Regional Roundup

BioCycle February 2004, Vol. 45, No. 2, p. 18

Central Coast, California
WINE GRAPE GROWERS USE CLEAN
WASTE PRACTICES TO REDUCE RUNOFF AND EROSION
The Central Coast Vineyard Team (CCVT) based in Templeton, California is in its second year of a Clean Water Project that has had a "huge success" with nine participating growers. In the first year, 100 acres were designated to demonstrate Best Management Practices to reduce soil erosion and water runoff, while improving soil tilth. According to project coordinator Dawn Stimson, over 400 acres were directly affected beneficially by the BMPs implemented. The Vineyard Team’s newsletter includes a profile of participating grower Daryl Salm of RLS Vineyard who has dedicated 12 acres of Syrah wine grapes at his Greenfield site for demonstration in CCVT’s Biologically Integrated Farming Systems project. His goal is to farm so that succeeding generations will have land that is healthy and productive. As part of his soil care methods, Salm utilizes cover crops in the vine middles. During late May or early June, once the cover crop is headed out, it is mulched. Cover cropping and mulching are beneficial for weed control and for adding organic matter (carbon) back into the soil. Another method used by Salm for adding organic matter back into the soil, usually done in winter, is banding compost in the vine rows. For additional background on methods and goals of the Vineyard Team, visit its website: www.vineyardteam.org, or contact its director, Kris O’Connor at (805) 434-4848.

Boulder, Colorado
CITY RECYCLING CENTER INCLUDES
CENTER FOR HARD TO RECYCLE MATERIALS
As described in a feature article in Public Works (January, 2004), the Boulder Recycling Center, completed in 2001, is owned by the City and operated by Eco-Cycle, a nonprofit launched in 1976, now with a staff of 55. Recently, Eco-Cycle added the Center for Hard to Recycle Materials (ChaRM) which handles computers, TVs, cell phones, old running shoes and much more. Eco-Cycle has contracts with both the country and city, as well as neighboring cities of Longmont, Louisville and Broomfield to process recyclables. Trash collection is done by private haulers who charge a set fee for a 32 gallon trash container, but must take recyclables free. Working toward zero waste is a constant goal of Eco-Cycle — through its ChaRM program as well as its working with manufacturers and packages to design products with 100 percent recycling in mind. "To move manufacturers in this direction," points out the Public Works article, "Eco-Cycle provides a consulting service — Eco-Cycle Institute — to show them what can be recycled and how to make products more recycle-friendly."

Portland, Oregon
STATE WORK GROUP TO REVISE EXISTING
COMMERCIAL COMPOST REGULATIONS
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has assembled a 12 member group to help revise regulations for commercial composting operations in the state. The scope of the rulemaking will include: Correcting inconsistencies and making rules easier to understand; Changing technical requirements to protect health; Exemptions from DEQ permitting for some types of agricultural composting operations; and Discussion about which types of DEQ permits are required for biosolids composting. Visit the website: http://www.deq.state.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
GOVERNOR’S OFFICE CITES RECYCLING RECORDS:
FOUR MILLION TONS, 81,000 JOBS
Pennsylvania’s recycling industry — which includes 141 manufacturers of recycled products — has created a $23.4 billion industry that employs more than 81,000 people, announced Governor Edward Rendell last month. The state’s recycling programs topped four million tons, based on reports filed by counties. "We have demonstrated that we can create a vast supply of commodities," said Rendell, "and we’re fortunate that many can be processed and turned into new goods right here in Pennsylvania." Department of General Services Secretary Donald Cunningham reported that the Commonwealth purchased more than $70 million worth of recycled products in the 2001-2002 fiscal year, including all paper used in agency operation, recycled plastic lumber, retreaded truck tires and rerefined oil.

Jefferson City, Missouri
ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF WASTE TIRE FEE
ARE NOTED — AS FEE EXPIRES
According to Director Steve Mahfood of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, the 50-cent-per-tire fee on new tires was responsible for removal of approximately 12 million tires from illegal dumps and their subsequent reuse in new products. But the fee expired January 1, 2004. "However, the department will continue to remove as many waste tires from Missouri’s environment as possible until the fund balance is completely expended," said Mahfood. It’s estimated that more than three million waste tires will remain scattered across the state’s roadsides and communities when the fee expired. When similar fees expired in other states, the result was an increase in dumping.

