BIOCYCLE WORLD

BioCycleOctober 2003, Vol. 44, No. 10, p. 6

BIOCYCLE, EARTH ENGINEERING CENTER COLLABORATING
ON STATE OF GARBAGE IN AMERICA 2003
BioCycle is collaborating with the Earth Engineering Center at Columbia University in New York City on its State of Garbage in America survey for 2003. Nickolas Themelis, director of the Earth Engineering Center, wrote an article for BioCycle last January that compared findings of the 2001 State of Garbage report with Franklin Associates' annual survey that is used in EPA's Municipal Solid Waste Characterization reports (see “Analyzing Data in State of Garbage in America, EPA Reports,” January 2003). One of the most significant discrepancies between the two (Themelis compared State of

Garbage 2001 to EPA's 2000 “Facts and Figures”) was a difference - by about 170 million tons - of solid waste generated annually (BioCycle reports the higher number) and about 60 million tons of recycled materials recovered (again, we reported the higher number). One of the goals of the collaboration is to determine how to best calculate the actual number of tons of municipal solid waste annually disposed, recycled/ composted and incinerated - establishing a more accurate baseline for future surveys and analyses. Questionnaires were mailed out in early October. A “preview” of the findings will appear in the December 2003 issue of BioCycle; the full report will be in the January 2004 edition.

POWER IDEA OF “DISTRIBUTED GENERATION”
GROWS LARGER AFTER BLACKOUT
“In the aftermath of the August power outage, which shut businesses in
the Northeast and the Midwest, “ wrote the Wall Street Journal, “an idea once viewed as radical is generating new buzz: What if enough U.S. buildings could generate enough of their own electricity to collectively ease the load on the nation's overstretched power grid?”
The term for alternative, localized power sources is distributed generation. It includes natural gas powered engines, microturbines, fuel cells, diesel powered generators, grid connectors for anaerobic digesters, etc. The Journal quotes the CEO of Capstone Turbine Corp of Chatsworth, California: “One couldn't ask for a more exciting marketing campaign than what happened in the Northeast.”
The financial newspaper included a chart listing the technologies for distributed energy and how they work:
Microturbines - small combustion turbines that generate electricity; Combustion turbines - high pressure, high velocity gas flowing from the combustion chamber; Reciprocating engines - converts energy contained in a fuel into mechanical power; Fuel cells - similar to a battery using an electrochemical reaction to create current; Photovoltaic - solar cells that convert sunlight directly into electricity; and Wind - a turbine with fan blades to generate electricity.

NATIONAL EROSION/SEDIMENT
CONTROL SPECIFICATIONS FOR COMPOST
A two-year project to write national specifications for composted products for use in erosion/sediment control - and get them approved by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) - has been completed. “Compost for Erosion/Sediment Control (Filter Berms/MP 9-03)” and “Compost for Erosion/Sediment Control (Compost Blankets/MP 10-03)” were adopted by AASHTO as “provisional specifications,” which allows them to be evaluated and trailed by state Departments of Transportation (DOT). Feedback on the specifications is part of a fairly lengthy process of bringing them to full AASHTO standards. Ron Alexander of R. Alexander Associates developed the specifications as part of a contract with the Recycled Materials Resource Center (RMRC), based at the University of New Hampshire in Durham. RMRC's work is funded by the Federal Highway Administration, which supports the use of recycled materials on state and federal highway projects.
BioCycle worked with RMRC and R. Alexander Associates in preparing the final report, which was mailed in late September to various individuals within the state DOTs. The report, “National Erosion/Sediment Control Specifications For Composted Products,” includes the AASHTO specifications, as well as sections on what compost is and how it can be used to effectively control erosion and sediment related to highway projects. Summaries of research findings, existing state DOT specifications for highway use of compost and a comprehensive bibliography are included in the report. BioCycle is preparing a manual on using compost for erosion/sediment control and storm water management, that will build on the information in the RMRC report. Case studies, additional research summaries and end user training materials will be included in the more comprehensive document. The manual also will be used as part of the workshop at BioCycle's West Coast Conference 2004, to be held March 15-17 in Portland, Oregon. The workshop, “Erosion Control And Storm Water Management With Compost,” is scheduled for Wednesday, March 17th. Go to www.biocycle.net for details on the manual and the upcoming workshop.

