WASTEWATER BIOSOLIDS MANAGEMENT WITH GREEN VISION

BioCycle March 2004, Vol. 45, No. 3, p. 33

Karen H. Brashear

The City of Goldsboro, North Carolina is located in the Neuse River basin which begins in the middle of the state and runs to the estuarine waters of the Pamlico Sound. This river basin was declared "nutrient sensitive" by the state of North Carolina in 1995. All permitted wastewater dischargers in the Neuse River basin were required by North Carolina to reduce the nitrogen discharged to the river by 30 percent from the baseline year of 1995.

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Regional Roundup

BioCycle March 2004, Vol. 45, No. 3, p. 18

King County, Washington
WOOD RECYCLING GETS HIGH PRIORITY ON MATERIALS LIST
This year, officials in the King County Solid Waste Division have identified six priority materials for their LinkUp program which works with local manufacturers to expand markets. For 2004, materials are food waste, yard waste paper, wood, electronics and mercury — which comprise 54 percent of waste in the county’s landfill. Explains Jeff Gaisford, manager of Recycling and Environmental Services: "The new priority materials either are abundant (i.e., food and paper) or they are problematic, such as electronics and mercury, which are highly toxic."

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Reader's Q&A

BioCycle March 2004, Vol. 45, No. 3, p. 22

KEEPING BIRDS AWAY FROM COMPOST WINDROWS AND LANDFILLS

Q: I remember reading an article in BioCycle about methods used to keep birds away from tipping areas and compost sites. Please let me know what methods worked successfully.

A: Three years ago, BioCycle reported how a southern California site — just 2-1/2 miles from the Pacific Ocean — developed a very effective bird control program at a location receiving more than 3,500 tons per day of MSW, diverted food residuals and yard trimmings. Here’s a summary of methods used at the 15-acre composting area which was a half-mile from the landfill tipping area:

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SINGLE STREAM VS. SOURCE SEPARATED RECYCLING

BioCycle March 2004, Vol. 45, No. 3, p. 22

Dan Emerson

What is the best way to collect recyclable material in residential neighborhoods? Most discussion and debate about respective merits and drawbacks of various collection methods, schedules and tools have been based on opinion and anecdotal evidence. Eureka Recycling — a nonprofit based in St. Paul, Minnesota — took an empirical approach to the question with a 14-month study to determine the best method for the city to increase recovery and improve efficiency. The study — done with the city of St. Paul through a grant from the Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance — compared five recycling collection methods, which varied by frequency, type of containers used, types of materials collected, and how materials were separated.

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BioCycle World

BioCycle March 2004, Vol. 45, No. 3, p. 6

BioCycle World

COMING UP MAY 2-8, 2004 INTERNATIONAL COMPOST AWARENESS WEEK
Across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, International Compost Awareness Week will be celebrated May 2-8, 2004 with the message: "Be Resourceful — Compost!" All types of organics recycling — from backyard to large-scale, community-wide — will be promoted.

Introduced in 1999, Compost Awareness Week is a multimedia publicity and education initiative that showcases production and utilization. Past years have featured proclamations, posters, tours, demonstration gardens, tree planting

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FIRM TURNS FISH WASTE INTO FERTILIZER AND FEED

BioCycle March 2004, Vol. 45, No. 3, p. 62

Laura Swanson

The life cycle of the salmon is intricately linked with products of a company called Bio-Oregon based in Warrenton, Oregon at the mouth of the Columbia River. The firm recycles nearly 50 million pounds of fish residuals from coastal processing plants and manufactures feeds for hatchery programs as well as organic fertilizers. These products mimic the salmon’s life. From its aquaculture feeds that nurture fingerlings throughout the Pacific Northwest — to processing marine by-products into all-natural fish fertilizers, Bio-Oregon completes the cycle. Its complicated manufacturing process keeps tons of waste from going to landfills.

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INTEGRATING PROJECTS IN AN OLD WHALING TOWN

BioCycle March 2004, Vol. 45, No. 3, p. 57

Marsha Gorden

New Bedford, Massachusetts is well known as America’s home to the whaling industry with its Whaling Museum as a tourist beacon. During the period 1780 to 1880, it was the greatest whaling port on the globe. Herman Melville’s Moby Dick chronicled its adventurers and at its peak in the 1850s, a fleet of over 300 vessels called it home. But as oil from new petroleum products gradually replaced whale oil in the city’s lights, its fame diminished. In reality, though, new boats designed for new fish stocks continue to ply the local waters and elsewhere to preserve the city’s heritage and its source of prosperity.

