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

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Regional Roundup

BioCycle January 2005, Vol. 46, No. 1, p. 12

Sacramento, California
KEEPING SEDIMENT OUT OF WATERWAYS BRINGS
ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD TO GROUP
Partners in Restoration (PIR), a project which protects California watersheds, was organized by Sustainable Conservation (www.suscon.org) as “a one-stop permit review process to reduce bureaucratic hurdles for farmers and ranchers implementing watershed conservation projects. In the last six years, more than

45 landowners have enrolled, preventing an estimated 70,000 tons of sediment from entering the state's coastal waterways. “We are committed to helping landowners be good stewards of the environment,” says Ashley Boren, executive director of the San Francisco nonprofit. For its accomplishment with PIR, Sustainable Conservation will receive the 2004 Environmental and Economic Leadership Award. The program was developed in partnership with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and local Resource Conservation Districts.

Sunnyside, Washington
UPDATE ON FUELING ENERGY CROPS WITH BIOSOLIDS FOR BIODIESEL
A recent newsletter from the Northwest Biosolids Management Association (NBMA) includes an update by Sally Brown of the University of Washington on the project using biosolids as a fertilizer for canola to produce biodiesel. “There is good news and bad news,” Brown reports. Yields have been phenomenal, averaging over 3,000 pounds per acre. Yields in all amended or fertilized plots were higher than the control soil.
“The bad news was that total oil content was between 25 and 30 percent of the seed weight. We had hoped for higher oil and higher values for the cultivars that we used. Taking into account the yields and the oil content of the seed grain, the canola can produce anywhere from 100 to 165 gallons of biodiesel per acre. In addition, the remaining seed cake is in demand for cattle feed.” Researchers are looking at a range of processing options, and Ted Durfey of Natural Selection Farms will be reporting complete results in a coming issue of BioCycle. Adds Brown in her update in the NBMA newsletter: “As a way to celebrate the great yields from the field trial, Ted Durfey presented a bottle of the First Vintage Biosolids Biodiesel to Ron Sims, executive of King County, Washington at a recent official meeting.”

Madison, Wisconsin
BIOGAS AND RURAL ENERGY DEVELOPMENT
COVERED IN TASK FORCE REPORT
The Wisconsin Governor's Task Force on Energy Efficiency and Renewables final report - summarized in an e-mail from Roger Kasper of the state's Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) - makes these points: Given agriculture's compatibility with renewable energy systems, the Task Force recommends the creation of a bioenergy/biofuel coordinator position at DATCP to better leverage federal and state programs and funding sources for rural renewable projects. Identifying the need for loan guarantees for waste and odor mitigation projects could also be a part of this coordinator's function. Concerning anaerobic digesters and on-farm application, “anaerobic digesters are a renewable technology with strong potential for Wisconsin,” emphasizes the report. The Task Force recommends increasing funding to foster R&D of digesters.

Denver, Colorado
GOVERNOR'S OFFICE SEEKS PROPOSALS FOR FUEL CELL INITIATIVE
The Governor's Office of Energy Management and Conservation (OEMC) announced last month its interest in getting proposals from organizations with expertise in fuel cells as part of the Colorado Fuel Cell Center. The goal is to expand R&D, education and commercial applications. Proposals must demonstrate “an actionable plan to realize that goal and identify objectives for its achievement.” OEMC will provide a minimum contract amount of $2 million over a two-year term to the Fuel Cell Center with funds from the Petroleum Violation Escrow fund. The selected proposal must provide a minimum of $1 million in matching cash funds. “We hope that the Colorado Fuel Cell Center will expedite a rapid, but practical deployment of this technology,” says Rick Grice, OEMC executive director. Contact OEMC at www.state. co.us oemc or call (800) 632-6662.