HEALTHY HERD OF MICROBES HELPS ON-FARM COMPOST PRODUCTION
“Producing and using compost is a great place to start and to continue learning about soil fertility and plant health management. Compost is a key building block of organic farming,” write John Biernbaum and Andy Fogiel of MIchigan State University in The Organic Broadcaster. The Broadcaster is a bimonthly newspaper of the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service based in Spring Valley, Wisconsin. Following are excerpts from the Biernbaum/Fogiel article:
“Making compost is managing a microbe farm. We start with balancing the carbon and nitrogen. Microbes will use the plant material or animal manure as a food source. Carbon will be lost as carbon dioxide, and the volume of the pile will decrease.
“Certain microbes, particularly bacteria, use more nitrogen, so if there is more nitrogen in the feedstock, there will be more bacteria. If there is less nitrogen, other microbes - particularly fungi - will take over feeding on the organic matter. A safe rule of thumb for starters is to use three times the amount of carbon materials than nitrogen materials (based on weight), and adjust the mix based on whether the pile heats up or not.
“When making high quality compost for special purposes like transplant media, high tunnel soil amendment or compost tea, a variety of materials can be mixed by layering them in a manure spreader and then emptying the spreader to create a well mixed pile.”
In summarizing their excellent and comprehensive instructions, the MSU faculty at the Department of Horticulture point out that “Making high quality compost requires some practice, experience and experimentation. There is not agreement on one best way to make compost and many different methods will work. Start with a 'resource' approach rather than a 'waste' approach. Work to increase the diversity of stock materials. Ask the hard questions about how to make a quality product that will have the most beneficial effect on your soil.” Biernbaum is a professor of horticulture, and Andy Fogiel, a graduate student, also serves as chair of the Michigan Composting Council. For details about The Organic Broadcaster, contact Paul Bransky or Faye Jones, at (608) 735-4779; e-mail: broadcaster@mwt. net or visit: www.mosesorganic. org/ob/intro.htm.

$200,000 ALLOCATED FORRAPID INCIDENCE RESPONSE PROJECT RELATED TO BIOSOLIDS RECYCLING
The Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) has allocated $200,000 to move forward on the top ranked research project identified at the recent Biosolids Research Summit (see “Summit Identifies Biosolids Research Needs,” September 2003). That project, Methodology for Implementing a Rapid Incident Response Mechanism, will aim to create a scientifically defensible method for responding to claims of adverse health effects from biosolids land application, according to a recent announcement from WERF, which adds that the project also will begin to answer the National Research Council's call for a national rapid incident response network.
The first step, says WERF, will be to work with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to gather a group of diverse stakeholders to draft a scope of work for an acceptable pilot project. The pilot, a necessary first step, will determine how a full-scale project should be conducted. “Although a full-scale project would require funding beyond what WERF can currently afford, we are committed to moving this high-priority project forward as best we can,” says Glenn Reinhardt, executive director of WERF.
Participants at the Biosolids Research Summit, held July 28-30 in Alexandria, Virginia, identified research needed to address concerns regarding land application of Class A and/or Class B treated sewage sludge/biosolids. A total of 31 suggested research projects came out of the summit. WERF is meeting with U.S. EPA to determine which of the 31 research projects are likely to be identified for funding by EPA, and which projects WERF is likely to fund in 2004 and beyond. WERF expects to fund $1.5 million/ year in biosolids-related research projects, as it has for the last several years.
A report from the summit will be available in late fall on the WERF website (www.werf.org). A list serve has been set up to provide regular updates on WERF's progress on the outcomes of the summit (http://www.werf.org/ community/list_services.cfm).

DIGESTION SYSTEMS USED ON FARMS AND BY
COMMUNITIES IN GERMANY
The German federal government has calculated that biogas can replace 5.5 percent of the natural gas consumption in Germany. That estimate reflects the major advances which have taken place in anaerobic digestion technology in recent decades. In the 1950s, biogas production began with about 20 plants operating on German farms, but the very low cost of fuel caused people to abandon new biogas plants.
Through the 1980s, however, as oil prices rose, manufacturers and farmers actively pursued this technology, building 150 agricultural biogas plants in Germany. The “Stromeinspeisungsgesetz” (a law requiring power companies to purchase and make available alternatively produced electric power) came into effect in 1991.
Steadily, growth in agricultural biogas plants in Germany became impressive. In 1994, there were 186 plants; the total more than doubled by 1997 to 450. In 2000, the number rose to 1,050, and in 2001, the total listed was 1,650. This year, about 2,000 plants are operating.
One firm based in Tannhausen, Germany - LIPP GmbH - reports that it has built agricultural, community and industrial AD plants using what it calls the “Double Fold System,” processing such feedstocks as municipal biosolids, slurry and manure. Explains Roland Lipp of Lipp Company, “The modular construction consists of a stainless steel sludge container and an integrated gas buffer storage, together with all necessary technical components and safety fittings.” For additional information about the Lipp anaerobic digestion system and developments in Germany,
visit www.lipp-systems.de.