Spokane, Washington
BIOMASS ENERGY RESOURCES INVENTORIED
FOR EASTERN WASHINGTON
Up to 40 percent of Eastern Washington’s residential energy could be provided by converting municipal and agricultural wastes into methane, according to a study sponsored by the Washington Department of Ecology and the Inland Northwest Technology Education Center (INTEC). The study was conducted by Shulin Chen, professor of biological systems engineering at Washington State University.Eastern Washington has an annual supply of 4.3 million tons of dry biomass that is not being used, according to the survey. Biomass is a combination of farm-field and processing residue from harvested crops, animal waste and municipal organic residuals. The report says that the untapped biomass can produce 3.1 million megawatt-hours of electrical energy, enough to supply approximately 15 to 40 percent of eastern Washington’s current residential electrical consumption each year.
"Before we could seriously look at this as an industry, we need to evaluate the potential volume of fuel we had out there," said Lewis Rumpler, chief executive officer of INTEC. "After seeing these results, we feel we’re a step closer to reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, creating a new job market and solving some environmental problems. That’s an exciting combination." Creating energy from biomass reduces greenhouse gas emissions, benefits water quality, and solves some solid waste disposal problems, the report states.
"Not only are we able to see from this survey which crops or animal wastes produce the most fuel, but we also are able to see which counties could contribute the most," said Ecology’s Marck Fuchs. "This is important when we look at the economics of locating processing plants. Having the fuel close to the plants is important."
Of the 4.3 million tons of dry biomass in Eastern Washington, more than 50 percent of the total is located in Whitman, Grant, Franklin, Benton and Yakima counties. Using anaerobic digestion, biomass could produce methane to heat businesses and homes, or can be converted to electricity.
The next phase of the project is determining the economic viability of recovering, transporting and converting into electricity the latent bioenergy in farm fields and agricultural production facilities. Results of the next phase could be available in late 2004. Although the report also has further research implications, but that a demonstration project is an immediate priority."We can see great benefits for rural communities in the development of biomass energy projects," Chen said.

Los Angeles, California
PROGRAM FOR MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL
STUDENTS USES COMPOST FOR TREES
For the past 30 years, TreePeople — a nonprofit environmental organization — has inspired people to improve their Los Angeles region through the care and planting of nearly two million trees. One current program, Generation Earth — contracted by the Los Angeles County Public Works Department — works with students and teachers to provide resources for service learning projects. For participating teachers who are interested in composting or vermicomposting, Generation Earth connects them with resources available throughout the county, explains Marisa Walker of TreePeople. Generation Earth strongly encourages schools that are participating in the Battle of the Schools Waste Reduction Competition to reduce cafeteria waste by composting on their campus or trying a worm bin in the classroom.

Citizen Forester training instructs residents on how to get trees planted in their neighborhoods, as well as getting approvals from the city, continues Walker. Home Forester training teaches property owners how to adapt their landscaping to prevent stormwater runoff from their property, "touting the benefits of both mulch and compost. ...Our integrated approach to watershed management, which combines the best organic solutions such as trees with visionary man-made technologies like cisterns, mimics nature’s own system for capturing stormwater runoff and reducing the flow of pollutants to our oceans."For more details on TreePeople programs, contact Marisa Walker via email at mwalker@treepeople.org

Wake County, North Carolina
ELECTRONICS RECYCLING INITIATIVE
BECOMES PERMANENT PROGRAM
In addition to computer recycling at the North Wake Multimaterial Facility in North Raleigh, Wake County residents now have the option for recycling all electronics made by JVC, Lexmark, Panasonic, Sharp or Sony. According to Kelley Dennings, commercial waste specialist, these five manufacturers of radios, phones, microwave ovens, TVs, etc. are practicing "product stewardship by helping to make recycling more economical and accessible to Wake County residents." Adds Solid Waste Director Jim Reynolds: "We see product stewardship of electronics as the major element of the long-term solution to the e-waste issue."

