REGIONAL ROUNDUP

BioCycle October 2003, Vol. 44, No. 10, p. 18

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
PROPOSALS UNDER REVIEW FOR NEW BIOSOLIDS
MANAGEMENT FACILITY
What started in the 1970s with denial of Philadelphia's request to renew its permits for ocean disposal has evolved into a multifaceted biosolids management program that includes composting, land reclamation and landfilling. “Early lessons were painful,” recalls William Toffey, biosolids marketing manager for the city of Philadelphia Water Department, in the Summer-Fall 2003 newsletter of the Mid

-Atlantic Biosolids Association. “Full-scale composting was more difficult than it seems in the pilot stage, particularly in its odor impacts and huge inventories. The centrifuges were outmoded and needed expensive upgrading. A program with diversified products and outlets proved essential, but had to be recreated. A failsafe backup, such as landfill disposal, was essential, but was not immediately available, due to changes in law. The period 1988 to 1993 was a tough one, and very expensive. But a decade of relatively smooth operations has followed, and the successful programs have sorted themselves out between 1993 and 2003. Use of Class B cake for agriculture and for strip mine reclamation takes better than one-third of the 200,000 tons of biosolids cake production. An amount a little shy of one-third goes to aerated static pile composting. The balance is codisposed with trash in landfills. The labor force is relatively trim, and direct costs for operation and maintenance are not out of line with averages across the country.”
But continues Toffey, “Philadelphia is restless. The composting technology is obsolete and is very equipment and labor intensive. Odors around the Biosolids Recycling Center are likely to grow in nuisance potential as development around the nearby airport continues. Class B application projects in the rural community can still provoke concern and upset among neighbors. Since 1993, new technologies have been introduced and the 'bar' for excellent biosolids performance has been raised. Philadelphia now sees an opportunity to define its future in a 'proactive' way, rather than sit back and wait.”
The Philadelphia Water Department issued a Request for Qualifications in June 2003 as the first step to creating a new biosolids future for itself. Proposals were due on September 30th. The goal is to develop the capacity for “complete 'productification,' meaning the production of consumer products from biosolids as an input ingredient,” notes Toffey, adding that the city sees an opportunity to invite third parties to build and operate the facilities to accomplish this goal. For more information about where Philadelphia stands in this program, contact Bill Toffey (william.toffey@phila.gov).

New York, New York
REDUCING NITROGEN IN WASTEWATER
TO PROTECT A REGION'S WATERWAYS
While the Stamford (Connecticut) Water Pollution Control Authority is building a $105 million system for nitrogen reduction to address pollution in Long Island Sound, its director worries about New York City. An article by Kirk Johnson in The New York Times notes that 50 percent of all the nitrogen entering the Sound comes from the city's wastewater treatment plants on the East River. New York City, along with the state governments of New York and Connecticut and the U.S. EPA, have signed binding commitments to reduce nitrogen in the Sound, leading to a 58 percent reduction by 2014, compared with 1990 levels, reports Johnson. However, he writes, “Many people think the city is wavering in its commitment.” New York City's Commissioner of Environmental Protection, Christopher Ward, said last spring that the city would begin looking at its alternatives for reducing nitrogen inputs into surrounding waterways, but noted that it is also under pressure to protect the city's drinking water supplies in upstate New York or face construction of a $6 billion water filtration plant. Ward told The Times that removing nitrogen from the Sound should be “chipped away at,” which causes concern among other stakeholders that already are spending the millions necessary to comply.
Typically, treatment plants reduce nitrogen in wastewater using large holding tanks, but there's a shortage of open space around most of the city's plants and alternatives could cost $1.3 billion. Commissioner Ward said that the city was not trying to get out of its commitments, but that “he believed the region should have a debate about the costs and benefits of all its environmental projects and goals…”

Raleigh, North Carolina
RECYCLING BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT GRANTS AVAILABLE
The North Carolina Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance (DPPEA) is conducting a Recycling Business Development grant cycle for FY 2003-04. DPPEA has committed $300,000 from the Solid Waste Management Trust Fund for this cycle. A request for proposals (RFP) was released in September. Applicants may request any amount of funding up to a maximum of $50,000; at least a 50 percent cash match to the requested amount (not including in-kind services) is required (e.g. $10,000 for $20,000 in funding). Private sector and nonprofit organization applicants are eligible for funding. Any material that can currently be disposed in an MSW landfill, C&D debris landfill, or land clearing and inert debris landfill is eligible, however special consideration will be given to priority materials including C&D, organics (except yard trimmings) and paper. Projects that involve the collection, processing or end use of materials in the solid waste stream are eligible. Proposals are due on November 21, 2003.
The RFP includes supplemental information on organics recycling. It includes the following examples of eligible projects: Source separation, collection and recycling of commercial and residential food residuals; Diversion of industrial organics from landfills; Utilization of recycled organics in agricultural applications; Market demand assessments for recycled organics; New uses for composts; Compost quality standards for different markets; and Compost use assessments. Projects that result in useful statewide information (such as guidance documents and scientifically-defensible investigations) will be “viewed favorably.” The RFP also includes supplemental information on C&D recycling. Examples of eligible projects include collection of segregated C&D waste streams, processing of source separated, specific C&D materials such as wood, and startup or expansion of deconstruction operations. To download the RFP, go to http://www. p2pays.org/ref/26/ 25977.doc. Questions can be directed to Matt Todd, program manager, at (919) 715-6522; matthew. todd@ncmail.net. Questions regarding the organics information supplement can be directed to brian.rosa@ncmail.net.

