BioCycle World

BioCycle November 2004, Vol. 45, No. 11, p. 6

CALL FOR PAPERS: COMPOSTING MORTALITIES
AND SLAUGHTERHOUSE RESIDUALS
Options for disposal of mortalities (animal carcasses) and slaughterhouse waste are becoming more limited and costly, due to closure of rendering plants, landfill restrictions or availability, and the impracticality of incineration, especially following disease outbreaks and natural disasters that can generate large quantities of carcasses. The state of Maine has been faced with this situation, prompting officials there to organize a "state of the knowledge" workshop — Composting Mortalities and Slaughterhouse Residuals — in May 2005 in Portland, Maine. The tentative dates are May 24-25. State agencies involved in workshop planning are the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Environmental

Continue reading "BioCycle World" ( Free )

THE ROAD TO COMPOSTING FOOD RESIDUALS GETS SMOOTHER

BioCycle November 2004, Vol. 45, No. 11, p. 4

COME to San Francisco next March — March 7,8,9, 2005 to be exact — for the composting thrill of a lifetime. You’ll see firsthand how the former obstacles to composting food residuals are crumbling — and how cities like San Francisco, Portland and Seattle as well as large supermarket chains — are rapidly moving ahead with economical, significant programs. The evidence will be available for you to see and hear at BioCycle West Coast Conference 2005.

Continue reading "THE ROAD TO COMPOSTING FOOD RESIDUALS GETS SMOOTHER" ( Free )

COMPOSTING AT THE WORLD’S LARGEST NATURAL FOODS SUPERMARKET CHAIN

BioCycle November 2004, Vol. 45, No. 11, p. 27

Whole Foods now sorts and ships food residuals to many commercial composters — marketing its own bagged compost at some of its 162 stores.

Molly Farrell

THE WORLD’S largest retailer of natural and organic foods — Whole Foods, Inc. — wants to reduce its waste to zero. The company is trying to reach this goal by composting its unusable food, floral and food-soiled paper residuals. It hasn’t been easy, what with having to find the right haulers, composting facilities, and enough space in the stores to pack and store compostables. Company officials realize, however, that composting could have a tremendous impact on reducing the company’s waste stream, and improving its bottom line.

Continue reading "COMPOSTING AT THE WORLD’S LARGEST NATURAL FOODS SUPERMARKET CHAIN" ( Free )

PROCESSING WOODY DEBRIS POST HURRICANES

BioCycle November 2004, Vol. 45, No. 11, p. 22

Staggering numbers show Palm Beach County with more than two million cubic yards of green waste and mixed debris; St. Petersburg with 25,000 tons of vegetation; and the state with 137 yard waste processing facilities registered. "We’re still trying to evaluate how much debris has to be managed," says one official.

Dan Emerson

AFTER four major hurricanes that caused at least $22 billion in damage according to preliminary federal estimates, Florida began tackling the largest storm debris cleanup of the modern (post-landfilling) era. As of mid-October, public officials and private contractors overseeing the massive undertaking said the collection and initial processing stages of the operation seemed to be going about as well as

Continue reading "PROCESSING WOODY DEBRIS POST HURRICANES" ( Subscription required )

FINDING MARKETS FOR C&D (NON) DEBRIS

BioCycle November 2004, Vol. 45, No. 11, p. 43

Massachusetts company fills in the missing pieces by identifying end markets for salvaged materials, coordinating deconstruction schedules, and working with regulatory agencies.

Jennifer Weeks

CLEANING UP after parties is not an exciting (or lucrative) project for most people, especially after events like the 2004 Democratic National Convention (DNC), which drew 35,000 guests to Boston. But for greenGoat (www.greengoat.org) — a Somerville, Massachusetts nonprofit that works with developers, contractors, and building material manufacturers to divert construction and demolition (C&D) debris — the convention was a welcome

Continue reading "FINDING MARKETS FOR C&D (NON) DEBRIS" ( Subscription required )

DIGESTERS BRING POWER AND INCOME TO WEST COAST DAIRY FARMS

BioCycle November 2004, Vol. 45, No. 11, p. 54

Payback for biogas system will be within five to seven years, while generating a revenue stream that’s not solely reliant on milk checks.