Williston, Vermont
MRF HITS RECORD RECYCLING MONTH,
CREDIT GOES TO ALL-IN-ONE PROGRAM
Since July 2003, the amount of recyclables material handled at the Chittenden Solid Waste District (CSWD) materials recovery facility (MRF) has increased by 19 percent over the same six-month period in 2002. December 2003 proved to be a record month for recycling (1,842 tons) and December 23, 2003 was a record setting day (180 tons). Why all these records? Officials at the Chittenden Solid Waste District (CSWD) attribute the increase to All-In-One Recycling, a new program that started in July allowing people to mix bottles, cans and mixed paper together in the same bin.
"We did a significant amount of advertising in late summer to promote the program," says Tom Moreau, General Manager for CSWD. "That promotion, combined with the fact that All-In-One makes recycling super easy seems to be encouraging more people to recycle more stuff." But not all of the 19 percent is new recycling. Some of the recyclables that were handled at other facilities are now coming to the CSWD MRF because of the All-In-One option. "It’s just easier for everyone," says Moreau.
To accommodate All-In-One Recycling, CSWD invested nearly $2 million in new sorting equipment and facility renovations at its MRF. The equipment includes a series of conveyor belts with rotating star-shaped discs that mechanically separate bottles and cans from mixed paper. This equipment, manufactured by Machinex and operated by Casella Waste Management, can process more than 17 tons per hour. "We’re hoping to get the system up to 20 tons per hour soon," says Moreau. "The faster we can sort the material, the more efficient we can make the recycling system. The more efficient it becomes, the more economically sustainable recycling will be."

Hennepin County, Minnesota
250 MILLION YEARS TO REPLACE
FOSSIL FUELS ... VS. SEVEN MONTHS
Hennepin County (most populous county in Minnesota) is where one of the first local governments in the nation is switching from diesel fuel to a biodiesel blend in all its diesel-engine vehicles. The county is committed to green energy, explains Mike Opat, county board chair. "We plan to use 368,000 gallons of five percent, biodiesel-blended fuel during the next year." Biodiesel can be produced from vegetable oil or recycled greases;
it reduces tailpipe and particulate emissions even when blended with petroleum diesel in small percentages.

The Agricultural Utilization Research Institute, U.S. Bureau of Mines and Minnesota soybean growers started investigating biodiesel in 1990. "Now, 14 years later, we are seeing it used in fleets, in school buses and by the military," says Ron Jacobsen, a Minnesota farmer and president of the state’s Soybean Growers Association. "It takes Mother Nature 250 million years to replace fossil fuels. It will take Minnesota producers seven months."

Boulder, Colorado
TWO COMMUNITIES REQUIRE
DEVELOPERS TO PLAN FOR RECYCLING
"I have seen how the lack of space acts as a hindrance for recycling where I live and in other existing complexes," writes Rachael Bray, resident of an apartment complex in the city of Broomfield in Eco-Cycle Times. "This new act can only help increase recycling opportunities." Bray is referring to city legislation just passed in Broomfield and neighboring Superior which declares that "planning for recycling is at least as important as planning for trash." The ordinances require that new commercial and multifamily unit developments (as well as substantial remodels) allow equal space for recycling and trash containers, and that all new commercial buildings and housing complexes be automatically equipped to recycle. These changes "integrate recycling into their cities’ infrastructure," points out Eco-Cycle Times, which also notes that the Broomfield City Council has set up a Solid Waste Task Force that could lead to a city-wide curbside recycling program and a Pay-As-You-Throw pricing system.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
PERMITTED USES FOR FOUNDRY SAND
EXPANDED TO INCLUDE SOIL ADDITIVES
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has proposed expanding use of foundry sand from ferrous and steel foundries to develop new markets that would include use as soil additives and construction materials. "This permit will relieve a financial burden on many foundries and keep the material out of landfills by providing alternative disposal options for a product that has beneficial uses," declared Secretary Kathleen McGinty. "This administration is going to continue to review waste disposal regulations and permits to stimulate the economy and develop innovative ways to remove usable materials from the waste steam."

While foundry sand can currently be used under an existing industry wide general permit for beneficial use, the use is limited to roadway construction material or as a component or ingredient in the manufacturing of concrete or asphalt products. A general permit for beneficial use allows the use or reuse of waste for commercial and other purposes if the use does not harm or threaten public health, safety or the environment. The general permit would apply to waste foundry sand generated by foundries with ISO 14001 certification or other third-party audited environmental management system certification.

Lexington, Kentucky
SIGNS OF THE TIMES: THE OLD
FRANKFORT PIKE LANDFILL CLOSES
"Closure is coming soon for the Old Frankfort Pike Landfill," announced the January, 2004 newsletter of the Lexington Fayette Urban County Government. "Work on closing the landfill is substantially complete," reported Penny McFadden with the city’s Department of Public Works. The last hurdle to overcome involved work on pumps that move leachate from the landfill to the wastewater treatment plant. At least part of the landfill will be used as a driving training site. The space is also suitable for construction of office and storage space. Total project cost to close the landfill involved $6 million of construction work on the 60-acre site to place a two-foot cap on the landfill and encircle it with a leachate collection system. Work also includes a methane venting system.

Copyright 2004, The JG Press, Inc.