BioCycle August 2005, Vol. 46, No. 8, p. 18

Charlotte, North Carolina
SUBSIDIZING RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS TO SOLVE WASTE DISPOSAL PROBLEMS
A nonprofit organization called N.C. Green Power promotes clean energy in North Carolina, paying for anaerobic digestion equipment and solar and hydroelectric units. This year, N.C. Green Power will help fund two plants to run generators powered by methane gas at the Wayne County Landfill and Smithfield Foods (swine manure). As reported in a July News Observer article, companies working with N.C. Green Power sign contracts with local utilities for five years or more to provide the power. The subsidies come from tax-deductible contributions by utility customers who donate on their monthly bills. There are 7,000 donors. For more detail on the program, visit www.ncgp.org.
Santa Fe, New Mexico
FOREST RESTORATION GRANT TO ENHANCE UTILIZATION OF COMPOST, MULCH
The New Mexico Recycling Coalition (NMRC), in partnership with the New Mexico Environment Department, New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT), Santa Fe County, the Pueblo of Tesuque, the Ciudad Soil and Water Conservation Districts and several private businesses, has been awarded a grant of $187,862 from the Santa Fe National Forest to develop a new market for small diameter trees thinned in wildfire prevention programs throughout New Mexico. “We will be doing an assessment of quantities of thinnings available, processing infrastructure and will catalog the composting and mulch facilities where the forest thinnings can be shipped,” says English Bird, Executive Director of NMRC. “We will not be working with diseased or damaged wood, but instead will be participating in the U.S. Forest Service’s Healthy Forests Initiative.”
The grant project will build upon inroads made with the NMDOT to establish mulch and compost as the new standard in roadway construction erosion control efforts. In 2002, NMRC began discussions with NMDOT about using compost and mulch. The agency adopted compost specifications in 2004. Recently, NMDOT completed the installation of nearly 7,000 tons of erosion control compost along the newly rebuilt highway north of Santa Fe. Right now, two compost and mulch facilities are the primary suppliers of materials to NMDOT – Soilutions in Albuquerque and Sierra Contracting, Inc. in Ruidoso Downs (see “Composter Responds To Fire Prevention Initiatives,” April 2004 for a profile of SCI). Most of the other processors in the state are municipal mulching programs. “Our hope with this grant is to involve tribes and other small businesses in processing some of this material,” adds Bird. “Right now, most of the forest thinnings are being burned. Few people know about the value of chipping this material and using it in applications like erosion control.”
NMRC will engage forest officials from tribes, national agencies, local governments and private contractors to demonstrate the tremendous potential of mulch and compost in managing their respective forests. The monies from the grant will enable NMRC to present this information in several formats, including Internet-based resources and classroom seminars. The grant will also fund the implementation of four demonstration projects where forest managers can put this information to work. For more information, contact English Bird, New Mexico Recycling Coalition, (505) 983-4470 or english@nmrecycle.org.
Trenton, New Jersey
NEW BILL WOULD GENERATE $34 MILLION ANNUALLY FOR RECYCLING PROGRAMS
Democratic Assemblyman John McKeon will sponsor legislation – long sought by the Association of New Jersey Recyclers – to establish a $3-per ton recycling fee on all trash transported into the state that haulers would collect on all commercial and residential trash. It would cover out-of-state garbage imported into New Jersey as well as waste collected in New Jersey. It’s estimated that $34 million per year would be raised, while costing the average household about $6/year. Municipalities would receive 60 percent of funds generated, while counties would get 25 percent.
Ruckersville, Virginia
LUMBER COMPANY RECLAIMS WASTE WOOD INTO FLOORING AND RENEWABLE FUEL
Mountain Lumber Company takes sawdust and wood chips from its saws and uses these residuals to power on-site drying kilns that reduce moisture content of the wood and then generate some of the electricity for the plant. For years, the firm had offered sawdust to farmers as bedding, but powering its kilns is one more big step to creating green operations. As a producer of “antique, reclaimed woods,” Mountain Lumber salvages timbers from buildings being taken down, then mills them into flooring and beams. The core of its market centers around Historic Heart Pine and American Oak reclaimed from old mills on the East Coast and chestnut from Appalachian barns. For more details, visit: www.mountainlumber.com.
