Regional Roundup :: BioCycle, Advancing Composting, Organics Recycling & Renewable Energy

Regional Roundup

BioCycle September 2004, Vol. 45, No. 9, p. 18

State College, Pennsylvania
THIRD MANUFACTURED SOILS CONFERENCE FEATURES
"TOOLS FOR THE TRADE"
Cosponsored by Penn State and the Professional Recyclers of PA (PROP), the Third Annual Manufactured Soils Conference will be held November 17-18, 2004 at the Penn State Conference Center. Following the opening keynote address by BioCycle editor Nora Goldstein, two sessions will address Marketing Tools to "understand customer needs and opportunities." Other sessions around the conference theme, "Tools for The Trade," will cover managing feedstock and product quality; review of equipment; understanding public perception; gaining regulatory approval; and establishing specifications for alternative materials. For registration information, contact PROP, PO Box 25, Bellwood, PA 16617. (800) 769-PROP. Visit www.proprecycles.org.

West Seattle, Washington
MAKING SOIL WITH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
AT CAMP LONG
The July, 2004 issue of Biosolids Bulletin, a newsletter from the Northwest Biosolids Management Association, features this "Research Short Story" by Sally Brown of the University of Washington:
"A first and third grade ritual at Green Lake Elementary School is the sleep over at Camp Long in West Seattle, Washington. At Camp Long, students learn about soil, what lives in ponds and the animals and plants that live in the forest. For the soils section this year, the kids were given the chance to make soil on their own. Gordie Behnke from Tacoma’s (WA) Tagro program and I showed up at Camp Long with the necessary tools in hand: Class A biosolids cake, sawdust, sand and a wheelbarrow where all the kids got started. First, we took shovels of the forest soil and looked for bugs and other creatures that live in the soil. We shook the soil up with water so that the kids could see the various particle sizes found in the soil. Gordie explained why the soils in the area were generally pretty lousy because glaciers left us a lot of sand and rocks.
"Then we explained the different tools that we had to make soil. When the kids heard that the biosolids was ‘cooked poop’ reactions varied. Some couldn’t wait to touch it; others said ‘eew gross’ and backed off; a third group said ‘gross’ as they shoved their hands into the cake.
"The students took shovel fulls of each component of the mixture — the biosolids, sawdust and sand — and Gordie mixed them together in the wheelbarrow. For each group, he asked if the mix looked good. We had kids screaming for ‘More Poop.’ Each group of kids then put the soil they had made into a pot and we planted it with grass seeds. We also took soil from under the nearby trees and put that in a pot as well. The pots were then taken to Green Lake Elementary school two weeks later as part of the school science fair. Everyone involved had a great time. This served as an excellent teaching tool that got the kids really excited about biosolids and making soils."
For information about the Northwest Biosolids Management Association, visit www.nwbiosolids.org. Part II of the case study of the King County, Washington biosolids program by Sally Brown and Peggy Leonard appears in this issue.

Escanaba, Michigan
UPPER PENINSULA COALITION TO AWARD
RECYCLERS/COMPOSTERS FOR ACHIEVEMENTS
At its October 6th Conference, the Upper Peninsula Recycling Coalition (UPRC) plans to recognize area organizations, businesses and individuals for innovative recycling, composting and waste reduction programs. The award is open to both UPRC members as well as nonmembers. Criteria being considered include: Economic returns; Environmental and social benefits of program; Use of innovative approaches; Soundness of planning, management and design. Examples of programs to be considered, explain UPRC staff, are recycling activities and composting programs that result in significant diversion from the waste system; and innovative policies and products "that impact resource recovery in the Upper Peninsula." For further information, contact Terry Barnes of the UPRC at (906) 774-9006.

Albany, New York
HOW-MUCH DOES IT COST TO STOP A STATE BOTTLE BILL?
The latest issue of the Container Recycling Institute’s newsletter has a front-page report on "Special Interest Money Keeps Bigger Better Bottle Bill ‘Bottled Up’ in Albany." Lobbyists for the beer and soft drink industries spent more than $1.2 million in campaign contributions to New York State lawmakers in 2002 and 2003 based on estimates by the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG). The final price tag for lobbying projected by analysts at NYPIRG will jump to $2 million by the end of 2004. Websites for the Container recycling Institute are: www.Container recycling.org and www.BottleBill.org. Newsletter editors are Pat Franklin and Jenny Gitlitz.

Brattleboro, Vermont
UPDATED SUMMARY OF COMPOSTING REGULATIONS
IN NORTHEAST STATES
Last month, the Northeast Recycling Council issued a revised list of composting regulations that featured updated summaries for ten states. Prepared by Mary Ann Remolador, the states — with contact persons — include the following: Connecticut – KC Alexander (860-424-3365) – Summary of DEP permits and approvals showing type of material, where generated and composted; Delaware – Danny Aguilar (302-739-5361) – Lists activities exempt from Regulations Governing Solid Waste as well as those that "fall under the guise;" Maine – Mark King (207-287-2651) – For purposes of composting requirements, residuals shall be classified as Type 1A, Type 1B or Type 1C;" Massachusetts – Sumner Martinson (617-292-5969) – Regulations cover such facilities as those accepting more than 20 tons per day of vegetative materials, more than 10 tpd of food materials, any amount of residential source-separated organics; New Hampshire – James Robb (603-271-2591), Pierce Rigrod (603-271-3713) – Includes types of permits required for compost facilities incorporating food waste in leaf and yard and/or manure composts; New Jersey, Ross Hull (609-984-3438) – Included data on yard trimmings composting facilities that do not meet permitting exemption criteria; New York – Sally Rowland (518-402-8678) – Sections cover general permit application requirements as well as specifics on feedstocks; Pennsylvania – Patti Olenick (717-787-7382) – Includes definitions and selections from Pennsylvania Code concerning compost regulations covered in the state’s "semitiered format;" Rhode Island – Chris Shafer (401-942-1430) – Mixed solid waste composting facilities must obtain a license, while leaf and yard waste composting facilities are required to register with Office of Waste Management; Vermont – Vicky Viens (802-241-3448) – Includes list of certification exemptions, categorical certifications and full certification. Visit Northeast Recycling Council website at: www.nerc.org.