Maui, Hawaii
A QUICK PEEK AT RECYCLING METHODS ON THE ISLAND OF MAUI
We first learned about the many recycling and composting projects taking place on Maui from Hana Steel, the county's recycling coordinator. The pleasant memories returned when a copy of the Maui Recycling Group's newsletter arrived with descriptions of the mini-MRF, how Ms. Steel arranged to recycle the island's phone directories, and the beverage container redemption program that began January 1, 2005. “Every year, approximately 800 million beverage containers are sold in the state. The majority of these containers end up discarded in the waste stream, or as litter in our community. The program places a 5¢, redeemable deposit on each beverage container,” notes the newsletter, the Maui Recycling Guide.
The advertisements were also informative, featuring descriptions of: Maui Earth Organic Compost (“now available - worm castings and landscape mulch”); Aloha Plastic Recycling (picnic tables, decking, etc.); Aloha Glass Recycling (we pay cash for your glass); Aloha Shares Network (statewide reuse cooperative); Pacific Biodiesel (renewable energy for a cleaner tomorrow); Joy of Worms (worm composting starter systems for home, office or school); and EKO compost (“turns dirt into soil”).

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
STATE BILL CREATES ALTERNATIVE FUELS INCENTIVE ACT
Last month, Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell signed a bill establishing the Alternative Fuels Incentive Act, creating a fund made up of a portion of revenues from the utilities' gross receipts tax offering grants to school districts, municipal authorities, etc. for the incremental cost of biodiesel. “We're thrilled that this has passed,” said Nathalie Shapiro, Greater Philadelphia Clean Cities Coordinator. “The single biggest barrier to accessing biodiesel, especially for schools, has been price. This, along with the federal tax incentive, puts biodiesel well within their reach. I think we will see demand for biodiesel grow significantly in Pennsylvania.”

Toronto, Canada
ADVISORY GROUP OUTLINES STEPS TO MEET 60 PERCENT DIVERSION
Toronto's “New and Emerging Technologies, Policies and Practices Advisory Group” was established in 2003 by Council directive. Comprised of both citizens and experts, the Advisory Group was asked to provide advice on adopting new technologies and policies to help manage the city's solid waste. Some observations made recently include the following:
The City should be able to achieve source-based diversion from landfill of between 50 and 60 percent, and quite possibly higher, by 2010 - with full and aggressive implementation of current policies and practices along with new initiatives recommended by the Advisory Group. Regarding the next steps for the City to move beyond the expected diversion rate by 2006, the group recommends:
Immediately establish a Waste Diversion Working Group to oversee the planning, design, implementation, promotion and monitoring of source-based diversion programs. This group should report directly to the Works Committee and include members of the public, City staff, frontline collection workers, and possibly Works Committee members.
Move ahead expeditiously with a full environmental assessment (EA), the formation of a public advisory committee that reports directly to the Works Committee to direct the EA process. Given the significant public concerns about various potential solutions to the City's waste management problems, the EA process needs to be innovative, thoughtful, well managed and fully transparent.

Atlanta, Georgia
REMOVING CONTAMINANTS FROM WETLANDS USING AQUATIC PLANTS
Environmental engineers at the Georgia Institute of Technology (GIT) have found that various chlorinated, fluorinated and mixed chloro-fluoro compounds are taken up and sequestered in the plant tissue of their model plant species - duckweed (Lemna minor), a floating aquatic plant. Sources of the persistent compounds include agrochemicals, such as pesticides, and pharmaceutical residuals such as those from antidepressants excreted in human waste.
“The compound goes into the plant, and the plant has no choice about the uptake. Whether the compound is water loving or water hating does not appear to be a major factor,” explains Professor Michael Saunders of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. ... “And our plants take up this large class of compounds quickly, at rates faster than bacteria would degrade the contaminants.”
These findings have implications for both water monitoring regulations and wastewater treatment practices, notes a report in the GIT Research Horizons. The research has focused on halogenated phenolic molecules as indicators of chlorinated, fluorinated and mixed chloro-fluoro compounds in natural waters and engineered wetlands. Previously, researchers found that various chlorinated phenols were sequestered in duckweed cell tissue. The current study shows that mono, di and tri-fluoro phenols and mixed chloro-fluoro phenols are also taken up and sequestered at varying rates.
This research has led Saunders and his students to believe duckweed and probably other aquatic plants are acting as “sinks”' for persistent organic compounds. Saunders notes that regulators monitoring contaminants in the water may be missing something by not considering the plant uptake of these compounds - a process that is affecting the overall removal time of the contaminants from the water.
“These types of compounds we have studied are emerging in the regulatory sector as the ones we need to know more about,” Saunders says. “They may soon meet with more regulatory control. They are not well regulated now.”
The researchers' current findings may also have an impact on water treatment and reclamation practices. “Constructed wetlands are not designed for duckweed and other plants to remove organic contaminants, but it's happening even though it's not generally recognized or included with the design concept. ... So here's another tool in the toolbox for getting additional removal of contaminants.”

