Michael Theroux's Teru Talk addresses matters pertaining to waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuel,s and other bio-based products for resource recovery.
April 2016 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 04/27/2016
March 2016 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 03/31/2016
February 2016 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 02/27/2016
January 2016 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 01/30/2016
December 2015 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 12/31/2015
November 2015 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 11/28/2015
October 2015 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 10/30/2015
September 2015 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 09/30/2015
August 2015 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 08/28/2015
July 2015 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 07/31/2015
June 2015 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 06/30/2015
April 2015 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 04/29/2015
March 2015 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 03/31/2015
February 2015 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 02/28/2015
January 2015 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 01/30/2015
December 2014 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 12/31/2014
November 2014 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 11/30/2014
October 2014 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 10/30/2014
September 2014 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 09/29/2014
August 2014 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 08/29/2014
July 2014 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 07/31/2014
June 2014 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 06/30/2014
April 2014 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 04/30/2014
March 2014 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 03/31/2014
February 2014 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 02/28/2014
January 2014 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 01/31/2014
December 2013 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 12/31/2013
November 2013 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 11/30/2013
October 2013 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 10/31/2013
September 2013 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 09/30/2013
August 2013 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 08/31/2013
July 2013 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 07/31/2013
June 2013 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 06/29/2013
April 2013 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 04/29/2013
March 2013 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 03/29/2013
February 2013 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 02/28/2013
January 2013 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 01/31/2013
December 2012 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 12/31/2012
November 2012 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 12/03/2012
October 2012 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 10/30/2012
The “New Waste Management Paradigm” promotes the concept that the highest quantity of materials should be eliminated from the waste stream through source reduction and extended producer responsibility. Following efforts to reuse and recycle components of the waste stream, opportunities to convert the remaining materials into energy, biofuels, and compost should be preferred over landfill disposal.
September 2012 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 09/29/2012
August 2012 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 08/31/2012
July 2012 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: 07/31/2012
June 2012 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last update: June 30, 2012
April 2012 news and other matters on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery. Last updated 04/30/2012.
January 4, 2016 Newsletter Volume VI, Issue 1. Think backward along the path of the Circular Economy to build out the supply chains, and the market draw will follow.
January 18, 2016 Newsletter Volume VI, Issue 3. Envision the ingredients of our purchased goods making it all the way back to become new goods, and that circular pathway has to include both the product, and the wrapper.
January 25, 2016 Newsletter Volume VI, Issue 4. We need to consider both the environmental and the social impacts of every product made, used, un-made, remade, and used again.
February 8, 2016 Newsletter Volume VI, Issue 6. We must constantly re-define what the buzz-words mean in our own business endeavors: ‘Corporate Responsibility’, ‘Sustainability’ and for that matter, ‘Circular Economy’.
February 15, 2016 Newsletter Volume VI, Issue 7. Like magic, bright folks have figured out how to unmake plastic and turn plastic waste back into useful stuff, and back into Business.
March 7, 2016 Newsletter Volume VI, Issue 10. Without waste conversion, we'll not only run out of new resources, we'll run out of places to put all the old stuff.
March 23, 2016 Newsletter Volume VI, Issue 12. There are some things that you can count on: you can count on an overwhelming, continuous supply of Trash.
April 4, 2016 Newsletter Volume VI, Issue 13. Resource recovery can be more economical and environmentally sane than pillaging for virgin materials, but it takes work and doesn’t happen by accident.
April 18, 2016 Newsletter Volume VI, Issue 15. Let's start putting in local tools to convert local waste back into local raw materials. Our recycling bucket is full.
April 25, 2016 Newsletter Volume VI, Issue 16. There's a natural Earthly balance that provides what Humans need if they'd only take care of their home.
May 2, 2016 Newsletter Volume VI, Issue 17.We have become so enthused and inspired by implementing our on-going move of the Teru Talk headquarters that we have taken on a much larger task: moving our data.
January 5, 2015 Newsletter Volume V, Issue 1. Financial tidbits such as those that might come from off-set protocols and tariffs just improve the balance sheet.