U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS APPROVES COMPOST AND MULCH BMPS
Scott McCoy, composting specialist for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), reports the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has included compost/mulch filter berms, erosion control compost and filter socks as Best Management Practices in the 401 water quality certification conditions as part of the Nationwide Permit. Under Erosion Control, it states that at least “one of the following BMPs must be maintained and remain in place until the area has been stabilized.” Included as BMPs are erosion control compost and compost and mulch filter berms and socks. The same applies for Sedimentation Control and Post-Construction Total Suspended Solids Control. “It's taken a lot of work but I'm really happy the Corp of Engineers has made this a national permit,” says McCoy. Details are available through the following link: http://www.tnrcc. state.tx.us/permitting/waterperm/wqstand/401cert.html or by emailing Scott McCoy at smccoy@tceq.state.tx.us.

OLD RUNNING SHOES KEEP ON TRUCKIN'
The National Recycling Coalition (NRC) and Nike, Inc. announced in September that their one-year-old partnership to recycle used athletic shoes will add 50 new recycling programs to the 32 that participated last year. All of the organizations will collect and store old athletic shoes in the coming year. When enough shoes have been collected to fill a 27-foot trailer (about 5,000 pairs), Nike arranges for the shoes to be picked up and shipped to its recycling facility in Wilsonville, Oregon. Nike officials report that the company recycles approximately one to two million pairs of postconsumer and defective shoes each year, many of them used to make new sports surfaces.
Some examples of operating programs include: Central Contra Costa Solid Waste Authority, California - Curbside recycling program will add collection bags for worn-out athletic shoes; Connecticut Recyclers Coalition (CRC) - Last year, some 7,000 pairs of shoes were collected. “Engaging area schools in the collection efforts was a big hit,” says Evelyn Golden of the CRC. “Student enthusiasm amplified the program and helped them understand the importance of recycling.”

WIN-WIN MATERIALS EXCHANGE PROGRAMS GO ON (AND IN) PARADE
“Welcome to the world of materials exchange programs,” reports Parade magazine (8/31/03) enthusiastically. “These clearinghouses, often run by state agencies, are designed to keep usable but unwanted goods and raw materials out of landfills by helping companies find interested users. And, in today's tough economic times, materials exchanges are more popular than ever for businesses and individuals alike.” To get its message across, Parade cites many specific examples of offers for the taking free or for a small fee: a 120-seat planetarium with star machine (Massachusetts); old-growth timbers from a vintage barn (Minnesota); a 66-foot pedestrian bridge (Vermont). “There are great deals in everything from buckets to mulch,” the article notes. And as an example on what the exchanges can do for waste reduction, Parade quotes the director of the Business Materials Exchange of Wisconsin: “Last year, our growth was over 1,000 percent. To date, we've kept more than 15 million pounds out of the local landfills.”

EXPENSIVE FERTILIZER BLAMED FOR COLLAPSE
OF FARMER-OWNED COOPERATIVE
Two years ago, the nation's largest farmer-owned co-op - Farmland Industries - formally opened its new sleek Kansas City headquarters. This autumn, Farmland is preparing to close its doors and the high price of natural gas used to make fertilizer was cited as a big part of its problems. “In the 1990s, the cash cow for Farmland's growth spurt was fertilizer,” reports a business analysis article in The New York Times. “From 1990 to 1999, Farmland reported nearly $700 million in cumulative profits, largely from increasing fertilizer sales.” Then the price of natural gas began soaring - shooting up from $2 for gas with one million B.T.U. of energy to over $10 in December 2000.
The losses hit when Farmland was building big-time, including a huge, expensive fertilizer plant in Kansas. “By early 2002, the fertilizer business was losing a lot of money,” The Times reports. Company executives are now working to create a trust that will liquidate the co-op's assets, and Farmland will eventually be leaving its six-story headquarters in Kansas City. Some of the better co-ops, according to experts interviewed, are more “narrowly focused,” like Florida's Natural Growers. Meanwhile, the search for renewable power sources that would be lower than natural gas and the push to use natural fertilizers like compost - take on ever greater importance.

Copyright 2003, The JG Press, Inc.