar energy utilized prevents the release of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
"Every kilowatt created with solar energy avoids the emission of about 1.5 pounds of carbon dioxide," said Burke. "We expect to generate about 15,000 kilowatts per year, which means our facility is responsible for avoiding more than 20,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per year."
The Auto Spa also produces its own heat using waste oil, a technology Burke discovered after some research. He purchased two furnaces that burn the waste oil and generates the heat; this process also provides a way to safely dispose excess oils used after oil changes.
Wasted water used from car washes is reused and tested for contaminations through their filtration system. In addition, the Auto Spa only uses soaps that are biodegradable for its car washes.
The car wash and oil changing facility, located on Hamburg Turnpike in Wayne, serves the needs of customers, but also to the planet.
Rob Burke and his business partner bought the Wayne Auto Spa just over a year ago; they invested over $100,000 in finding and designing alternative approaches to make their business more environmentally friendly. He said he and his partner care a lot about the planet.
On Nov. 23, students from a William Paterson University environment science course received a tour of Wayne Auto Spa as part of their lab component. Burke gave them suggestions about simple steps they could take to help the environment.
"I thought the tour was really informative and I think what he is doing is a really good thing," said Katie Major, a senior communication major.
The site includes 58 solar panels, which are displayed on the roof of the facility. They generate about 15 to 20 percent of the electrical supply for the business. Burke said the layout of the building is perfect to create this large solar array.
The solar energy utilized prevents the release of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
"Every kilowatt created with solar energy avoids the emission of about 1.5 pounds of carbon dioxide," said Burke. "We expect to generate about 15,000 kilowatts per year, which means our facility is responsible for avoiding more than 20,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per year."
The Auto Spa also produces its own heat using waste oil, a technology Burke discovered after some research. He purchased two furnaces that burn the waste oil and generates the heat; this process also provides a way to safely dispose excess oils used after oil changes.
Wasted water used from car washes is reused and tested for contaminations through their filtration system. In addition, the Auto Spa only uses soaps that are biodegradable for its car washes.
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