EVOLUTION OF A WOOD RECYCLING COMPANY

BioCycle May 2004, Vol. 45, No. 5, p.34

Rainier Wood Recyclers in Washington State recently boosted its processing capacity to over 300,000 tons a year, making it one of the nation’s largest processors of wood waste.

Julie Burman

IN December 2003, Mother Nature unleashed a powerful windstorm in the Puget Sound region of Washington State. For three days, local and national news featured images of homes crushed by Douglas firs, streets blocked by branches, and limbs piled like cordwood in urban neighborhoods. A profitable opportunity for wood recyclers? Perhaps. But Rainier Wood Recyclers —headquartered in Covington, Washington — thought it was an even better opportunity to give back to the community. Rainier opened its three facilities for free drop-off of woody storm debris.

The result? King County’s Department of Natural Resources and the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency promoted the service as their "top story." Rainier Wood Recyclers (Rainier) was prominent on TV and radio stations with news about wood recycling opportunities for victims of the windstorm. Homeowners loaded up family trucks and jammed Rainier’s access roads to dump nearly 7,000 cubic yards of storm debris in one day.

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What Regulators Look For In Composting Facilities

BioCycle May 2004, Vol. 45, No. 5, p 45

A "veteran" shares ten years of lessons learned while regulating Washington state composting sites.

Holly Wescott

AN INVITATION from BioCycle to speak at its 2004 West Coast Conference this past March in Portland, Oregon included the following request: "We were hoping you might be interested in tackling the topic of what you, as a veteran composting regulator, have learned over the years with regard to oversight of composting operations." After mulling over the requested topic, I decided to "tackle the topic." After brainstorming with colleagues, I identified the following key lessons learned after ten years as a regulator with the Washington State Department of Ecology:

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BIOGAS DIGESTERS TO RECYCLE GREEN WASTE

BioCycle May 2004, Vol. 45, No. 5, p 54

Two California cities — Los Angeles and Lancaster — finalize contracts to build anaerobic systems for power generation which will be financed by a private company called BioConverter LLC.

Lyn Corum

THREE YEARS of negotiations appear to have paid off for BioConverter LLC when the Los Angeles City Council approved the company’s power purchase contract with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP). That Department has agreed to a 20-year, $320 million contract to buy 40 MW/day of electricity — enough to power 40,000 homes — produced by BioConverter’s 2,700 ton/day biogas power plant once it is built in five years.

In contrast, it took the company just ten weeks to finalize a project with the California city of Lancaster for a 200 ton/day facility. The project will produce compressed natural gas for a public fast-fill (natural) gas station. It should be operational within 24 months. Lancaster’s city manager, Jim Gilley, said the plant "fits well" with the community’s passion for clean air and its Clean Cities designation in the U.S. Department of Energy program that supports public-private partnerships deploying alternative fuel vehicles and building infrastructure.

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CLOPYRALID LEVELS DECLINE, BUT CONTROVERSY CONTINUES

BioCycle May 2004, Vol. 45, No. 5, p. 52

While analyses in the Pacific Northwest show reduced average herbicide amounts, concerns are still voiced.

Mark Musick

ACCORDING to recent studies in Washington and Oregon, restrictions on the use of the herbicide clopyralid have, on average, significantly reduced compost contamination levels in those states. Concern continues, however, among composters and end users, both in the Pacific Northwest and around the country.

On March 26, 2004, the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) reported an average 80 percent reduction of clopyralid levels in commercial compost between 2001 and 2002, followed by an additional nine percent reduction in 2003. And on April 7, 2004 the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) reported an overall average decrease of 47 percent between 2002 and 2003 in levels of clopyralid in compost from 12 operations tested in their state. Two of the facilities tested in Oregon showed an increase in clopyralid contamination. Utilizing the GC/MS analytical method, in the fall of 2003 the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality found clopyralid levels ranging from 4.3 to 37 ppb in compost samples tested (versus a range of 6.3 to 94.2 ppb in 12 samples taken in October 2002).