Chichester, New Hampshire
FIRST YEAR REPORT ON NORTHEAST RESOURCE RECOVERY'S SUBSIDIARY
It's been an exciting and challenging year for New Frontier Industries, a nonprofit subsidiary launched by the Northeast Resource Recovery Association (NRRA). Its primary recycled plastics product is EverQuiet Wall - a sound wall that reduces sound up to 10 decibels and can be installed as high as 30 feet. NFI is working with the Departments of Transportation in New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts to obtain orders, and is negotiating with another manufacturer to market the wall under its brand name. A second product is EverGreen deck, scheduled for the market soon.
About 500 tons of plastic have been collected during the past year, reports NRRA, and more than 60 tons of product have been sold. The primary mission of NFI is to remove plastic from the waste stream that is not otherwise being recycled. So far, only commercial plastic has been used to produce the sound wall, but the company hopes to accept municipal plastic in the next year. For more information, visit www.newfrontierindustries.com.

Sumter County, Florida
ODOR CONTROL DEMONSTRATION UNDERWAY AT COMPOSTING FACILITY
The Florida Organic Recycling Center for Excellence (FORCE) is sponsoring an evaluation of the performance of an odor control product at the Sumter County Solid Waste Facility in Lake Panasoffkee. Principal investigator, Bob Broom of RKB Enterprises, says its purpose is to “diminish odor to unnoticeable levels in any location around the MSW tipping building and minimize odors inside the building.” According to Broom, most problem odors in the composting and wastewater industries result from either reduction reactions or incomplete oxidation reactions. The compounds can be ionized, oxidized or further broken down into odorless end products. The demonstration equipment installed at the transfer station and biosolids tipping area provides the opportunity for odorant and reactant to come together.
Visit www.Floridaforce.org or email: jpbradshaw@earthlink.net for more
details.

Palo Alto, California
CITY OFFICIALS TAKE SECOND LOOK AT SINGLE-STREAM RECYCLING PROGRAM
Last month, the City Council voted 8-1 to reconsider plans to begin single-stream recycling by July 2005. Council said it wanted to make sure the new program would pay off - that it made sense in the context of the proposed waste transfer and recycling center. Public estimates for single-stream range from an annual savings of about $1 million to extra costs of $1.6 million. A March 2004 survey from the American Forest & Paper Association noted that some costs increased with single-stream systems, while others dropped. Cost of recycling paper tends to rise since it's mixed with other materials that make processing more complicated; overall collection costs are reduced, while sorting expenses increase.
A major plus is user convenience. In the five neighborhood Palo Alto trial that included 2,500 homes, 93 percent of residents preferred single-stream to sorting. City staff point out that the single-stream approach usually gets residents in apartments and condos as well as businesses to recycle more.
Sacramento, California
“ADVANCE RECYCLING FEE” SUPPORTS ELECTRONICS RECYCLING PROGRAM IN STATE
Starting January 1, 2005, California consumers will pay an “advance recycling fee” when they purchase certain video display products. The fee - $6 to $10 on most televisions, computer monitors and laptop computers - will fund a payment system for proper collection and recycling of these electronic products at the end of their service life. “This new program,” explains Rosario Marin of the California Integrated Waste Management Board, “will provide an economic stimulus that will enhance safe recovery and recycling of obsolete electronics and encourage other manufacturers to be aware of the impact of product designs.” Retailers will collect the Electronic Waste Recycling Fee on each sale and remit fees to the California State Board of Equalization.