Monday, March 7, 2005

BioCycle West Coast Conference 2005
Composting, Organics Recycling & Renewable Energy
Where Principles And Profits Join Forces
March 7, 8, 9, 2005
San Francisco, California
Cathedral Hill Hotel

REGISTER NOW!

Reserve your hotel room at the Cathedral Hill Hotel today
Request the special BioCycle Conference Rate of $109 single/double per night.
(available until February 12)
Call (800) 622-0855 or (415) 776-8200

Note: Tours of recycling, composting systems at conference hotel and nearby restaurant to be offered Monday and Tuesday.
(Details will be available at BioCycle registration desk.)

MORNING 9:00 AM — 12:30PM
Plenary Session

MODELS TO MAXIMIZE DIVERSION

CALIFORNIA’S RECYCLING REPORT CARD
Progress in only state in U.S. with mandatory recycling goal; Overview of infrastructure; Role of organics, energy recovery to maintain, surpass 50% rate.
Judith Friedman, California Integrated Waste Management Board

UTILITY DISTRICT FORGES AHEAD IN BIOMASS UTILIZATION
From green waste to manure digestion; How regional utility plays major role in utilizing organics from solid waste stream; Case studies of projects.
Michael DeAngelis, Sacramento (CA) Municipal Utility District

CAN COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH IMPROVE PUBLIC RELATIONSHIPS?
Involving diverse stakeholders in research to study public health impacts of residuals recycling practices; Tools to help achieve credible and legitimate outcomes; Update on research committee formed as part of a biosolids land application ordinance.
Marci Coglianese, Mayor, Rio Vista (CA) (Retired)

EUROPEAN STRATEGY — ORGANICS KEY TO HIGH DIVERSION RATES
Potential for achieving 60 to 70 percent diversion by targeting biodegradable MSW; Assessing impacts of European Landfill Directive to meet goals; Blending mandatory and voluntary programs for effective resource management.
Kit Strange, Resource Recovery Forum, UK

Concurrent Session A
KEY COMPOSTING, ORGANICS RECYCLING TRENDS, 2005 – 2010

PRACTICAL, PROFITABLE STEPS TO MEET GOALS
From advances in Europe on biological treatment to C&D processing and source separation; Ordinances, technologies, composting methods to achieve goals.
Luis Diaz and Linda Eggerth, CalRecovery, Inc.

INCREASING RESIDUALS RECOVERY AT THE MUNICIPAL LEVEL
With three-stream service for 150,000 households and a thriving commercial organics recycling program, what lessons has San Francisco learned; Assessing program economics and rate structure; Evaluating cocollection of office paper and food scraps.
Jack Macy, City and County of San Francisco Recycling Program

IDENTIFYING DRIVERS THAT MAXIMIZE INDUSTRY GROWTH
Why a regional solid waste management company has targeted food scraps management as a significant contributor to its revenue stream; Role of public sector incentives to encourage private sector investments; Evaluating conversion technologies.
Robert Reed and Chris Choate, Norcal Waste Systems, Inc.

Concurrent Session B
KEY RENEWABLE ENERGY TRENDS, 2005 – 2010

DEVELOPING BIOGAS RENEWABLE ENERGY IN CALIFORNIA
Overview of Public Interest Energy Research program and its impact on biogas power from dairy manure, municipal sludges and food processing wastewater; Assessment of biogas production infrastructure in California and utility demand for energy produced.
George Simons, California Energy Commission

EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENERGY GENERATION
Assessing available feedstocks; Fuel uses and markets; Process alternatives — anaerobic digestion, gasification, fuel cells … and more; Key issues in decision-making process; National security perspectives.
George Savage, CalRecovery, Inc.