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USING YARD TRIMMINGS COMPOST AS FERTILIZER ON VEGETABLE CROPS

BioCycle May 2004, Vol. 45, No. 5, p. 48

Objective of Connecticut research was to find what combination of leaf compost and inorganic fertilizer produced greatest butternut squash yields.

Abigail A. Maynard

WITH SOME 92 composting sites for yard trimmings in the state, leaf compost is now the most abundant type of compost in Connecticut. As there are no restrictions on the use of leaf compost in Connecticut, growers appear more likely to consider using it as a soil amendment compared to other solid waste composts. One potential use for large quantities of compost is in commercial vegetable production.

Applications of leaf compost have long been known to improve the physical conditions of many soils. In a 1994 BioCycle report on the impact of composts on vegetable yields, we found that the bulk density of compost-amended soil decreased from 1.21 g/cc to 0.91 g/cc after seven years of annual additions. These additions also increased the organic matter content from 7.5 to 12.6 percent, promoted aggregation of fine soil particles, and reduced crusting following summer rains. Most importantly, higher organic matter content increased the water-holding capacity of the soil from 1.3 to 1.9 inches in an eight-inch plow layer.

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COMPOSTING RESEARCH TARGETS FOREST PRODUCTS AND POULTRY INDUSTRIES

BioCycle May 2004, Vol. 45, No. 5, p. 42

University projects compost furniture waste with litter, phenolic plywood, swine manure and mortalities, and PCP-treated wood poles.

H. Borazjani, S.V. Diehl, H.S. Stewart and K. Brasher

DISPOSAL of by-products from the two largest industries in Mississippi — forest products and poultry — can pose economic problems for companies and environmental troubles for everyone. According to U.S. Census data, over 890 wood product manufacturers operate in Mississippi covering all aspects of the industry including furniture, paper and sawmills. A survey of 376 wood products manufacturing companies conducted by the Mississippi State University Food and Fiber Center revealed that 12.2 million tons of wood and bark residues were produced in Mississippi per year with less than 75 percent of the residue tonnage utilized for energy or other purposes.

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Regional Round up p 18

Princeton, New Jersey
PACKAGED IN REUSED PLASTIC BOTTLES,TERRACYCLE PRODUCT
FINDS A PLACE AT HOME DEPOT
While a student at Princeton University in 2001, Tom Szaky used his vermicomposting system to process dining hall residuals, create a business plan and later attract angel investors. With space in the New Jersey EcoComplex, the company went on to win the national Carrot Capital Business Plan challenge with an offer of up to $1 million in funding, but instead raised over $1.2 million from private investors in April 2003. Five months later, the company launched its TerraCycle Plant Food. In March, 2004, it was announced that Home Depot will be marketing the bottled product to its print and online divisions. A liquid organic product for potted plants packaged in reused plastic (soda) bottles, it’s priced at $6.95 and can be purchased online at www.homedepot.com. The company has also organized the TerraCycle School-Wide Recycling Event Program, which seeks to set up worm bins in classrooms to let students observe the vermicomposting process from start to finish, using organic residuals from their own cafeteria. More details on TerraCycle are planned for a future issue. Visit the company on-line, www.terrracycle.org.

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UNDERSTANDING THE KEY ELEMENTS IN A

BioCycle May 2004, Vol. 45, No. 5, p 14

Reader’s Q&A

Q: More and more attention is being given to compost classification criteria by producers and users as well as soil scientists and landscape designers. What key factors are involved in such systems?

A: A good example of what goes into a Compost Classification System (CCS) is provided in the Rocky Mountain Region. Last month, Bob Yost of A1 Organics in Eaton, Colorado and his colleagues prepared a final 2004 version of the region’s CCS which reflected valuable input from industry professionals. "We feel the system in our Rocky Mountain Region offers an effective tool for standardizing the manufacture and use of compost," writes Yost. Following are excerpts from his report:

