Teru Talk Newsletter
Volume IV, Issue
48, December 1,
2014
Teru Talk by Michael
Theroux (pronounced
"Terú")
Teru's Trash Talk
What's a
"smart technology" or a
smart
city
for
that matter? It seems
these days there's often
reference to the
smartness
of
inanimate objects as if
there was actually a
brain inside the box. Can
we really tell a smart
system from a dumb
system?
Yes, yes - a
double-triple-quadruple
computer processor now fits
inside eye-wear. Shoes can tell
us which way to turn at the
corner, thanks to
smart
systems
enabling wearable technology.
Everybody everywhere is
collecting more and more
information from everything
else. Big Data has become
something to be warehoused and
mined. Analyzing the behavioral
patterns of toothbrush
selection in Burbank in
November is as accessible as
on-line grocery
shopping.
It was only a matter of time
until this trend of deeply
sensored and computerized
widgets and wonders would enter
the domain of waste management
and resource recovery. So, we
have to ask ourselves: is this
a good thing? Teru Talk answers
this crucial question with a
qualified Yes. Here are a few
"smart" Garbage to Goods, Waste
to Wealth instances and
examples to
ponder.
First, you can't manage what
you don't measure. All these
integrated sensors and computer
brains let us measure things in
near-real-time. It becomes
particularly important when we
are turning food scraps into
highly explosive biogas, or
adjusting minute amounts of
oxygen and catalyst in a
thermal retort processing
train. Everything is recyclable
with the right tools, yes, but
you had better know how
to use
those
tools so you know when and just
how much to tweak the
controls.
Even before you start a Waste
Conversion process, you need to
know all about what you're
going to feed that smart
technology. OK, so how much
food waste IS coming from the
region's restaurants and
supermarkets? How can you tell
with a "bankable" margin of
error? You put those little
sensors in the containers
behind the stores, and see
exactly how much of what goes
where, and when.
Cities can use Smart Technology
to collect Big Data with
far more sources of feedstock
and fewer staff. A Smart City
needs to keep close track of
all its waste-sourced resources
in order to integrate
smartened-up waste conversion
modules.
Finally,
we should remind ourselves that
there must be both smart
technology and smart operators.
All the cool tools in the world
won't make up for lazy,
uninformed or even
intentionally biased operation.
All the incoming data we can
gather doesn't mean a thing
unless we
actually know how to
LOOK at that detail, turn data
into information, add
experience to make knowledge,
and then carefully implement
what we've learned. The two
must progress together: we need
smart systems and smart
technologies,
and
we need
smart policies that include
training for managers and
systems operators. Having one
without the other is just …
dumb.
Hey Rube!
Teru
recently accepted a seat on the
Advisory Board of the
international Smart Cities
Council to assist in bringing
Smart Waste Management within
their wheelhouse. The real
trick however is with the
overall, City-wide integration
of smart energy, water, and
waste and resource management
services into the day-to-day
workings of our public systems.
Check out this week's news item
on how international giants
Veolia and IBM are tackling
that
task.
This Week's Top Story
Poll Shows
Canadians Overwhelmingly
Support
Energy-From-Waste
The Canadian Plastics Industry
Association commissioned a poll
in April 2014 to determine the
public's impression of
energy-from-waste (EFW).
11/24/2014
The Week's News
Lincolnshire
County Celebrates Launch of
New Energy from Waste
Facility
Lincolnshire County, England’s
new Energy from Waste (EfW)
facility in North Hykeham was
officially launched by
Secretary of State for
Business, Innovation and
Skills, Vince Cable, during an
opening ceremony last Thursday.
11/30/2014
Polystyrene
Recovery Program at LaSalle
Ecocenter Gets Five Year
Extension
The City
of Montreal and the
Canadian Plastics
Industry Association
(CPIA) have announced a
five-year extension of
the polystyrene recovery
and recycling program at
the LaSalle Ecocenter.
11/30/2014
ATS
Crowdfunds to Commercialize
Cellulose Mining from
Wastewater
California based Applied
CleanTech (ACT) has begun an
EquityNet crowdfunding campaign
to attract investment in their
patented Sewage Recycling
System (SRS), joining a growing
number of companies turning to
crowdfunding to raise
capital
.
11/26/2014
Alternative
Environmental Systems
Applies for Tire Pyrolysis
AQ
Permit
The Idaho Department of
Environmental Quality (DEQ) has
circulated notice that Nevada
based Alternative Environmental
Systems, LLC (AES) has filed an
application for an Air Quality
Permit to replace an existing
pyrolysis pilot plant with a
small commercial scale dual
retort batch processing train.
11/26/2014
Vega
Biofuels to Test Vencor's
Torrefied Wood to Augment
Its Own
Supply
Norcross, Georgia based Vega
Biofuels, Inc has announced
that demand for Bio-Coal has
outstripped its current
production capacity, and it is
exploring options to increase
both capacity and supply.
11/25/2014
Vitruvian
Energy Crowdfunds for
Sewage-to-Biofuel
Commercialization
Seattle, Washington based
Vitruvian Energy, SPC has
launched an IndieGogo
crowdfunding campaign to raise
$200,000 for "Community Sourced
Biofuel".
11/25/2014
Chempolis
and i3L Team to Develop
Biorefinery Projects in
Indonesia
Finland based company Chempolis
Ltd has signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) with the
Indonesia International
Institute for Life-Sciences
(i3L) to promote and develop
commercial biorefinery
projects.
11/24/2014
DOE Releases
November Update to
Multi-Year Bioenergy Program
Plan
The US Department of Energy's
(DOE) Bioenergy Technologies
Office (BETO) has released a
major update to its Multi-Year
Program Plan (MYPP), clarifying
goals and structure and
identifying the research,
development, demonstration, and
deployment (RDD&D)
activities the BETO will focus
on over the next five years.
11/24/2014
IBM and
Veolia Partner for Smarter
City Water, Energy, and
Waste
Services
The international Smart Cities
Council (SCC) has highlighted
news that SCC member IBM has
announced a partnership with
Paris-based Veolia to transform
City energy, water, and waste
management services.
11/24/2014
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