IF DAIRY FARMING on the West Coast is to survive, we need to move ahead with projects like this," says Darryl Vander Haak about the new digester on his farm in Lynden, Washington just south of the U.S.-Canadian border. The state’s first commercial dairy anaerobic digester which will use manure from up to 1,500

Continue reading "DIGESTERS BRING POWER AND INCOME TO WEST COAST DAIRY FARMS" ( Free )

A FASHIONABLE FISH STORY

BioCycle November 2004, Vol. 45, No. 11, p. 67

Using clean manufacturing technologies from European researchers, fish skins are processed into leather for use in handbags, belts and shoes.

Gareth Evans

FISHING AND FASHION hardly seem natural partners in the best of times, but the idea of these industries uniting in a novel approach to organics recycling sounds decidedly unlikely, to say the least. However, first impressions aside, that is exactly what happened when a small Spanish fish processing company,

Continue reading "A FASHIONABLE FISH STORY" ( Subscription required )

COMPOSTING FISH MANURE FROM AQUACULTURE OPERATIONS

BioCycle November 2004, Vol. 45, No. 11, p. 62

Researchers develop a layered mesophilic compost system to provide fish farmers — as well as others using liquid systems — with an alternative to expensive solids management technology.

Paul R. Adler and Lawrence J. Sikora

ANNUAL estimates of manure solids from trout production are about 26.8 million pounds; From dairy cattle and swine, the amounts each year are roughly 54 and 17 billion pounds respectively. Liquid manure is typically generated since many of these facilities are confined feeding operations with wash down systems to handle manure.

In aquaculture and animal production, the goals of solids treatment systems are volume reduction (e.g. thickening and dewatering) as well as stabilization. Stabilization of solids reduces pathogens (both human and animal) and eliminates offensive odors and the potential for putrefaction. Municipal biosolids treatment and management systems are typically capital intensive, whereas on farms, they

Continue reading "COMPOSTING FISH MANURE FROM AQUACULTURE OPERATIONS" ( Subscription required )

NEW YORK STATE SETS 25 PERCENT RENEWABLE ENERGY GOAL

BioCycle November 2004, Vol. 45, No. 11, p. 60

The New York State Public Service Commission adopts policy to increase use of clean technologies
to meet future energy needs — including biogas systems.

LAST MONTH, the New York State Public Service Commission voted to adopt a renewable energy policy increasing to at least 25 percent by 2013 the proportion of electricity sold to consumers in New York that is generated from renewable resources. "The policy we are adopting balances a wide range of interests, " said Commission Chairman William Flynn. "Not only will it help us meet our growing demand for electricity, but it also will provide additional benefits by increasing

Continue reading "NEW YORK STATE SETS 25 PERCENT RENEWABLE ENERGY GOAL" ( Subscription required )

CLIMATE FRIENDLY FARMING MOVES INTO ENERGY RECOVERY

BioCycle November 2004, Vol. 45, No. 11, p. 56

How sustainable agriculture can generate multiple benefits to protect water and soil quality, while maximizing the potential to reduce the build-up of greenhouse gases.

Chad Kruger

THANKS to funding from the Paul G. Allen Charitable Foundation, the Washington State University Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources (CSANR) has a new five-year research project investigating the potential for agricultural systems to address one of the most pressing ecoconcerns of the day. Our Climate Friendly Farming Research and Demonstration Project is

Continue reading "CLIMATE FRIENDLY FARMING MOVES INTO ENERGY RECOVERY" ( Subscription required )

CONTINUED GROWTH IN COLORED MULCH MARKET

BioCycle November 2004, Vol. 45, No. 11, p. 50

Wood grinding operations find consumer demand for colorized mulch is on the rise, both for its decorative value and longevity.

NAZARETH Pallet Company in Northampton, Pennsylvania leaves no wood scrap behind. About ten years ago, the pallet remanufacturer was faced with a disposal problem for its wood scraps that couldn’t be used in pallet repair. Until that point, it was allowed to burn the scraps, but that practice was banned. Landfilling was

Continue reading "CONTINUED GROWTH IN COLORED MULCH MARKET" ( Subscription required )

INSIDER’S LOOK AT TRUCKING ORGANICS

BioCycle November 2004, Vol. 45, No. 11, p. 48

With high costs of fuel and insurance, the key is to get the maximum load on each run — and stay within the legal limit. Also to be considered are feedstock density and delivery constraints.