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BioCycle World

BioCycle May 2004, Vol. 45, No. 5, p 6

DEVELOPING NATIONAL FINANCIAL INCENTIVES THROUGH THE RECYCLING INCENTIVE ALLIANCE
"The goal of the Recycling Incentive Alliance (RIA) is to advocate enactment of national legislation providing financial incentives to significantly increase recycling and composting levels of solid waste," explains Lori Scozzafava of the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA). "It will be a multiyear effort involving many organizations and coordinated by SWANA." To date, participants in meetings include individuals from organizations representing industries that recycle glass, metals, tires, plastics, paper, paperboard and C&D materials, as well as organizations involved in composting yard, food residuals and other organics.
The group is considering two types of incentives, supply side and demand side. Supply side incentives to local governments and other parties that collect and process recyclables would increase supply of higher quality of materials. Demand side incentives to users of recyclables would increase prices they offer and create more consistent demand. SWANA encourages input on these concepts which can be emailed to Mac Bybee at mbybee@swana.org or Gina Hawkins at hawkinsrm@ci.gainesville.
fl-us. Lori Scozzafava will discuss RIA and its implications for the "Future of Solid Waste Management in America" at the 34th Annual BioCycle National Conference, June 21-23, 2004 in Philadelphia. See pages 15-17 of this issue for complete agenda and registration form.

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TO REGISTER COMPOST OR NOT — THAT IS THE QUESTION

BioCycle May 2004, Vol. 45, No. 5, p 60

Compost Markets Update

Ron Alexander

THE use of compost as a soil amendment has become popular in the horticulture and turf industries over the past 25 years. Of course, compost also has similar applications in many other markets, and can be used as a media component and nutrient source (fertilizer). The nutrient content in compost has proven to be of greater interest to certain end user groups (e.g., agriculture), and has become increasingly more necessary to track. Composters and end users must understand the amount of nutrient(s) "loaded" into soil, and mineralized on an annual basis, during normal use applications.

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RENEWABLE HYDROGEN FROM GREEN ALGAE

BioCycle May 2004, Vol. 45, No. 5, p 59

While commercially-viable methods require more research, clearly there is a path to get from here to there to generate a clean, renewable hydrogen from algae.

Maria L. Ghirardi and Wade Amos

A FEW YEARS AGO, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) discovered a physiological way to manipulate algal cultures to photoproduce hydrogen (H2) without the need to continuously remove oxygen (O2). The procedure was based on the selective effect of sulfate deprivation on photosynthetic O2 evolution without corresponding effects on other cellular functions. This demonstration renewed interest in algal H2 production as a possible future means to produce H2 gas on a commercial basis.

In order to estimate the economic potential of the algal H2-producing system and to identify key areas for research emphasis, NREL performed a cost analysis of the system. This study used H2-production data obtained from a laboratory-scale photobioreactor, assumed periods of 12 h:12 h light:dark (as opposed to the continuous illumination conditions used in the laboratory), and scaled up the system to supply enough H2 to fuel 100 cars per day (300 kg H2/d). As expected, the estimated H2 selling price of the batch system was over $720/kg H2. Compared to the current cost of H2 at $1.20/kg, the batch algal H2 system is clearly too expensive for commercial consideration. However, the analysis identified the following factors as being the major cost-drivers of the system:
a) Low H2 yield per g alga of the system;
b) Long recovery time and the cost of cycling the cultures from sulfur replete to sulfur deprived conditions; and
c) High cost of the reactor material.

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FARM COMPOSTING IN THE SUBURBS

BioCycle May 2004, Vol. 45, No. 5, p. 30

"I compost because I want to farm," says Ned Foley, who processes horse manure, yard trimmings and other feedstocks to reduce fertilizer bills and improve soil quality.

George DeVault

A DESIRE to settle in the "country" has turned Attorney Edward "Ned" J. Foley, Jr. into not just a farmer, but a composter as well. In 1999, Foley and his wife, Gail, rented 30 acres and a rundown farmhouse in Upper Providence Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, northwest of Philadelphia. "I grew up in a subdivision," says Foley. "I have zero farming background. When I got married, I wanted to live in the country. Royersford was pretty much all working farms at the time. You could see five or six working farms from our place. I started helping neighbors bale hay. We became friends and I got bit by the farming bug and established Two Particular Acres. I applied the same approach to farming as I did to my law studies, reading everything I possibly could. So I had the book stuff down, which, of course, doesn’t mean anything unless you put it to practice."
Foley began growing timothy hay and grains (no-till corn, soybeans and oats) for his own three "rescue" horses and the increasing number of horse stables in the area.

