BIOCYCLE WORLD

BioCycle April 2005, Vol. 46, No. 4, p. 6

RAPID RISE IN PURCHASES OF ORGANIC FERTILIZER
In an article headlined, “The Push Is On For Good Clean Dirt,” Anne Raver of The New York Times reports on the increasing awareness that soil has a huge effect on the success, or failure, of gardens. “These gardeners are spending more money every year on soil-enriching products,” she writes. “Between 1999 and

2003, according to the National Gardening Association, the number of American households buying organic fertilizer nearly tripled, to 11.7 million.” Accompanying photos show the director of horticulture at the Battery Park City Conservancy turning a compost heap in Lower Manhattan and the founder of the Lower East Side Ecology Center explaining the work of worms at the Union Square Greenmarket. And good news - like compost - is spread far and wide.

SEAL OF TESTING ASSURANCE PROGRAM
CELEBRATES 5TH ANNIVERSARY
Last month, the U.S. Composting Council (USCC) celebrated the 5th anniversary of its Seal of Testing Assurance (STA) Program - created to improve customer confidence in commercially produced compost. The STA Program is a testing and information disclosure program, requiring reports of test analyses, ingredient data and end use instructions. Many composters have supported the STA program since its inception, such as Monrovia, one of the world's largest growers of ornamental container plants. Based in Azusa, California - with additional wholesale nursery locations on the west and east coasts - Monrovia composts the plant debris and residuals, using the finished compost as a key ingredient in their soil media. “Monrovia is the first participant to recognize the value of using the Seal to certify the compost used in their own container media", notes Ron Alexander, comanager of the STA Program. “All of our other participants use the Seal in the retail or wholesale marketing of their compost products."
Other companies involved in the STA program include: A-1 Organics (Eaton, CO); Agresource, Inc. (Amesbury, MA); Barnes Nursery (Port Clinton, OH); Cedar Rapids/Linn County Solid Waste Agency (Cedar Rapids, IA); Cedar Grove Composting (Maple Valley, WA); Chamness Technologies (Eddyville, IA); City of Davenport (Davenport, IA); Erth Products (Peachtree City, GA); City of Hutchinson (Hutchinson, MN); Town of Islip (Islip, NY); Loudin Composting, Maryland Environmental Service (Annapolis, MD); McGill Environmental (Harrells, NC); Mecklenburg County (Charlotte, NC); Monrovia Nurseries (Azusa, CA); Paygro, Division of Garick (S. Charleston, OH); Pierce County Recycling (Puyallup, WA); Rexius Forest By-Products (Eugene, OR); San Joaquin Composting (Bakersfield, CA); Southeastern Public Service Authority (Chesapeake, VA); Texarkana Water Utilities (Texarkana, TX); US Filter/Veolia Water (Baltimore, MD).

LAUNCHING A SUCCESSFUL STATEWIDE
ORGANICS RECYCLING PROGRAM
Priscilla Hayes is executive director of the Solid Waste Policy Group at Rutgers University in New Jersey. For the May 2005 issue of BioCycle, Ms. Hayes is preparing a special report on what it takes to develop a significant support system for food waste recycling in a densely-populated state. As part of the report, she sent us a list of factors considered necessary for launching the program. Her list included these points:
o Generator commitment - Chicken and egg situation, you can't attract recyclers if the generators are not willing to commit to using them; o Hauler commitment - Without haulers who are willing to transport organics, everything falls apart; o Investor commitment - Investors are needed, and they are not persuaded by the fact that you are doing “something good” for the environment; o Policy assistance - Are the decision-makers, including the state environmental agency, doing more than just talking about food waste recycling? Are they showing constant support, and not doing things which may make it difficult for a recycler to survive; and o Regulatory backing - A landfill ban is a lovely thing, if coupled with adequate markets for the organics which are banned. Tune in next month for the report by Hayes on how to translate these factors into an effective, consistent force.

LANDFILLS ARE LARGEST SOURCE OF
ANTHROPOGENIC METHANE, REPORTS EPA
In its latest inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks, the EPA traces waste management and treatment activities as sources. Landfills were the largest source of anthropogenic methane (CH4) emissions, accounting for 24 percent of the total. Wastewater treatment systems are also a potentially significant source of nitrous (N2O) emissions. From 1990 to 2003, emissions have grown by 13 percent. Total emissions of the six main greenhouse gases were 6,899 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2003. These gases include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride. Fossil fuel combustion was the largest source of emissions, accounting for 80 percent of the total, according to a summary prepared by Resource Recovery Forum.

STEADY EXPANSION OF BIOGAS SYSTEMS
COVERS MANY FEEDSTOCKS
According to Bryan Jenkins of the California Biomass Collaborative, increased application of anaerobic digester installations now covers a broad range of feedstocks - including vegetable and fruit residuals, manure, processed foods and biosolids. For example, the Inland Empire Utility Agency (IEUA) in Chino, California has operated several centralized digesters on manure collected from dairies and is testing food waste additions to improve gas production. The Dairy Power Production Program - initiated by the California Energy Commission - has awarded contracts to 14 dairies in the state, with nine projects to be completed in 2005. Capital costs range from $1,500 to $6,000 per kW installed depending on whether the system is refurbished or new. Other benefits include recovery of waste heat for industrial processing; odor and greenhouse gas emission; and reductions use of digester effluent for fertilizer or soil amendment.
Continues Jenkins and his colleagues: “The current potential electricity generating capacity from biogas systems in California is estimated at more than 900 MW, with 136 MW from dairy, 465 MW from landfill gas, 75 MW from municipal waste water treatment, and additional capacity from food processing, other animal, and vegetable residues. Existing capacity is 293 MW, mostly in landfill gas and wastewater treatment, with an undeveloped potential exceeding 600 MW. By 2017, the total capacity might exceed 1,200 MW. Biogas or biomethane can also be used for transportation, hydrogen production, and chemical synthesis. Clearly, biogas systems can contribute significantly to the state's energy needs as well as providing environmental benefits.”