January 12, 2015 Newsletter Volume V, Issue 2. We humans have one climate change target we can actually do something about: we can manage the breakdown of organic waste.
January 19, 2015 Newsletter Volume V, Issue 3. External validation is that magic milestone when others rip into your technology systems, and come away believing your bit of kit is as spiffy as you think it is.
February 2, 2015 Newsletter Volume V, Issue 5. If you still insist on pointing fingers, follow the Money. Or, you could just get busy and correct the problem.
March 2, 2015 Newsletter Volume V, Issue 9. The California Energy Commission's IEPR recognizes that converting waste into energy is a primary key to recovery of resources, the environment, and our economy.
March 9, 2015 Newsletter Volume V, Issue 10. Well executed municipal waste management is a beautiful thing to behold (trust me on this one). Add waste conversion and we're ecstatic.
April 20, 2015 Newsletter Volume V, Issue 16. If that circular economy hat-trick can be done smartly, cleanly, does it really matter how it is accomplished?
May 18, 2015 Newsletter Volume V, Issue 20. It takes both proper tools and competent operation to accomplish clean, economical waste-sourced resource recovery.
May 26, 2015 Newsletter Volume V, Issue 21. When nothing else can be recycled from a region's waste, at least recover heat and power. It's much better than sending it to the dump.
June 15, 2015 Newsletter Volume V, Issue 24. Somebody called this “economical environmentalism”: we do a good turn for this global home of ours, and we all make more money.
June 29, 2015 Newsletter Volume V, Issue 26. No, it's NOT OK to throw a fit and stop that resource recovery here, only to have that burden and its solution happen elsewhere.
August 17, 2015 Newsletter Volume V, Issue 33. Thermal waste conversion to energy has incorporated some of the most sophisticated tools and methods on the planet.
September 14, 2015 Newsletter Volume V, Issue 37. It takes a multi-feedstock, multi-tech, multi-product resource recovery park to close the gap in the Circular Economy.
September 21, 2015 Newsletter Volume V, Issue 38. Food waste is messy. Mixed into dry municipal solid waste, it’s almost impossible to separate and recover.
October 5, 2015 Newsletter Volume V, Issue 40. We need a standardized framework to achieve an acceptable, dependable, “end-of-waste” status for the recyclates we generate.
October 19, 2015 Newsletter Volume V, Issue 41. That constant flow doesn’t quit just because a whats-it in your magic trash discombobulator comes unhinged.
October 26, 2015 Newsletter Volume V, Issue 42. Green-washing is a term used to describe a cloak of environmentalism thrown over a less than green practice.
November 16, 2015 Newsletter Volume V, Issue 45. The law does not say that Recycling means to just separate out the easily salable items and have somebody else sell them off in bulk.
December 7, 2015 Newsletter Volume V, Issue 48. Eco-friendly waste conversion systems scaled for your home and business will become as commonplace as toilets.
December 14, 2015 Newsletter Volume V, Issue 49. Methane capture is the Big Thing, and a lot of waste conversion for resource recovery is focused on this short-term pollutant target.
December 28, 2015 Newsletter Volume V, Issue 51. We have these ready-made local mountains of raw materials, just waiting to be mined. Right now, we call them Landfills.
January 6, 2014 Newsletter Volume IV, Issue 1. Waste conversion is all a balancing act, and engineering science provides ways to assess both the mass and the energy balance.
January 13, 2014 Newsletter Volume IV, Issue 2. If waste conversion equates to recycling, what possible excuse can there be for anything less than full landfill diversion credit?
January 27, 2014 Newsletter Volume IV, Issue 4. External Technology Validation: always the Gold Standard, for waste conversion technology commercialization.
February 3, 2014 Newsletter Volume IV, Issue 5. With our new Waste Conversion tools and operational know-how, we can now effectively "unbake the cake."
February 10, 2014 Newsletter Volume IV, Issue 6. If we could keep all those forests from burning and plug those pesky volcanoes, we just might get a handle on this Climate Change thing.
March 17, 2014 Newsletter Volume IV, Issue 11. Waste may or may not be a "renewable energy source," but using garbage to make new goods is the ultimate form of Sustainable Manufacturing.