Minneapolis, Minnesota
ONLINE DIRECTORY LISTS RENEWABLE POWER PRODUCTS
The Minnesota Environmental Initiative (MEI) last month launched a free online directory of companies and organizations providing energy-efficient and renewable energy products. One MEI program known as "Energy Alley" promotes development of clean energy technology in Minnesota — from research through commercialization. Specific Energy Alley partnerships are in areas of utility conservation and technology research. Visit www.EnergyDirectory.org or contact Erik Pratt, manager of MEI’s Energy Alley program at: epratt@mn-ei.org.

Toms River, New Jersey
OCEAN COUNTY SOLID WASTE HOLDS CLASSES ON
HOME COMPOSTING
At its Recycling Education Center, the Ocean County Master Composters offer free classes to residents to turn organic residuals into compost. Sponsored by the Department of Solid Waste Management and Freeholders Board, the classes teach how to build and maintain a compost pile. Explains Freeholder Director James Lacey in the latest newsletter of Ocean County Recyclers: "Teaching our residents about home composting protects our environment in a number of ways. It reduces waste, eliminates use of pesticides, conserves resources, and culminates to a great end product for the garden." The county also operates a backyard composting demonstration site at its Northern Recycling Center in Lakewood Township.

North Canaan, Connecticut
MAKING BIODEGRADABLE PLANTING POTS FROM COW MANURE
For Theresa and Matt Freund, their 400-acre dairy farm with 225 milk cows has become home to something like a science fair project. Through the Connecticut Agricultural Business Center, their Freund Farm secured a $72,000 federal grant to continue development of biodegradable planting pots made almost entirely of cow manure. Their pots, notes Matt Freund, allow for better root penetration with their supply of "instant nutrients." They have filed a patent application and are working with a marketing consultant, notes an Associated Press account.

Seattle, Washington
IMPACT OF ELECTRONICS WASTE RECYCLING IN
PUGET SOUND AREA
According to a mid-August article in the Seattle Times, Puget Sound residents have kept 16,000 pounds of toxic lead out of landfills by taking old TVs and computers to a chain of electronics stores during a month long recycling program. The more than 4,000 TV sets and computer monitors were taken to a local recycling firm, Total Reclaim, for processing. Puget Sound counties participating in the electronics recycling program are King, Snohomish and Pierce. About 70 percent of heavy metals going into landfills comes from old electronics equipment, King County officials report, with a typical TV containing four to eight pounds of lead. "The resounding success of the pilot program tells us that people want to do the right thing for the environment," noted a King County solid waste official. "Our goal is for it to be as easy to recycle electronic products as it is to buy them," states Sego Jackson, who represents Snohomish County in the National Electronics Product Stewardship Initiative. "With new programs announced this month by a number of retailers and manufacturers, that vision is beginning to look attainable," though Jackson cautions that these are temporary, experimental programs. "Retailers and manufacturers s are experimenting with how they can provide sustainable ongoing recycling programs for customers. They are also being very competitive with each other in developing improved product take back and recycling services."

Tokyo, Japan
RENEWABLE POWER DEVELOPMENTS
Based on latest newsletters from Japan for Sustainability, the Kuraray Company at its Kurashiki City plant will expand its use of biomass fuels from 1,000 to 16,000 tons annually after overcoming technological difficulties. The biomass fuel project is slated for full operation starting December, 2004. (See www.japanfs.org/db/data-base. Meanwhile, Chubu Electric Power Co. — in cooperation with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science — started operating Japan’s first pilot plant in May to produce a liquid alcohol fuel from woody biomass. (Visit www.japanfs.org/db/database.) In other greening news, the Urban Green Space Development Foundation of Japan, which works to raise public awareness about urban greening, announced that it would test its greening assessment system prior to full implementation by April 2005. And, the Nippon Paper Industries Co. has started manufacturing green-certified pallets — the first forest product to be certified in Japan by the Sustainable Green Ecosystem Council.

Nelson, British Columbia, Canada
COMMUNITY ADOPTS ZERO WASTE ACTION
PLAN TO GUIDE SOLID WASTE PROGRAMS
"This is a significant step forward for Nelson to view our wastes as resources. Our Council supports Zero Waste as a goal because it will be good for our local economy as well as good for the environment," said Donna Macdonald, Chair of the city’s Waste Management Task Force as it adopted a Zero Waste Action Plan (ZWAP). In August, 2003, Nelson City Council’s Task Force retained MJ Waste Solutions and Gary Liss & Associates to help develop a ZWAP. It recommended policies and incentives to use the marketplace to achieve goals – further recommending that Nelson build on existing developments in reuse, recycling and composting. The ZWAP also supported development of a Resource Recovery Park to co-locate composting and recycled product manufacturing businesses.
In May 2004, the Task Force hired a Zero Waste Coordinator to lead the program. Goals of the ZWC are to reduce solid waste landfilled and encourage economic development through resource recovery initiatives and partnerships. The Nelson Zero Waste Action Plan is on the GrassRoots Recycling Network at www.grrn.org/assets/ pdfs/action. E-mail – zerowaste@city.nelson.bc.ca.