BioCycle World :: BioCycle, Advancing Composting, Organics Recycling & Renewable Energy

BioCycle World

BioCycle January 2010, Vol. 51, No. 1, p.

Sustainable Agriculture Conference To Feature Composting
The Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture’s (PASA) 19th Annual Farming for the Future Conference has several sessions dedicated to topics on composting and soil management.

Workshops include On-Farm Composting: Feeding Your Soil & Your Community (facilitated by BioCycle editors); Advanced Organic Soil Amendments; Beginning Humanure: The Missing Link in Sustainable Agriculture; Backyard Composting Basics & Raised Garden Beds; and An Introduction to Biochar as a Soil Amendment.

The conference will take place February 4-6, 2010 in State College at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel. Sustainable agriculture experts from around the country will educate farmers, gardeners and farmer-hopefuls on a wide range of topics relating to this year’s theme: The Sustainable Challenge: Providing for a Livable Tomorrow. For more info on the conference, visit: www.pasafarming.org.

End Of An Era: CalRecycle Is The “New” CIWMB
CalRecycle is the new home of California’s recycling and waste reduction efforts. CalRecycle was created on January 1, 2010 as a result of legislation signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on July 28, 2009 that abolished the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) and transferred its duties, programs and staff to the new Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (DRRR) under the Natural Resources Agency. The legislation also moved the Division of Recycling from the Department of Conservation to CalRecycle, along with its responsibilities related to beverage container recycling. Margo Reid Brown, previously chair of CIWMB, was appointed by Schwarzenegger as chief deputy director of CalRecycle.

DRRR is made up of two divisions: the Division of Waste Recovery and Division of Recycling. The Division of Waste Recovery promotes the goals of Zero Waste California in partnership with local government, industry and the public. It manages the approximately 93 million tons of waste generated each year by reducing waste whenever possible, decreasing greenhouse gas emissions, promoting management of all materials to their highest and best use, and regulating the handling, processing and disposal of solid waste. The Division of Recycling manages the the California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act. It is responsible for participant certification and registration, oversees compliance by program participants, and administers programs mandated in statute related to beverage container recycling. It provides grant funding, technical assistance and education. The website for the new department is www.calrecycle.ca.gov.

UK Household Fills Just One Trash Bin In 2009
Strict source separation for composting and recycling, creative reuse and conscientious purchasing allowed a family of three in Gloucestershire to reduce their annual garbage production in 2009 to 5 kilos (11 pounds), filling less than half of one curbside bin. The only waste items left remaining were old pens, a few broken plastic toys, and a few snack wrappers that could not be recycled.

The Strauss family’s initiatives are led by the mother, Rachelle, but all members are involved. All food wastes, along with soiled paper, are collected in a kitchen pail and composted in the backyard of the family’s twin home. Also included in the compost are pet fur, dust, egg cartons and vacuum cleaner contents. Finished compost is used in the vegetable garden and flowerbeds. A shed out back holds firewood used for heating in the winter, as well as shelves and boxes for sorting recyclables. Groceries are purchased with packaging in mind, avoiding those with nonrecyclable materials. The family brings their own reusable containers to the market for items such as meat, cheese and olives. The Strausses plan to eliminate garbage completely in 2010.

Mandatory GHG Emissions Reporting At Landfills
The mandatory greenhouse gas reporting rule finalized by USEPA in September went into effect on January 1, 2010. The rule requires the monitoring, calculating and reporting of GHG emissions at landfills whether or not landfill gas (LFG) is collected. It applies to both open and closed MSW landfills with greater than 385,000 tons of waste in place — accepted after January 1, 1980 — and that generate a minimum of 25,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent (MTCO2E) per year. Reporting for 2010 must be submitted by March 31, 2011. R.W. Beck, now a wholly-owned subsidiary of SAIC (a consulting conglomerate), says that a general rule of thumb, based on modeling of test cases, has determined that landfills with “the potential to generate as little as 200 standard cubic feet/minute of LFG can be subject to the rule. Many landfills may need to change their operations by January in regards to flow meter calibration frequency, landfill gas temperature, pressure and moisture monitoring and methane monitoring frequency.” For a copy of a new R.W. Beck fact sheet on the landfill emissions monitoring requirements, email koskovichm@saic.com.

Community Benefits Of Land Revitalization
Building sustainable industries on former brownfield sites — including urban farms — is a central theme of the USEPA’s Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization. A new publication, Building Vibrant Communities: Community Benefits of Land Revitalization (October 2009) offers tips on brownfield redevelopment and features case studies of successful projects. For example, the City of Houston’s EPA Sustainability pilot helped transform a former 300-acre landfill into a solar power farm in a blighted neighborhood that is 10 minutes from the downtown, creating jobs and renewable power. In New Britain, Connecticut, a 3-acre urban brownfield property was cleaned up and developed as an urban farm and community garden. Urban Oaks Organic Farm employs neighborhood residents, as well as invites 10 local teenagers each summer to participate in a 10-week, paid position program that offers hands-on organic and sustainable farming educational training. Greensgrow Farm in Philadelphia opened in 1997 on a former industrial site as a hydroponic garden. Today, the property has raised beds of organic soil filled with numerous vegetable and herb plants, a farm stand and a nursery. Building Vibrant Communities also covers brownfield redevelopment projects related to arts and culture, housing and mixed uses, and community centers and civic uses. A PDF can be downloaded at: http://www. epa.gov/brownfields/policy/comben.pdf.