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
RECYCLED STREET SAND PROJECT SHIFTS TO FAST TRACK
A two-year pilot project by the Edmonton Transportation and Streets Department has studied the feasibility of recycling an average of 115,000 tons of sand swept up each spring. The sand is applied in winter for traction, but was generally considered unsuitable for reuse since it was contaminated with hydrocarbons, salt, etc., so most was landfilled. In 2003, with Edmonton’s Waste Management Centre of Excellence as partners, a pilot project was begun to investigate its recycling potential.
The project team started with 70,000 tons of sand in spring 2004, hoping to recover 65 to 75 percent. By September 2004, tests showed potential recovery of 75 to 80 percent, and that it would be suitable for reuse on city streets. Edmonton decided to implement the technology and process all of its street sand. Recognizing the need for more development work, the City launched a six-year agreement with the Waste Management Centre which will be responsible for operating the system and achieving optimal performance. Observes John Mundy who directed the project and is now with Sand Recycling Ltd., “There has been tremendous interest from other municipalities, as the pilot has demonstrated a cost-effective, environmentally friendly way to deal with huge volumes of salty sand generated in snow-belt areas around the world.”
The recycling process involves a combination of screening and washing to remove contaminants, separate the “fines” (material smaller than 300 microns), and clean street sand for reuse. Edmonton intends to recycle 150,000 tons in 2005; a final report is scheduled in August 2005. For more details, e-mail John Mundy at John.Mundy@sandrecycling.com.
Brattleboro, Vermont
CAMPUS USES FOOD RESIDUALS TO “THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY”
The facilities management group of World Learning and the School for International Training has arranged for much of its campus organic residuals (including food waste) to be composted on a farm in Greenfield, Massachusetts. Students, faculty and staff start the process by sorting recyclables into separate buckets. Compostable feedstocks are gathered in dumpsters and trucked by Triple T Trucking of Brattleboro to Martin’s Farm in Greenfield where food scraps, paper, cardboard, etc. are mixed into long windrows, reports Tristan Roberts of World Learning.
Chelan, Washington
NORTHWEST BIOSOLIDS CONFERENCE TO DISCUSS PATHOGENS, ODOR CONTROL AND BUSINESS START-UPS
The Northwest Biosolids Management Association annual conference will address such topics as: Costs and benefits of biosolids management options; Pathogens and endocrine-disrupting chemicals; Building a biosolids business from the ground up; Growing market for biosolids to make biodiesel; and Odors – where they come from and how to control them. The sessions are being presented as workshops. The conference will be held September 11-13, 2005 at Campbell’s Conference Center in Chelan, Washington. Registration is $370. Contact Maile Lono of the NBMA at (206) 684-1145.
Monroe, Washington
ENERGY NORTHWEST MAY HELP FUND DIGESTER INITIATED BY TULALIP TRIBES
Four local dairy farms, Energy Northwest, an environmental group and the Tulalip Tribes are working together to construct a biogas plant on 277 acres of state-owned land. Energy Northwest – an organization that serves the Snohomish County Public Utility District – has 16 area public utility representatives on its board of directors and is considering owning the bulk of the digester project. The coalition needs to break ground by next spring or else it risks losing $500,000 in USDA funding, a local newspaper reports. The digester is estimated to cost $1.5 million to $2.5 million and would process manure into electricity and compost from the four dairies.
Bethlehem Township, Pennsylvania
GREEN BANK OFFICE COMES WITH EXCELLENT RANGE OF RECYCLED PRODUCTS
The first of 90 “green branches” for the PNC Bank features renewable and recycled materials that include: Countertops made with recycled paper; Floor tiles with glass taken from landfills; “Wood” decorations on walls and windows made from wheat by-products; and Toilets with filtered rainwater that runs off the roof into a holding tank. The design for the branch will be used as a template for all new branches, but may be “tweaked slightly” as improvements are found. The building will be certified by the U.S. Green Building Council, an industry group that supports environmentally superior structures.
Easton, Pennsylvania
RESIDENTS ARE WARNED THAT GARBAGE FEES COULD TRIPLE IF THEY DON’T RECYCLE MORE
The Public Services Director told local citizens that they could be paying two or three times more for trash collection if they don’t reduce waste – like taking their yard trimmings to a new city-operated recycling area. The city’s private hauler collects about 60 more tons of garbage a day in summer than in winter, mainly because of yard debris. Residents now pay $240/year under a seven-year collection contract with Waste Management, Inc. that expires this December. “If new contracts that other municipalities are signing are an indication of what’s in store, the annual household fees could double or triple,” reports the local newspaper. The city has applied for a $500,000 state grant to buy larger recycling containers to distribute to residents for curbside collection of glass, plastic, aluminum, newspapers and cardboard.
