Teru Talk News

Teru Talk Newsletter

Volume IV, Issue 35, September 2, 2014 
Teru Talk by Michael Theroux (pronounced "Terú")  

Teru's Labor Day Trash Talk

There's one sure thing we get when we convert trash to goods: we get Jobs. Clean waste conversion creates a whole string of new jobs, all along the "value chain" that starts with the waste generator and ends with a raw material being added back into the manufacturing circuit.

Closing that Circular Economy loop can reduce the amount of crud going into the landfill, off-set petroleum fumes when biogas becomes available as vehicle fuel, and in general, lessens the load on the region's environment - all good. But waste conversion also provides new business opportunities. When a community collects and converts large quantities of food waste, money is made off the goo instead of paying to throw it away. Other folks get the same idea and bring their gooey food waste. Now we have an urban area that costs less on the bottom line for businesses that generate lots of organic waste. When an incoming restaurateur, supermarket, or food processing plant developer starts looking for a new location, lower waste management costs figure heavily into their siting decisions.

Here's another regional moneymaker: Business to Business (B2B) residuals reuse / conversion. That's where the residue and waste generated by one business becomes the input, the feedstock, for a second business. It takes a savvy municipal government to guide and facilitate B2B transfer, but in many areas of the world the concept is catching on with great results. There are certain rules of this road: the businesses have to be close, be willing to work together, and have the support of their surrounding community, including agencies willing to permit new ideas. Here's a plant that makes furniture - and loads of wood scraps. Next door is a plant that needs heat energy, lots of it. A clean conversion technology can turn the scraps of one plant into heat for the other.

It isn't just the solid and liquid wastes that need reuse and recycling. We all want to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) gaseous emissions being released into the atmosphere. That's one of the key tenants of addressing Climate Change. CO2 can also be a very useful and valuable commodity. Pure CO2 is what makes the bubbles in soft drinks. CO2 can be fed into a greenhouse; plants just love the stuff, and grow better and faster. Run CO2 across the right kinds of metals called catalysts, and liquid fuels drip out of the other end: Waste Gas to Fuel.

Before you toss something that you can't figure out how to reuse, look around to see if someone else might be able to use it - my neighbor's discarded old horse fencing makes great tomato cages. Colorful bottles can become cool glassware and lanterns in the hands of local charities. But for the bigger picture, encourage your city and county to organize the B2B process, match-making one business' residues with another company's needs. Proper reuse, recycling, and conversion are strong forces that can drive a regional economy forward. When a municipality smartly implements B2B waste reuse, recycling and conversion, they not only help close that resource recovery loop: they also create Jobs, Jobs, Jobs.

Hey Rube!

School's gonna be back in session this week all across the country; some poor kids are already totin' books. Look around your pencils and note pads, take the excess to your local school. See if they'd like help starting a compost bin and veggie garden. Beyond that, California's Energy Commission has Prop 39 school energy funding, and big schools make a lot of waste. Dig in.

Extra Reading

See our new article by guest author Ian Wakelin, CEO of Biffa. Talking in the Round  looks at who is driving the circular economy and what more needs to be done to support businesses.

This Week's Top Story

Ballard Deploys ElectraGen™-ME Fuel Cells at Global Telecon in Manila

British Columbia, Canada based Ballard Power Systems, Inc has announced that deployment of the first 20 Ballard methanol-fuelled ElectraGen™-ME backup power systems has been completed with Globe Telecom, a major provider of telecommunications services in the Philippines. 08/27/2014

The Week's News

Viet Nam Shrimp Pond Waste Project to Produce Electricity with Fuel Cells

The VietNamNet online newspaper has reported that a new project funded by the Japanese government will create renewable green energy from organic waste discharged in industrial-agricultural activities in Mekong Delta region. 09/01/2014

N-Viro Relocates Bioorganic Fuel Division to Central Florida

Ohio based N-Viro International Corporation has announced that it has relocated company assets from northeast to central Florida as part of a strategic plan to focus on international growth. 08/29/2014

B&W Hosts Congressman in South Florida Waste-to-Energy Plant #1 Tour

The Babcock & Wilcox Company (B&W) hosted Congressman Patrick Murphy for a tour of its Facility #1 waste to energy (WtE) plant in the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County Renewable Energy Park. 08/29/2014

Farmers in Central America Generate Energy From Coffee Wastewater

Amsterdam based UTZ Certified has published the results of a four-year project to prove that is possible to generate energy, tackle climate change, and protect water resources by treating discharges from coffee mills. 08/28/2014

Eisenmann & Forester University to Co-Host Anaerobic Digestion Webinar

Forester Communications has joined forces with the German based multi-national; Eisenmann Corporation to host an informational webinar on Anaerobic Digestion of Organic Waste Streams, scheduled for September 24, 2014. 08/28/2014

Paulee CleanTec Competes to Represent Israel in Global Clean Tech Open

Israeli waste conversion company Paulee CleanTec has been selected as one of six clean technology start-up companies to compete in Israel's national Clean tech Open finals being held on September 10, 2014 at Tel Aviv University. 08/27/2014

John Deere and Hillco Harvest Corn and Bale Corn Stover in One Pass

Idaho based Hillco Technologies, Inc, working in developmental partnership with John Deere, has developed a new system for harvesting corn and baling corn stover in one simple step. 08/25/2014

California BOF Requests Input on Forest Practices and Carbon Storage

The California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection (BOF) is requesting public and stakeholder input on the scope and analysis methodologies to help guide the agency's response to the Carbon Sink Act of 2010 (Assembly Bill 1504). 08/25/2014

The Week's Action Items

Due 10/15/2014: Statements of Interest for Clean Tech Funding to SDTC

Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) has announced that its SD Tech Fund™ and SD Natural Gas Fund™ are accepting Statements of Interest (SOI) from August 27 to October 15, 2014. 09/01/2014

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Recommended Reading:

Waste to energy conversion technology
Waste to energy conversion technology (Woodhead Publishing Series in Energy 2013)

 

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Teru Talk is an online publication of JDMT, Inc with the goal of opening the dialogue and providing current news and commentary on issues and successes associated with waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bio-based products for resource recovery.

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