TRANSPORTATION costs are high on the list of critical concerns for anyone managing or marketing organics. Whether it’s expanding a market area for compost, or determining whether it is cost-effective to service organics generators, questions always come back to: "What are the trucking costs?"

Continue reading "INSIDER’S LOOK AT TRUCKING ORGANICS" ( Subscription required )

SINGLE STREAM DEVELOPMENTS IN U.S. CITIES

BioCycle November 2004, Vol. 45, No. 11, p. 46

San Antonio and Philadelphia take steps to launch new collection approaches to reduce operational expenses and improve recovery.

Rose Ryan and David Hess

SAN ANTONIO, Texas has transitioned into single stream recycling effective August 1, 2004, when it entered into a new processing agreement, with Vista Fibers, Inc., for curbside recycling materials. We are currently collecting recyclables manually, but this new agreement puts us in a good position to investigate automated collection for our recycling materials. So far, the transition from dual stream processing to single stream processing has allowed us to reduce our operational fleet and personnel 12.5 percent, while still collecting the same amount of recyclable material.

Continue reading "SINGLE STREAM DEVELOPMENTS IN U.S. CITIES" ( Subscription required )

BUILDING THE DECONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

BioCycle November 2004, Vol. 45, No. 11, p. 36

Across the United States, young firms are increasing the supply of reusable building materials by using deconstruction at job sites.

Diane Greer

INSTEAD of filling dumpsters with demolition debris, materials carefully removed from homes are bundled and loaded onto trucks for reuse, resale or refurbishing. Deconstruction is allowing homeowners to realize substantial cost savings over traditional demolition techniques while diverting significant quantities of waste from landfills.

Continue reading "BUILDING THE DECONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY" ( Subscription required )

FORWARD WITH FOOD RESIDUALS DIVERSION

BioCycle November 2004, Vol. 45, No. 11, p. 31

Recent decisions pave the way for Metro/City of Portland, Oregon and Seattle to go full-scale with commercial organics diversion, as Toronto’s 3-stream residential program expands.

Nora Goldstein

IN early October, the Metro Council, the Portland, Oregon area’s regional government, voted unanimously to pass a tip fee rate for source separated organics and authorized Metro to enter into a contract with a Washington-based composter for transportation, processing and composting. "We have been working for at least ten years to get an organics program going here," says Jennifer Erickson, Senior Planner in Metro’s Waste Reduction & Outreach division.

Continue reading "FORWARD WITH FOOD RESIDUALS DIVERSION" ( Subscription required )

SIX NEW ENGLAND SUPERMARKET CHAINS GET AWARDS FOR COMPOSTING FOOD RESIDUALS

BioCycle November 2004, Vol. 45, No. 11, p. 30

FORTY-FIVE participating Massachusetts supermarkets are currently diverting 6,600 tons of organics along with 21,000 tons of cardboard and other recyclables each year, reports the state's Department of Environmental Protection. "This translates to an annual disposal cost savings of approximately $7,000 per store," notes DEP staff, adding: "These savings are particularly impressive when put in the context of the razor-thin profit margins in the supermarket industry. To generate $10,000 to $20,000 of profit, a supermarket would need to sell $1 million to $2 million of product. Some supermarkets have saved as much as $20,000 annually."

Continue reading "SIX NEW ENGLAND SUPERMARKET CHAINS GET AWARDS FOR COMPOSTING FOOD RESIDUALS" ( Subscription required )

HURRICANE CLEAN UP FOR CITY OF ST. PETERSBURG

BioCycle November 2004, Vol. 45, No. 11, p. 25

James Ragsdale

THE city of St. Petersburg, Florida, after dodging Hurricane Charley’s direct hit, received fringe winds from Hurricanes Francis and Jeanne in a period of two weeks. While still in the recovery process, the storm debris is estimated to be 25,000 tons of vegetation — 10,000 tons from Francis and Jeanne adding another 15,000 tons from wind gusts of 72 miles per hour as the storm exited Florida’s west coast after crossing the state. This is half the annual tonnage normally recycled in the city’s yard waste recycling program which has significantly stressed its processing site.

Continue reading "HURRICANE CLEAN UP FOR CITY OF ST. PETERSBURG" ( Free )