Feed-In Tariff Legislation
Feed-in tariff legislation was introduced in two state legislatures in early January. AB 649, proposed in the Wisconsin state assembly, directs the state’s Public Service Commission to determine the specifics of a feed-in tariff program for renewable energy. AB 649 includes provisions for wind, solar PV and biogas. Only utilities with sales greater than 2.5 TWh per year will be required to offer the feed-in tariffs. (TWh is a terawatt, equal to one million megawatts.) Importantly, notes Paul Gipe, a well-known expert on feed-in tariffs, AB 649 stipulates that the price paid per kilowatt-hour must include the cost of generation for that type of generator, a reasonable rate of return, and any federal or state incentives, such as the federal renewable energy tax credit. Thus, the tariffs offered will not be based on “avoided cost” as in California, or the value of the electricity to the utility.

Feed-in tariff legislation also was introduced in the Indiana state assembly. AB 1190 proposes a comprehensive set of tariffs, being called Advanced Renewable Energy Contracts, including ones for biogas. More details on these and other feed-in tariff legislation can be found at Gipe’s website, http://www.wind-works.org.

Massachusetts Material Trader
The Massachusetts Material Trader is a free online material exchange network, funded by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It provides a forum for both listing surplus materials and inventory, as well as locating items to purchase or trade. Simply create a company profile, and then post listings for items that your business no longer wants or needs. Categories include construction and demolition (C&D) materials, electronics, organic wastes, equipment and vehicles, household items, metal, paper, plastic, etc. For more information, and to start an exchange, visit www.massmaterialtrader.com.

Integrated UK Food Policy
A new report released from Her Majesty’s Government announces a strategy to coordinate food policy across government agencies. Titled “Food 2030,” the 84-page report calls for food security in the United Kingdom (UK) by the year 2030, integrating several areas, including better farming practices, sustainable food production, reducing greenhouse gas emissions from food systems, and reducing, reusing and reprocessing food sector wastes.

The report notes that personal food choices are an important factor: “We also need to provide the right information for people to make more informed choices about what they eat. Diet will have a huge impact not only on our health and our economy, but most importantly on sustainability.” In terms of food waste the report cites current statistics, noting that of the 18 to 20 million metric tons of food waste generated in the UK annually, the largest sector is household organics, which account for 8.3 million metric tons. An estimated 65 percent of this is avoidable, which represents £12 billion (19.36 billion USD), or £480/year per household (774.36 USD). Besides reducing the amount of food wasted, the report supports reducing excess packaging, making essential packaging recyclable or compostable, and promoting composting and anaerobic digestion (AD). Farms are urged to set up compost and AD facilities, encouraged to use compost and digestate as fertilizers, and to use combined heat and power to make food production more sustainable. To download the report, go to: http://www.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/food/strategy/index.htm.

U.S. Farmers Markets Grow By 13 Percent
The online Farmers Market Directory lists 5,274 farmers markets in the U.S., up from 4,685 in 2008, a 13 percent increase. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS) has been tracking farmers markets nationwide since 1994. “Farmers markets assure that consumers have easier access to local fruits and vegetables and this growth demonstrates the incredible interest consumers have in purchasing from local producers,” says Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a press release. “Farmers markets also connect the community to local farmers who produce the fresh food, and play an important role in the direct marketing of produce to local consumers.”

USDA recently launched the “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” initiative, intended to develop local and regional food systems, as well as spur economic growth. Promoting farmers markets are an integral part of the initiative. A national database of farmers markets is available at www.ams.usda.
gov/farmersmarkets. For more on the “Know Your Farmer” initiative, visit www.usda.gov/knowyourfarmer.

Organics Diversion In Thailand
A pilot project was launched in Thailand in December to explore composting as a feasible and effective waste management option. The project will demonstrate the use of compostable bags to collect household organics and the production of compost from organic waste. The potential production of finished compost in Thailand is estimated to be 6 million tons/year, and is seen as a possible export commodity.

The project is part of an initiative to develop the bioplastics industry in Thailand. The pilot is organized by the National Innovation Agency, German Technical Cooperation, Thai Bioplastics Industry Association, and BASF. The compostable bags will be made from BASF’s Ecoflex, a biodegradable resin, compounded with locally available cassava starch and calcium carbonate. The pilot is located in the Kradangar District of Samut Songkhram Province, and will include approximately 730 households. An outreach group of community leaders and students will provide guidance.