CONVERSION TECHNOLOGIES AS SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY
How conversion systems fit into integrated waste management hierarchy; Role of regulations and public policy to stimulate project development and private sector investment.
Fernando Berton, California Integrated Waste Management Board

AFTERNOON 1:45 PM — 6:00 PM
Concurrent Session A
BRINGING COHESION TO THE CALIFORNIA COMPOSTING INDUSTRY

WHAT AND WHO ARE THE CALIFORNIA COMPOSTING INDUSTRY
Historical overview, through the present day, of California’s composting industry; Using data from statewide survey to illustrate trends; Highlights of “crises” that have brought the industry together, and current issues that continue to drive it apart.
Matthew Cotton, Integrated Waste Management Consulting

CONTRACTING FOR COMPOSTING SERVICES — GENERATORS’ PERSPECTIVES
How municipal utilities responsible for managing hundreds of thousands of tons/year of highly compostable organic residuals view the California composting industry and its capability for fulfilling its processing demands; Exploring potential of public/ private partnerships.
Michael Moore, Orange County (CA) Sanitation Dist.
Doug Walters, City of Los Angeles Department of Public Works
Michele Young, City of San Jose (CA) Environmental Services Department

TIPS FOR SUSTAINABLE COHESION AND PROFITS
How to capitalize on common purposes to grow the industry (Hint: Composter A vs. Composter B does not sustain an industry niche but Composter A plus Composter B grows markets and profits).
Dan Noble, Association of Compost Producers

BUILDING HIGH VALUE COMPOST MARKETS

WHICH MARKETS HOLD THE HIGHEST PROFIT POTENTIAL?
Pricing high quality compost according to its end use values; Factoring in compost’s attributes that yield water savings, disease suppression and more productive soils in urban, suburban and agricultural regions.
Rod Tyler, Green Horizons/Filtrexx International

WATER EFFICIENT LANDSCAPE SOLUTIONS
Public/private collaboration in southern California that makes water efficient landscapes using compost a reality; Building bridges between water utilities, composters, construction and maintenance companies, landscape architects, nurseries.
John Gundlach, Inland Empire Utilities Authority

CREATING COMPOST BRANDS
Soil products company living proof that value and performance trumps feedstock phobias; Consumer and retailer education about compost; Including element of fun in product promotions.
Kathy Kellogg Johnson, Kellogg Supply

Concurrent Session B
MAXIMIZING POTENTIAL OF ANAEROBIC DIGESTION IN CITIES AND ON FARMS

TRENDS IN ANAEROBIC DIGESTION ON THE WEST COAST
Evaluating performance, energy output, economics; Technology advances and operating experiences; Trends and review of operating facilities.
Mark Moser, RCM Digesters, Inc.

ADVANCING ANAEROBIC DIGESTION IN LOS ANGELES
Revising the system for optimum results; Pros and cons with using thermophilic temperature regime; Achieving Class A biosolids after digestion phase; Next steps.
R. Tim Haug, City of Los Angeles Environmental Engineering Division

WHAT THE FUTURE LOOKS LIKE IN FARM-SCALE DIGESTION
Case studies of anaerobic digesters designed for dairy operations in California; Systems being used; Assessing performance and economics; Lessons learned.
Douglas Williams, Williams Engineering Associates

MANAGING RESIDUALS AT A FIG PROCESSING SITE
Why a Fresno, California company chose to solve its waste management problems with a digester; Economics of generating and using power on site.
Michael Emigh, Valley Fig Growers

THE PRESENT — AND FUTURE — FOR MANURE MANAGEMENT

SOLVING MANURE CHALLENGES BY PARTNERING, COMPOSTING AND POWER GENERATION
What to do with 800,000 tons of dried manure generated annually; Master plan to create partnerships with other industries; Setting up five composting projects to minimize air pollution, improve soil and water quality.
Bob Feenstra, Milk Producers Council

IMPROVING MANAGEMENT AND TREATMENT OF DAIRY MANURE
Evaluating technologies to process high volumes of manure in the San Joaquin Valley while protecting human health/natural resources from excessive emissions of ammonia, VOCs, methane, odors, N and salts; Collaboration among organizations.
James Liebman, US EPA Region 9

MANAGING AND APPLYING MANURE COMPOST ON WEST COAST FARMS
Overview of materials handling methods, mixing and applying feedstocks; Application rate and yields; Quantifying impact on irrigation cycles; Economics in field and marketplace.

RECEPTION