Uncle Sam Buys Green

BioCycle May 2009, Vol. 50, No. 5, p. 25

Federal procurement programs give preference to compost-based fertilizers, and may significantly benefit compost sales, provided producers take the time and effort to inform procurement officials about their products.

Craig Coker

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Economies Of Scale In Renewable Natural Gas

BioCycle May 2009, Vol. 50, No. 5, p. 39

Clustering dairies to pipe raw biogas to a centralized upgrading facility achieves economic production of pipeline quality RNG.

Diane Greer

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Facility Upgrade Yields Higher Quality Compost

BioCycle May 2009, Vol. 50, No. 5, p. 21

Northwestern company upgrades its composting operation enabling it to make higher quality compost and soil blends, and to diversify its business.

Molly Farrell Tucker and Rhodes Yepsen

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Composting Road-Killed Deer

BioCycle May 2009, Vol. 50, No. 5, p. 31

Ohio Department of Transportation standardizes mortality composting as part of operations, finding the process to be a quicker, more sanitary and less expensive method of disposal.

Angel Arroyo-Rodriguez

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Active Biosolids Compost As Poultry Carcass Amendment

BioCycle May 2009, Vol. 50, No. 5, p. 35

Research trials assessing use of immature biosolids-derived compost to manage poultry mortalities found it to be a suitable tool, achieving temperatures necessary to inactivate the Avian Influenza Virus.

Mark A. King, Bill Seekins, Mark Hutchinson and George MacDonald

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Pathogen Reduction By Complete Mix Dairy Digesters

BioCycle May 2009, Vol. 50, No. 5, p. 43

Study at four dairies using digested manure solids as cow bedding found a 99 percent reduction in fecal coliforms after anaerobic digestion.

Geoff Teigen and Mark Moser

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Teach Them And They Will Come

BioCycle May 2009, Vol. 50, No. 5, p. 45

Climate Change Connections

Sally Brown

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Regional Roundup

BioCycle May 2009, Vol. 50, No. 5, p. 12

Germansville, Pennsylvania
COMPOST-HEATED GREENHOUSE
Red Cat Farm in Germansville recently held an on-site workshop showing how it grows vegetables in passive solar greenhouses, one of which uses compost to heat seedling beds. Cinderblock bunkers in the smaller greenhouse hold active compost, which produces heat for sprouting seedlings in the winter months. The bunkers are filled with 2.5 to 3 feet of horse manure and bedding, mixed with wood shavings or sawdust. “I’ve found that this mixture offers a more gentle, long-lasting heat, as opposed to using straw, which creates a rapid heat,” says Tina Bailey of Red Cat Farm. “It can be difficult to control the heat, but after the compost peaks, it maintains about 70°F throughout the Pennsylvania winter. As the plants grow, the compost loses mass and goes down.” Photovoltaic solar panels charge batteries for the greenhouses’ water pump and fans, with excess power sent back to the house. The event was organized by Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA).

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Letters

BioCycle May 2009, Vol. 50, No. 5, p. 11

50th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
Thank you for including me in the 50th Anniversary celebration of BioCycle. Jerry and your family exemplify the small family enterprises that make this country great.

After my talk, I had several excellent conversations with conference participants. They asked me what I thought the main barriers that the industry faces at this time. I responded:
1. Need for infrastructure. The challenge is to use federal stimulus dollars and private investment to build infrastructure for composting and methane recovery from organic discards.
2. Fight biomass. I am not taking a position on whether or not to burn wood. But the legal definition of biomass includes garbage (municipal solid waste) and, as in Florida, even materials set aside for recycling and composting. When you start incineration, it becomes your answer to everything. This is a waste of resources, money and government staff time.

I will be happy to update conference participants at the next BioCycle Conference. Congratulations again on 50 years of success.

Neil Seldman, President, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Washington, DC 20005

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BioCycle World

BioCycle May 2009, Vol. 50, No. 5, p. 5

JEROME GOLDSTEIN RECEIVES LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Wayne King, President of the Board of the U.S. Composting Council (USCC), presented Jerome Goldstein, founder of BioCycle, with a newly created Lifetime Achievement Award during the 50th Anniversary Gala Dinner Celebration in San Diego on April 29, 2009. The Jerome Goldstein Lifetime Achievement Award was “established to recognize those who have achieved excellence in their field of study and to honor those who have made significant contributions over their professional career to the field of environmental stewardship and natural resource sustainability.” King announced and described the Award at the Plenary Session, “Celebrating The Pioneers,” during the BioCycle International Conference 2009. The presentation during the Gala included a plaque made out of sustainably-grown bamboo. “The Board of Directors felt very strongly about coming up with a unique way of acknowledging Jerry’s accomplishments and contributions to the industry,” says King. “Although the USCC issues several awards each year, the Lifetime Achievement Award will only be awarded on occasions when an individual’s accomplishments during the course of their career are truly exceptional and have a lasting effect on the industry and its future.” The USCC also contributed $10,000 to the Composting Council Research and Education Foundation in recognition of Jerome Goldstein and the Lifetime Achievement Award.

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Editorial: Sold Out!

BioCycle May 2009, Vol. 50, No. 5, p. 4

SOLD OUT!

Nora Goldstein

THE BioCycle International Conference 2009 during the last week in April in San Diego, California turned out to be a success in every way. In fact, it was one of our biggest conferences ever, requiring us to inform people calling the week before to register that it was sold out. When all tallied, there were over 60 exhibitors and more than 500 participants. Speakers and attendees represented 15 countries, 6 provinces in Canada and 38 U.S. states. From the preconference workshops through the sessions and tours, there was a constant buzz of excitement and energy, with conversations and networking going on in multiple languages.

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