NEW USES FOR COTTON RESIDUES INCLUDE ETHANOL
Researchers at Virginia Tech are developing technologies that “add value to the cotton crop by using the residue,” says Foster Agblevor, biology professor at the College of Agriculture in the March 2005 issue of Resource. After cotton is ginned, the residue at processing plants contains chemical ingredients.
“We have been able to develop the manufacturing processes that can extract specific chemicals and make two products - ethanol, which can be a fuel in automobiles, and xylitol, a sugar,” says Agblevor. His research has shown that the processes work in a laboratory. Along with students and technicians, Agblevor has taken the cotton gin residue and extracted the glucose that can be used to make ethanol and the xylose that can be made into xylitol.
An Iowa firm that produces ethanol from corn is interested in developing the technology, reports Resource.

DESIGNER COMPOSTS DEVELOPED IN EUROPE
RAISE YIELDS OF ORGANIC POTATOES
Led by the Nafferton Ecological Farming Group at England's University of Newcastle upon Tyne, a study by European researchers found up to 10 varieties of potatoes which can be grown without using chemical fertilizers and pesticides while being particularly resistant to blight, a deadly fungal disease.
“Designer composts” were created as part of the project, and were shown to increase organic potato crop yields by up to 40 percent. New and effective organic crop management strategies have also been tried and tested, notes a report in Resource (March, 2005). One of the project's main objective was to encourage more consumers and producers to go organic.
“Until now it's been hard to find varieties of potato that can be grown organically but can resist blight,” says Professor Carlo Leifert, leader of the Nafferton Ecological Farming Group at Newcastle University. “It's taken a lot of investigation to get this far. “Essentially, the Blight-MOP project has ensured that organic potatoes of the future will be more widely available and of an equal, if not better, quality and closer to the price of potatoes grown using chemicals,” adds Leifert.

GLOBAL WARMING GETS ADVICE “FROM THE GUT”
National Wildlife in its April/May 2005 issue has special coverage on global warming, especially the effects of climate change on wildlife. One of the items, “Acting From Your Gut,” offers this observation:
“When most people think about curbing global warming emissions, cars and power plants usually come to mind. But did you know that the production and transportation of the food consumed by the typical American generates nearly as much carbon dioxide as the average car? That's because the standard kilogram of food consumed today in the United States travels 1,500 miles from farm to plate.
“Peter Hoffman, national chair of the Chefs Collaborative, a nationwide network of food producers with a mission to advance a more sustainable food supply, and the owner and chef of New York City's Savory restaurant, says, 'If you want to reduce your environmental impact, in particular your carbon dioxide emissions, then the less fossil fuels that are used to get food to you, the better. You can start simply by going to a farmer's market, buying something locally produced and incorporating it into your regular shopping.'” Additional information is available by visiting the National Wildlife Federation website at: www.nw.org.

BRITISH GOVERNMENT SETS LIMITS ON
LANDFILLING BIODEGRADABLE WASTE
As of April 1, 2005, limits will be placed on the amount of biodegradable municipal solid waste that can be disposed of in landfills operated by England's 121 waste disposal authorities. Explains Environment Minister Elliot Morley: “The government has introduced this ruling to help local authorities meet the tough new targets under the EU Landfill Directive in the most cost-effective way. It gives authorities the flexibility to decide how and when to make the necessary changes, while ensuring that England meets national and international obligations.” According to Department statistics, one metric ton of biodegradable waste - such as paper, kitchen and garden residuals, etc. - produces between 200 and 400 cubic meters of landfill gas. Landfills released 25 percent of the UK's methane emissions in 2001. By 2010, biodegradable MSW going to UK landfills must be 75 percent of what was sent in 1995; by 2013, this amount must be reduced to 50 percent, and by 2020 to 35 percent. The plan is expected to benefit councils (such as Wight, Windsor, Maidenhead Borough and Dorset County) who have taken the lead by collecting, composting and recycling more than 25 percent of residential waste generated during 2002/03.

MAKING THE CONNECTION BETWEEN
ORGANIC FARMING AND SOIL CONSERVATION
The November-December 2004 issue of Attra News, published by the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service, is about understanding organic farming systems. Its contents describe organic research projects, what “really works” on organic farms, minimizing risk, and making the connection between organic farming and conservation.
Short reports describe, for example, work at North Carolina State University's Center for Environmental Farming Systems in Goldsboro. With the help of local farmers, the Center is conducting whole-farm research which incorporates crop rotations, composting, habitat diversity and high-value marketing. In Montana (which is second in the nation in organic acreage), the state's Alternative Energy Resources Organization with partners like the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) have been hosting workshops on making the transition to organic agriculture. “Our field staff need to be able to answer producers' questions and support the conservation aspects of organic production,” explains a NRCS agronomist. To learn more about Attra News and related services, visit www.attra.ncat.org; or call 1-800-346-9140.

Copyright 2005, The JG Press, Inc.