Teru Talk Newsletter
Volume VI, Issue 12, March
23,
2016
Teru Talk by Michael
Theroux (pronounced
"Terú")
Teru's Trash Talk
Spring sprung last Saturday,
and now that Spring has sprung
… we find that Society is
trying hard to get a grip on
what we continue to do to our
lively, lovely home planet. We
can argue the merits of the
many attempts at Climate
Change, Coal Plants, Carbon
Sequestration, energy this and
water that. Yet through it all,
one thing remains constant:
Trash.
You can count
on Trash.
The political parties may have
dissembled to spitting matches;
the hopes and fears on El Nino
may have been reduced to El
Nada. Forests shrivel and crisp
awaiting the next firestorm.
Beetle infestations are diggin’
the dry wood – they hated that
sticky sap anyway. Work has
slowed to a crawl; the Money
remains in hiding for all but
the most lucrative projects.
But at least there are
some
things
that you can count on: you can
count on an overwhelming,
continuous supply of
Trash.
The popularity of the Circular
Economy concept is based in
part on acceptance of the
reality that we just might run
out of something we really,
really want and need
(horrors!), at the very least
causing New Stuff to cost more.
We are learning to give
marketing kudos to companies
who show more Corporate
Responsibility, not just Going
Green with fleets of biofueled
trucks, not just Utility
agreements with wind farms and
acres of solar panels, but
companies who work to send
nothing
to be
landfilled. Think of that for a
moment: massive factories
touting Zero Waste to
Landfill.
It isn’t that those corporate
giants don’t make Trash; we all
do that: we all acquire new
stuff and generate old stuff
that has to go somewhere else.
Yes, it is very important to
find new uses for old stuff: it
really does make a difference
if we make things last longer,
then find secondary
‘repurposed’ uses. But at the
magical point when we no longer
consider things of use, can’t
find secondary uses for them,
and can’t even give them away
to someone else to use, those
items can rightfully be called
discards, detritus,
trash
.
The crux then is not with
the trash we make, it is
what we
do
with
it.
Waste Conversion systems are
bottom-feeders. After
everything possible has
postponed the making of Trash,
systems that can take that old
crud and tear it apart to
foundation chemicals can step
in and recover the remaining
resources. The alternative to
recovery is disposal. Waste
conversion for resource
recovery puts the resources
back
into
that circular materials
flow, while disposal
takes those same
resources out of the flow
and sends them to
landfill.
Resource projects need three
basic elements: a reliable long
term supply of feedstock, a
clean and economical process,
and solid long-term off-take
agreements. In a world where
materials to make new things
are constantly becoming harder
to find, that front-end
feedstock becomes increasingly
important. But when other
materials sources fail, we can
always rely on
Trash.
Hey Rube!
It seems that everybody is
arranging Workshops right now,
and a great many of those
sessions are provided at no
charge. Some preface up-coming
Requests for Proposals, others
offer timely training on
crucial concepts and critical
programs. Workshops are two-way
in nature: those that host them
also want feedback. Step up,
tune in, and
engage.
The Week's Top Story
Hertfordshire
Council Accepts Veolia's
Revised Waste Recovery
Proposal
Hertfordshire County Council
has accepted in principle a
revised project plan put
forward by Veolia ES
Hertfordshire Limited for the
treatment of the county’s
residual waste.
03/15/2016
The Week's News
CEC Workshop
Seeks Stakeholder Input on
Biofuels Program
Investments
California Energy Commission
(CEC) staff will conduct a
public workshop on March 30,
2016 from 9am to 1pm in
Sacramento for the Biofuels
Program of the Alternative and
Renewable Fuel and Vehicle
Technology Program (ARFVTP).
03/18/2016
EPA Hosts
Workshop on Biomass in
Stationary Source Carbon
Strategies
The US Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is hosting a
public workshop for states and
stakeholders to share their
successes, experiences, and
approaches to deploying biomass
in ways that have been, and can
be, carbon beneficial.
03/18/2016
BNDC Hosts
Biomass Heating for Remote
and Rural Communities
Workshop
The Ministry of Natural
Resources and Forestry's
Biomass North Development
Centre (BNDC) is presenting a
workshop focused on biomass
heating for rural and remote
communities.
03/17/2016
Researchers
Look at Generating
Electricity from Tomato
Waste
A team of scientists is
exploring an unusual source of
electricity that uses damaged
tomatoes that are unsuitable
for sale at the grocery store.
03/16/2016
WRAP Unveils
Courtauld Agreement 2025 to
Reduce Food
Waste
The United Kingdom's (UK)
resource efficiency charity
WRAP has unveiled a pioneering
commitment, which brings
together organizations from
across the food system for the
first time to make food and
drink production and
consumption more sustainable
for the future.
03/15/2016
BIODEX-SA
First Company in Tunisia to
Earn RSB
Certification
The Roundtable on Sustainable
Biomaterials (RSB) has
announced that BIODEX-SA, the
first company to collect waste
oils and transform them into
biodiesel in Africa is also the
first in Tunisia to earn RSB
certification.
03/14/2016
IBI Now
Offers Online Training
Course on
Biochar
International Biochar
Initiative (IBI) has announced
its online biochar course,
Biochar Training for
Environmental Sustainability
and Economic Development, an
intensive training series on
all aspects of biochar,
presented by leading biochar
experts.
03/14/2016
The Week's Action
Items
Due
04/06/2016: Response to
DOE's RFI on Integrated
Biorefinery
Optimization
The US Department of Energy
(DOE), Office of Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy
(EERE) Bioenergy Technologies
Office (BETO) has issued
Request for Information (RFI)
DE-FOA-0001481 to request
feedback on issues related to
"challenges encountered with
the successful scale-up and
reliable operation of
integrated biorefinery plants
(IBRs)."
03/14/2016
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