Fort Lupton, Colorado
BIOMASS RECOVERY FIRM WINS $2 MILLION GRANT TO
DEMONSTRATE ECONOMICS OF TECHNOLOGY
Last month, PureVision Technology, Inc. was selected for a $2 million award under the U.S. Farm Bill to demonstrate the economics of its biomass recovery system to convert corn stalks and other wastes into bioproducts including ethanol. Instead of refining oil, the PureVision process refines biomass (wood, farm and paper residues) into fibers, sugars, chemicals and energy. Sugars and fibers are raw materials that can be used for making bioplastics, hydrogen and high-purity pulp for textiles and paper. “We have to increase the use of renewable resources which benefit both the environment and the economy,” says Ed Lehrburger, President and CEO who can be contacted via email at: ed@purevisiontechnology.com.

Vancouver, British Columbia
CITY FARMER CELEBRATES 25 YEARS AS CANADA'S “OFFICE OF URBAN AGRICULTURE”
Promoting backyard food production, publishing a tabloid called City Farmer, and operating a compost hotline are some of the accomplishments that were noted at the Sept. 26-27 25th anniversary celebration of the Vancouver-based organization City Farmer. Adding to the festivities was the official launch of a new book by Spring Gillard (foreword by founder Michael Levenston) called Diary of a Compost Hotline Operator. The book is published by New Society. (www.newsociety.com)
In the foreword to Gillard's book, Levenston provides a history of City Farmer that includes the following: In 1978, a group of young environmentalists working at the Vancouver Energy Conservation Center decided to focus on getting urban people to grow more of their food. “Such a simple act struck us as revolutionary, especially when we realized there were other environmental and social problems that could be addressed as well. ... Every garden was a surprise, and our interest in all things to do with farming in the city grew.
“ ... In 1990, the provincial government began a program urging citizens to cut the amount of waste they send to landfills and suddenly composting was recognized as a useful technology for everyone, not just organic gardeners. The City of Vancouver and the Regional Government asked us to use our teaching garden to promote backyard and worm composting which we were happy to do because making rich soil is the foundation of urban agriculture.”
Congratulations to all the City Farmer staff as they move into their next quarter of a century of accomplishments. They can be contacted via email at:
composthotline@telus.net.

State College, Pennsylvania
MANUFACTURED SOILS CONFERENCE TO COVER BLENDS,
ECONOMICS AND SUCCESSFUL PROJECTS
The 2003 Manufactured Soils Conference is focusing on matching recycled materials with the needs of potential customers. To be held November 12-13 at the Toftrees Resort in State College, sessions during the morning of the first day will look at materials available for manufactured soils, including spent mushroom substrate, foundry sand and ground glass, manure and biosolids, ash, composted yard trimmings and dredge. During the afternoon, speakers will cover markets and economics, addressing such topics as transportation, cost/benefit of using recycled versus native materials, and the possible impact of nutrient management legislation on manufactured soils. The recently appointed Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Kathleen McGinty, will provide the keynote address.
The second day of the meeting gets into end product quality, including a look at soil quality for plant growth media and structural applications, and contaminants/pollutants and environmental risk. Reports from the field include use of manufactured soils in turf/landscape garden beds and for remediation of contaminated soils. The conference is sponsored by the Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania (PROP), with support from Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences and the state DEP. For details, call (800) 769-PROP or visit www.proprecycles.org.

San Jose, California
MIXED C&D PROCESSING FACILITY UPDATE
In July 2001, the city of San Jose's Construction & Demolition Diversion Deposit Program (CDDD) went into effect, creating an incentive for C&D companies to divert their debris (see “Giving A Boost To C&D Diversion,” March 2002). All residential and nonresidential new construction, alteration and demolition projects require a CDDD Clearance and Deposit before a building permit is issued. The other key piece of the CDDD program was to have certified facilities where generators could take the C&D to be processed, and receive the necessary receipts to retrieve their deposits. Certified facilities must recover at least 50 percent of the C&D materials received.
One of the certified facilities (profiled in the article cited above) is at Waste Management's Guadalupe Landfill in San Jose. The facility is designed to process 200 tons/day of mixed C&D debris. There are a number of sorting stations to remove various recyclables, including clean wood, ferrous and nonferrous, concrete/rock and cardboard/paper. Alex Gabel, recycling operations manager, reports that in 2002, about 50,000 tons of C&D material were processed (the first full year of operation). “The diversion rate is currently 67 percent, with a 25 percent credit for alternative daily cover (ADC) as allowed for under San Jose's CDDD program,” says Gabel. “Excluding the ADC credit, the diversion rate was 56 percent for the first year.” Clean wood represented about 20 percent of all materials recovered (by weight) but the highest amount by volume. Wood is processed into mulches, soil amendments and biomass. Painted and pressure-treated wood are allowed to pass through the processing line as residue ADC, he adds.

New York, New York
RECYCLED MATERIALS PROCESSING, MARKETING SOUGHT
New York City's sanitation commissioner has notified contractors that the deadline for proposals to process and market recyclables will be November 12, 2003. Before it discontinued curbside collection for glass, metal and plastic, New York collected 350,000 tons of the three materials in its 2001 curbside program. Curbside collection resumed for all materials by the summer of 2003. According to Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty, the city plans to select the company in December, awarding a contract early in 2004.

Copyright 2003, The JG Press, Inc.