March 24, 2014 Newsletter Volume IV, Issue 12. As soon as that crud isn't trash any more, that discarded stuff magically has Value and the whole game changes.
March 31, 2014 Newsletter Volume IV, Issue 13. Here's a quandary: as the Waste Conversion sector perfects its tools, the systems for conversion of trash back into goods are getting smaller and cheaper.
April 14, 2014 Newsletter Volume IV, Issue 15. Losing a few hundred tons of wood chips may or may not be a 'waste', but losing an entire forest and the communities within it certainly qualifies.
April 21, 2014 Newsletter Volume IV, Issue 16. There is just a whole lot of waste-sourced resource that needs heat to break it down - those kinds of wastes for which microbial decomposition isn't well suited.
May 5, 2014 Newsletter Volume IV, Issue 18. To put the choice of Highest and Best Use into daily practice, we have to intercept resources before they become waste.
May 19, 2014 Newsletter Volume IV, Issue 20. Whatever station you hold in life, it is much harder to hide these days and that can be both good and bad.
May 26, 2014 Newsletter Volume IV, Issue 21. Take a moment this Memorial Day 2014 to really think about the actual Cost of Conflict, not just the price per gallon the DoD is spending on green jet fuel.
June 9, 2014 Newsletter Volume IV, Issue 23. Waste conversion project developers should be able to abide by the Rules of the Road without getting a regulatory red light.
June 16, 2014 Newsletter Volume IV, Issue 24. Behind Teru Talk is a Live Catalogue of Waste Conversion that tracks the birth and development of global Resource Recovery.
July 7, 2014 Newsletter Volume IV, Issue 27. Proper recycling must recover the raw resources from the things we throw away, and cycle them back into the marketplace
July 21, 2014 Newsletter Volume IV, Issue 29. There is a market niche for super-clean modules of all scales that can address conversion of all sorts of waste.
July 28, 2014 Newsletter Volume IV, Issue 30. Some cities want to increase Recycling, in part by implementing advanced Waste Conversion for resource recovery.
August 4, 2014 Newsletter Volume IV, Issue 31. Is "Waste to Energy" just incineration or does it include other forms of thermal waste conversion such as gasification, pyrolysis, plasma...
August 18, 2014 Newsletter Volume IV, Issue 33. Agencies require waste conversion system developers to have Data to get Permits, but first must have Permits to run the thing.
September 2, 2014 Newsletter Volume IV, Issue 35. When a municipality implements B2B waste reuse, recycling and conversion, they not only help close that resource recovery loop: they also create Jobs.
September 8, 2014 Newsletter Volume IV, Issue 36. You have to love it when we can economically accomplish environmental clean-up by using plants, and then cleanly turn that biomass into fuels and energy.
September 15, 2014 Newsletter Volume IV, Issue 37. These are the times for fine-tuning the conversion of worthy residuals back into foundation materials and final goods.
September 22, 2014 Newsletter Volume IV, Issue 38. The Nay-Sayers are wrong again. It is the careful acquisition and conversion of waste as feedstock that makes biofuels economical.
September 29, 2014 Newsletter Volume IV, Issue 39. The State's "recycling" agency and the existing recycling industry need to stop congratulating each other on increased subsidization of the front end and build out the needed back end.
October 6, 2014 Newsletter Volume IV, Issue 40. Recover the highest value materials when converting waste into green goods by considering feedstock, conversion process, and output.
October 20, 2014 Newsletter Volume IV, Issue 42. We need Business to Business (B2B) synergy, networks of local, community scale waste conversion tools that put people to work and return resources to that same region.
November 17, 2014 Newsletter Volume IV, Issue 46. Smart Tech advances would make no difference without the growing recognition that we have to start turning the stuff we trash back into the goods we need.
December 1, 2014 Newsletter Volume IV, Issue 48. We need smart waste conversion technologies and smart policies that include training for managers and operators. Having one without the other is just dumb.
December 22, 2014 Newsletter Volume IV, Issue 51. And who's watching Clean Conversion? …that would be, us. Teru Talk's heart-felt wish for our planet's health. A Christmas poem.