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STATIC PILES SUCCEED AS "DOWNER" CATTLE DISPOSAL OPTION

BioCycle May 2004, Vol. 45, No. 5, p 27

As of January 1, 2004, nonambulatory cattle have been banned from the human food supply. With rendering capacity on the decline, composting has become a viable solution.

Nora Goldstein

IN December 2003, USDA Secretary Ann Veneman banned nonambulatory "downer" cattle from the human food supply, creating a challenge with how to manage an estimated 150,000 disabled animals each year. In some cases, these cattle are not diseased, but instead have been injured during birthing or mating. Veneman, wanting to build confidence in the U.S. meat supply after discovery of a downer cow in the Pacific Northwest possibly infected with Mad Cow disease or BSE, instituted the ban. "Sending downer cattle to rendering plants already had become more costly because of the decline in prices and demand for tallow, bone meal and other commodities produced from carcasses," says Jean Bonhotal, a composting specialist with the Cornell Waste Management Institute (CWMI) in Ithaca, New York.

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COMPOSTING ROAD-KILLED DEER IN NEW YORK

BioCycle May 2004, Vol. 45, No. 5, p. 25

About 8,000 deer are killed annually on state highways in the lower Hudson Valley region, creating a disposal challenge. Transportation and environmental officials opted to give static pile composting a try.

Theresa Laibach and Jean Bonhotal

THE white-tailed deer population in New York State has increased over the past few decades, with the current population estimated at slightly over one million animals. Along with a greater prevalence of deer is the increased amount of residential and commercial development that has occurred in upstate New York. This has impacted deer habitat and behavior, contributing to more deer-related motor vehicle accidents (DVAs). NYS Department of Transportation (DOT) pays private contractors $30 to $80/carcass for pick up and disposal — totaling just over $1.1 million during FY’s 2000-02.

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MATCHING UP WASTE MATERIALS WITH LARGE-SCALE

BioCycle May 2004, Vol. 45, No. 5, p. 22

EPA program encourages holistic landscaping decisions, stressing reuse
for economical, environmentally-friendly solutions.

Jean Schwab

THINK about large-scale land uses that abound in the United States — shopping and business centers, parks and recreational facilities (e.g., golf courses, ski resorts, amusement parks), roads and highways, industrial sites (including brownfields), hospital and university campuses, and military installations. For many of these sites, establishment and upkeep of acres of aesthetically-pleasing landscapes and well-maintained turf are daily business activities. Now think about the millions of tons of waste materials — grass, trees, brush, lumber, asphalt, and concrete — that are hauled away, buried, or burned each day as a result of these landscaping and groundskeeping operations. Add to that, the millions of gallons of water, pesticides, fuels, and oils used every day in those operations. The costs of these materials — both economic and environmental — could be easily reduced or even eliminated with updated landscaping methods.

By employing green landscaping or "greenscaping" methods, land managers can achieve significant cost savings while minimizing their impact on the environment. To encourage greener, more sustainable landscaping methods, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently launched a program called GreenScapes. The program promotes practices and products that meet the users’ needs in landscaping but are more environmentally friendly as they are designed to preserve natural resources and prevent waste and pollution. GreenScapes assists companies, government agencies, and other entities to make more holistic decisions regarding waste generation and disposal; air emissions; and the use of land, water, pesticides, and energy.

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BioCycle Alert!

May 14, 2004

The editors of BioCycle bring you the second edition of BioCycle Alert.
|For your information, the May 2004 issue of BioCycle will be mailed on May 18.

To subscribe to BioCycle, click here.
(Your subscription includes free electronic access to current and recent articles published in BioCycle.)