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PRODUCING COMPOST AND BIOGAS FROM CATTLE MANURE

BioCycle March 2004, Vol. 45, No. 3, p. 55

M. Macias-Corral, Z. Samani, A. Hanson, R. DelaVega and Kent Hall

New Mexico ranks seventh in the nation in milk production, with the dairy industry in the state having grown from 25,000 dairy cows in 1975 to 320,000 in 2002. While a major source of income and employment, the industry remains as a major source of environmental concerns. The New Mexico dairy industry is currently generating about 1.3 million tons of manure each year with potential adverse environmental impact due to uncontrolled methane emission and contamination of air, surface water, groundwater and soil. In addition, the generated waste represents a financial liability for the dairy with disposal cost of $1-$2/ton.

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CAN COMPOSTING BMPS REDUCE AIR EMISSIONS?

BioCycle March 2004, Vol. 45, No. 3, p. 46

Brenda Smyth and Robert Rynk

Imagine a scenario where all yard trimmings collected for recycling have to be received, processed and composted under the cover of a building. It would be tough for most yard trimmings composting facilities to survive the expense. Yet this situation could have occurred in Southern California. At one point, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), which regulates air emissions in the vicinity of Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, and Riverside counties, proposed that all composting facilities should be enclosed to reduce emissions of ammonia and volatile organic compounds (VOC). After gathering responses from the composting industry, local governments and the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB), the SCAQMD reconsidered its proposal to require enclosed facilities for composting of yard trimmings, or "green waste" as it called in California. However, the need to improve air quality in the South Coast District still remains, and the SCAQMD continues to seek reductions from green waste composting facilities.

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QUANTIFYING FOOD RESIDUALS IN CAMPUS CAFETERIA

BioCycle March 2004, Vol. 45, No. 3, p. 43

Ben Van Handel

Like many other residential campuses, Northern Michigan University (NMU) in Marquette, provides food services for its students. The Marketplace is the largest dining facility and is set up in buffet fashion. One flat rate ($5.00 for breakfast, $6.75 for lunch and dinner) allows a student, faculty member, or visitor to eat as much as they would like. The Marketplace menu runs on a three-week rotating cycle, with the main courses differing on each day. After three weeks, the order of dishes repeats. For most students, varying meal plans, covered under the room and board portion of their tuition, provide a number of entries into The Marketplace per week.

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SAN FRANCISCO FIRE DEPARTMENT RECYCLES ON THE JOB

BioCycle March 2004, Vol. 45, No. 3, p. 42

Salvador Velasco and Larry Kass

From a recycling standpoint, a fire station is a bewildering hybrid crossing between a house, restaurant, hotel, and auto shop. To successfully establish comprehensive recycling and organics collection programs in its 43 fire stations and additional facilities, the San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD) worked with public agencies and private sector providers. Results — 60 percent less trash, 80 percent landfill diversion and $80,000 first year savings in hauling costs.

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AIRPORT LAUNCHES FOOD WASTE DIVERSION PROGRAM

BioCycle March 2004, Vol. 45, No. 3, p. 37

Kevin Drake, Sheryl Bunn and Dan Blue

In January 2003, the Portland, Oregon International Airport (PDX) launched a food waste diversion pilot project to reduce landfilling. Twenty-one airport vendors — ranging from fast food to coffee shops and fine dining — are diverting preconsumer scraps and food-contaminated paper. In the first ten months, more than 60 tons of food waste was sent to Nature’s Needs, a local composting facility. What began as a voluntary pilot project has become a successful, ongoing program at PDX and a model for diversion at other large institutions.

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PROCESSING WOOD RESIDUALS IN THE SOUTHWEST

BioCycle March 2004, Vol. 45, No. 3, p. 28

Robert Rynk

Before the salt cedars took hold, the flood plains of the Rio Grande River in the Southwestern United States were dominated by cottonwood/willow forests and open grasslands. Now salt cedars and other invasive trees are displacing these native species, deteriorating habitats for wildlife, depleting water and increasing the fire risk. It is an important and immediate ecological problem. Salt cedars thrive in a wide range of conditions so they are prevalent across the arid west. However, they are a particular threat to the riparian areas and flood plains in the Southwest.

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COMPOSTER EXPANDS TO PROCESS BAGGED YARD TRIMMINGS

BioCycle March 2004, Vol. 45, No. 3, p. 26

Larry Trojak

Leaves are generally collected in plastic bags; and plastic bags are invariably a headache to composting professionals. Given all that, Long Island Compost, Inc. could have given itself a migraine when it signed contracts in 2003 to service municipal programs that collect leaves in plastic bags. Until last year, the company only accepted materials in bulk from landscapers. At peak periods, the 65-acre Yaphank, New York-based operation was processing more than 1,600 cubic yards of bagged leaves every day.

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