January 14, 2013 Newsletter Volume III, Issue 2. What does the rare earth metals shortage have to do with waste conversion and conversion technologies?
January 21, 2013 Newsletter Volume III, Issue 3. If recycling has to end with some kind of reprocessing, we need to rethink what we mean by "post-recycling residuals."
February 4, 2013 Newsletter Volume III, Issue 5. It always comes back to the Money. If you have to manage something that costs you dearly on an on-going basis and you can figure out a way to turn that liability into an asset, you get a double economic bump for the better.
February 11, 2013 Newsletter Volume III, Issue 6. If we know what is happening to the waste we collect, sort, separate and sell as recyclable goodies, we can figure out how to do the whole process better.
February 18, 2013 Newsletter Volume III, Issue 7. The approach to waste conversion must be feedstock driven, technology neutral. Otherwise, agencies and regulators are trying to herd cats.
February 25, 2013 Newsletter Volume III, Issue 8. The path to Recover raw materials for making more goods is convoluted and fraught with misinformation.
March 4, 2013 Newsletter Volume III, Issue 9. The Circular Economy concept bets that Molecular Recovery is a Higher and Better Use for waste than just heat and power.
March 11, 2013 Newsletter Volume III, Issue 10. CRLs must be representative of the natural surges and stumbles that companies experience as the commercialization process advances.
March 25, 2013 Newsletter Volume III, Issue 12. In the swarm of regulations impacting clean, economical. and sane conversion of waste to energy and goods, there appears to be a curious opportunity.
April 22, 2013 Newsletter Volume III, Issue 16. Let's start the next phase of the Recycling Movement, and focus on building the recyclate reprocessing infrastructure right near where the wastes are generated. Call it: Earth Day 2013!
April 29, 2013 Newsletter Volume III, Issue 17. You'd think that ANY amount of clean conversion of waste to useful stuff should be certifiable as sustainable. Au contraire.
May 13, 2013 Newsletter Volume III, Issue 19. Community-scale waste conversion: that's the idea that one size doesn't fit all and cleaning up our mess where we make it makes sense.
June 3, 2013 Newsletter Volume III, Issue 22. AB 1126 is yet another attempt to throw a body-block across our struggling effort to set up local waste conversion facilities in California..
July 8, 2013 Newsletter Volume III, Issue 27. Two decades ago, it was the lack of Technology that posed the most difficulty. Now we have clean energy systems that don't depend on the bubbling crude.
July 15, 2013 Newsletter Volume III, Issue 28. We're living in an age where Policy regularly trumps Science. When Science isn't the foundation, the results can be both ridiculous and damaging.
July 22, 2013 Newsletter Volume III, Issue 29. There are very few things we can't recycle if you use that term rightly to encompass all the ways we can turn crud back into goods.
August 5, 2013 Newsletter Volume III, Issue 31. humans, and their stubborn determination to cling to entrenched precepts about what is and what isn't acceptable, based not on today's knowledge, but on what they knew a decade ago.
August 12, 2013 Newsletter Volume III, Issue 32. Recognizing that someone else's by-products are a problem for them and a feedstock for you provides the perfect Business Opportunity.
August 19, 2013 Newsletter Volume III, Issue 33. If you peer at something too close, you lose perspective. We've been doing exactly that with our waste management and resource recovery effort.
August 26, 2013 Newsletter Volume III, Issue 34. Put your own voice behind support for Sane Use of Forest Biomass. It could be your forest that is next to burn.
September 3, 2013 Newsletter Volume III, Issue 35. With everything at our "disposal", conversion of the stuff we throw away back into the stuff we need should rank high.
September 9, 2013 Newsletter Volume III, Issue 36.
Keep watching this space. Whether it can be called "renewable" or not, Plastic to Fuel is a Big Thing.
September 23, 2013 Newsletter Volume III, Issue 38. In the audacious belief that folks are as curious about Waste Conversion as us, three years ago this month we built and launched this web service.