Reminder: Plan now to join us for the 34th Annual BioCycle National Conference on Composting, Organics Recycling and Renewable Energy in Philadelphia, June 21-23.
More information

Rutgers EcoComplex In New Jersey Is On Cutting Edge
Last week, we paid a visit to the Rutgers EcoComplex at the Burlington County (NJ) Resource Recovery Park. The reason for the visit was to preview what attendees at the BioCycle National Conference in Philadelphia (June 21-23) will see when they visit the complex with us on June 23rd. Suffice it to say, the visit will be amazing!!! We started out in the EcoComplex headquarters, which houses a business incubator. Tenants include Acrion Technologies, Inc., which invented a technology to convert landfill gas into liquid natural gas. Acrion is working with Mack Trucks to test the fuel in two garbage collection vehicles that bring MSW to the adjacent Burlington County bioreactor landfill. Another tenant, Garden State Ethanol, was founded by 12 New Jersey farmers who are putting in a production facility in southern New Jersey (at a renovated plastics manufacturing plant) with the capacity to process 14.5 million bushes of corn and sorghum into 40 million gallons/year of ethanol. The EcoComplex also is home to a greenhouse production facility that is heated and powered by landfill gas converted by 4 Capstone microturbines. David Specca, acting director of the EcoComplex, noted that powering greenhouses with converted landfill gas is about 10 times less expensive than purchasing power (currently about 11.6 cents/kw). Single and multiple cluster tomatoes are grown in the greenhouse; there also are four tanks to grow tilapia (the wastewater fertilizes hydroponic-grown plants that remove nutrients so that the water can be reused in the tanks). TerraCycle, an upstart plant fertilizer company, uses a portion of the greenhouse to vermicompost manures, coffee grounds and other feedstocks, then brews and packages the liquid fertilizer in recycled plastic bottles. This VERY COOL facility can be viewed on line. A visit is highly recommended so sign up now for the BioCycle National Conference and tours by going to the BioCycle site.

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Association of the Month
The Association of Compost Producers (ACP), based in southern California, has been in existence for a number of years. But it's been within the past two years that the group has taken on a new head of steam — and a theme, focusing on healthy soils. ACP's website is a treasure box of links and resources that anyone in the composting and organics recycling world should be aware of. One quick example, is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Soil Quality Institute (run by the Natural Resources Conservation Service). The lead item discusses the quality of urban soils (or the lack thereof) and provides valuable data for composters with high quality products to improve urban soils — thus directly benefiting water quality. ACP holds monthly meetings. For information, contact Dan Noble Executive Director, (dan@resourcetrends.com).

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Growth of the Biomass Industry
On April 20, 2004, the U.S. EPA, the Energy Information Administration (in the U.S. Department of Energy) and the American Council On Renewable Energy sponsored a day-long meeting, "Forecasting the Growth of Wind and Biomass." Papers from the meeting will be posted on EPA's website. Zia Haq of EIA forwarded us a preview of the kind of information to be available. Haq spoke about supplies of biomass in the U.S. Four categories of biomass covered and maximum quantities available now are forest products, including forest thinnings and beetle damaged wood (162 million dry tons/year); energy crops including swtichgrass and hybrid poplars (available on commercial basis by 2010 — 155 million dry tons/year); agricutlrual residue including wheat straw and corn stover (136 million dry tons/year); and urban wood waste and mill residues (29 million dry tons/year). Haq predicts that by 2030, biomass will provide 5% of the nation's power, 20% of transportation fuels and 25% of chemicals, which will require one billion dry tons/year of biomass to be available. Where do "BioCyclers" plug in? Hot spots include wood recovery and processing into chips, and recycling of biosolids, manures and other organics as fertilizer to grow energy crops. A complete report on the data and analysis from the April 20th meeting will appear in the July issue of BioCycle.

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Green Roof Conference and Trade Show in Portland, Oregon, June 2-4, 2004
Earth Pledge is cosponsoring the Second Annual Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities Conference, Awards and Trade Show in Portland, Oregon, June 2-4. The event is cohosted by Green Roofs for Healthy Cities and the City of Portland. Over 50 speakers from nine countries will present papers on green roof design, policy and research. The event also includes tours of Portland's notable green roofs and green buildings, as well as a Green Roof Design 101 Training Workshop, approved for continuing education credits by the American Institute of Architects, the American Society of Landscape Architects and the Roof Consultants' Institute. Details available at the Earth Pledge website. The June 2004 issue of BioCycle includes an article green roof installers using compost as a component of the media.

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