Teru Talk Newsletter

Teru's Trash Talk

We see the garbage going out of the kitchen, debris leaving the construction site, bins of trash behind the supermarket. There’s an infrastructure that manages the dry solid waste and another that manages wet waste or sewage. But that is just a part of the total waste we generate in a region. What kinds of resources really get wasted, contaminated, used once and discarded, left to rot? Burned or buried or both, just to make room for more garbage? You can bet it isn’t just the stuff that goes in the can, gets trucked to the pick-apart station, sold off, or dumped. And if we’re really going to think about implementing an effective Net Zero Waste policy, shouldn’t we figure out what other regional resources we are really wasting?

Say you have six towns in two valleys, a couple of decent industrial centers, and the inevitable sprawl of a Shopping Mall (also known as a large-volume pre-trash production center). There’s a scattering of residences and businesses around the city centers, long stretches of agriculture outside of those community clusters, coastal links to marine industries, and maybe forests nearby. Trash trucks and sewer lines only go so far. We need look further. For now, let’s just consider the complexities of the region’s less-managed Wasted Organic Resources.  

Efficient resource use is a big part of this puzzle. Food comes from wise water use and well-farmed dirt, so we make the drip and the fertilizer application more precise. Then to ensure produce marketability, we discard the ugly produce we’ve grown before it ever reaches the markets, veggies that are about 60% water. We also toss out the food scraps, out-of-date dairy and over-ripe melons; wasting more water along with the ready-to-rot organics.

Food waste is messy and not easily handled by the existing wet/dry infrastructure. Mixed into the dry municipal solid waste, it’s almost impossible to separate and recover. Sending it down the sewer can build big "fat-burg" clogs. Once again: application of more thought is needed to retrofit, expand, and optimize regional wet and dry waste management infrastructure if we expect to recover resource value and accomplish Net Zero Waste.

Hey Rube!

The California Energy Commission (CEC) continues to expand the boundaries of recovering resource value, and is again seeking public input. Really, CEC gets it: Recovering Regional Resources equals Saving State Energy. This Friday is due-date for comments to the CEC regarding gaps in the state’s research in the Industrial, Agricultural, Water and Wastewater, and Disadvantaged Communities sectors. We’ve just pointed out some of those more-thought-needed topics. Look around your own region, and see where more Applied Thought is needed. What still goes to waste despite all our careful management? Then lovingly send the agency this Trash Talk, and add your own thoughts about what could and should be accomplished. Worth a shot, eh? 

This Week's Top Story

Bio-On and Moore Capital Plan First Bio-Plastic Facility in Brazil

Italian company Bio-on S.p.A. and Moore Capital have signed a license agreement to build the first Brazil-based facility to produce PHAs bio-plastic from sugar cane co-products. 09/17/2015

The Week's News

CEC Publishes CR&R Anaerobic Digestion Merit Review Presentation

In preparation for its first Technology Merit Review Workshop, the California Energy Commission (CEC) has published a presentation by CR&R, Inc detailing their work to develop their Anaerobic Digestion (AD) facility in Perris, California. 09/17/2015

ZeaChem Signs MOU with Pure Cultures for Biotech Pilot

Colorado based ZeaChem, Inc has announced entering a Product Development and Supply Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Pure Cultures, a producer of high-quality probiotic products. 09/17/2015

Eneco's Biomass Plant in Delfzijl Will Also Produce Sustainable Steam

Netherlands energy company Eneco has announced that it will retrofit its Bio Golden Raand biomass electricity plant in Delfzijl for the production of steam as well as electricity, enabling the plant to generate double the amount of sustainable energy using the same amount of biomass. 09/17/2015

New Forest Waste Conversion Technology Debuts in Placer County

Placer County, California, has announced the demonstration in Auburn of a new technology for converting forest waste into renewable natural gas. 09/16/2015

Xylem Partners with Rentricity for Hydroelectric Energy Generation

New York headquartered Rentricity and international water service technology company Xylem have announced an exclusive partnership to advance recovery of waste energy from in-pipe water pressure reduction. 09/15/2015

Water Sector Groups Provide Guidance for Direct Potable Reuse

Three key national water focused associations have announced release of a seminal waste water recovery and reuse whitepaper, entitled Framework for Direct Potable Reuse (DPR). 09/15/2015

Algenol Begins Commercial Distribution of Algae-Based Ethanol

Algenol Biotech LLC has announced a teaming agreement with Protec Fuel Management to market and distribute ethanol from Algenol’s Fort Meyers, Florida, commercial demonstration plant. 09/14/2015

Global Bioenergies Successfully Adds Renewable Isobutene to Bottled Butane

The Comité Français du Butane et du Propane (CFBP) and Global Bioenergies have announced a partnership to incorporate renewable isobutene in commercial butane. 09/14/2015