Montpelier, Vermont
VERMONT BECOMES 22ND STATE TO BAN SALE OF FUEL CONTAINING MTBE
When Governor Jim Douglas signed into law a bill prohibiting the sale and storage of fuel containing MTBE, Vermont became the 22nd state to take such action. The ban takes effect January 1, 2007, the same day as similar bans in New Hampshire and Maine. Based on data from the Vermont Department of Conservation, some 1,500 sites in the state have been contaminated with MTBE, including 300 drinking water wells. “It is my hope that with this new law in place, we will never have another incident in Vermont, and we will never again be faced with a situation where people have to use bottled water because their well is contaminated with MTBE,” stated Gov. Douglas.
Oakland, California
STADIUM USES COMPOSTABLE CUPS, MOVES ORGANICS TO COMPOST SITE
Following up on what the San Francisco Giants have done at SBC Park across the Bay (see “Baseball Stadium Hits Home Run for Recycling and Composting,” February 2005 BioCycle) , the Oakland Athletics at McAfee Coliseum recycle bottles and cans, and compostable cups. The goal is to divert 75 percent of waste from landfill disposal. This year – with help from StopWaste.org operated by the Alameda County Waste Management Authority and the Source Reduction and Recycling Board – the A’s are buying compostable cups from Nat-Ur Inc. that supplies a variety of cup sizes made with polylactic acid that will decompose in 30 to 60 days. According to the manager of the company’s San Francisco office, the compostable containers feature a green band that identifies them. Norcal Waste Systems collects the cups from the stadium and takes them to its Jepson Prairie Organics compost site. (Norcal operations are also described in February 2005 BioCycle.)
Normal, Illinois
PULVERIZED TROMMEL FINES USED AS A SOIL AMENDMENT
A recent study by researchers at Illinois State University and other members of the Livestock and Urban Waste Research Team investigated the feasibility of utilizing trommel fines as a soil amendment in corn and soybean production. Specific objectives included determining plant response for growth parameters and effect of application on soil health and crop quality. Trials were done at a one acre Illinois site at a closed landfill.
Pulverized trommel fines are described as a “nutrient rich organic by-product of MSW collection and recovery.” (Fines are generated when MSW is screened to capture some organics and reduce volume, typically prior to landfilling.) The fines contain a substantial amount of nitrogen and phosphorus, as well as potassium and micronutrients. The U.S. EPA regulations do not permit application of biosolids with metal concentrations over specific limits, and similar regulations should be adopted with modifications for trommel fines. “These should be conservatively set to prevent toxicity or health impacts,” recommend the researchers.
Concerning bacteria and viruses, to date all analyses of fines have not detected any total or fecal coliforms. Heterotrophic bacteria have been detected in trommel fines. Guidelines similar to those for biosolids should control where fines can be spread to ensure that ground and surface waters are not contaminated. About odors, intensity and duration are affected by factors as physical state (moisture content), temperature, humidity and wind. It was found that dry trommel fines (less than 20 percent moisture) do not have an intense odor.
Allowable application rate should be limited to 30 dry tons/acre/year. Application should be limited to 15 cumulative years to prevent toxic metal overload.
Members of the Livestock and Urban Waste Team represent Illinois State University – both Normal and Urbana; Illinois State Water Survey, Illinois State Geological Survey; and University of Illinois Extension. Trommel fines can be used to fertilize many crops, including corn, soybeans, hay, pasture, commercial sod, cereal crops, ornamentals and trees. Inquiries about this research can be e-mailed to Paul Walker at Illinois State University (pwalker@ilstu.edu).
York Region, Ontario, Canada
NEW SINGLE STREAM MRF, ORGANICS TRANSFER STATION
Last month, the York Region’s $39 million Waste Management Centre opened with plans to increase diversion rates to 50 percent – with its MRF, transfer station and education outreach. It can process as much as 90,000 annual metric tons of mixed Blue Box recyclables. Another 50,000 annual metric tons of organic kitchen residuals and 75,000 metric tons of garbage will go through the transfer station. Observes Regional Chair and CEO Bill Fisch: “At full capacity, this center can divert as much as half of our waste from landfills.” The food waste transfer station will initially receive 100 metric tons day (three tractor trailer loads) of kitchen residuals. It is designed to receive 200 metric tons per day (six tractor trailer loads) or 50,000 metric tons per year. For additional details, e-mail michael.kemp@york.ca.