September 30, 2013 Newsletter Volume III, Issue 39. Let us clasp our hands and stand in awe of the mighty machine that makes this Legislative Sausage, year after year, after year …
November 4, 2013 Newsletter Volume III, Issue 44. The parade of Goulies, Ghosts and Goblins are now past, leaving in their wake a sad collection of jack-o-lanterns whose scary smiles are beginning to sag.
November 25, 2013 Newsletter Volume III, Issue 47. Let's hope our economic doldrums will be disrupted by emerging Waste Conversion Sanity. And remember to look inside the packaging.
December 2, 2013 Newsletter Volume III, Issue 48. It just seems right to know that the suds you are sipping are made in a way that doesn't trash the planet you are sitting on.
December 9, 2013 Newsletter Volume III, Issue 49. When is a waste not a waste? It is all too easy to go from waste-sourced materials to resource and back to waste.
April 30, 2012 Newsletter Volume II, Issue 18
Teru talks about perspective and applying the hub-and-spoke model to conversion of waste to energy in Trash Talk..
May 7, 2012 Newsletter Volume II, Issue 19
Let's consider some of the most common characteristics for industrial application of waste / biomass-fueled, small-scale distributed systems for generation of combined heating, cooling, power and/or other commodities.
May 21, 2012 Newsletter Volume II, Issue 21
There are two things that are really necessary to attract funding and technology for waste conversion. Both are easy to say you will have in hand, simple to assume the work can be done, but particularly difficult to accomplish.
May 29, 2012 Newsletter Volume II, Issue 22. In a stunning example of poor form last week, CalRecycle's new director caved to the demands of the vocal minority, countermanded determinations of her own Chief Counsel and rescinded her department's recognition of the Plasco Salinas Valley Project as an alternative waste management pathway in compliance with current regulation and law.
June 4, 2012 Newsletter Volume II, Issue 23
MRF First! A "MRF" is a Materials Recovery Facility, which is a fancy name for a garbage pick-apart station. Before we send trash elsewhere, before we decide what else to do with the stuff we toss, we try to send it through a MRF first.
June 11, 2012 Newsletter Volume II, Issue 24
When we "Recycle", we divert something headed for disposal and put that something back into the mainstream of useful goods. We think that is what happens, when we put recognizable thingies in the blue recycling bin instead of the black trash can. There! I've Recycled! Not so fast there, folks.
June 18, 2012 Newsletter Volume II, Issue 25 We do so much magic and so much harm with words. We've been taught that "disposal" is the act of tossing things away, and that certainly is the case if we toss that something along the roadside, or into a hole or burn-barrel in our back yard.
June 25, 2012 Newsletter Volume II, Issue 26. Assembly Bill 341 mandates Commercial Waste Recycling starting on or after July 1. If all we do is require Business to "arrange for recycling services" and don't attend to what happens next, perhaps we should call the program, "Mandatory Commercial Separation."
July 2, 2012 Newsletter Volume II, Issue 27. Recycling isn't about counting what gets pulled off the conveyor at the MRF. It's about the whole pathway: the hauler trucks, the MRF operations, and the tonnage that finally gets turned back into usable raw material. Or it isn’t Recycling.
July 9, 2012 Newsletter Volume II, Issue 28 If we have Local Recycled Goods Reprocessing, won’t that be cheaper? I mean, think of all the diesel saved, and just Think of the greenhouse gas emissions we could avoid! Won't it be just so much easier and better and cheaper to send those bales of plastic across the street, instead of across the Pacific?
July 16, 2012 Newsletter Volume II, Issue 29
It doesn't have to continue; California can become a self-supporting machine any time the political will and the public consciousness say it's time. Pull the Jobs back into the state, make sure the Materials remain here long enough to be "cleaned, treated and reconfigured" for re-entry into California's own marketplace.
July 23, 2012 Newsletter Volume II, Issue 30
What is "Post-Recycling Residual," what's left, and why, and aren't there clean ways to make use of THAT, instead of just dumping it?
July 30, 2012 Newsletter Volume II, Issue 31
Cap & Trade will kill our Business! Cap & Trade will save our Business! People are all over the map on California's proposed Cap & Trade program. What IS this thing, of which we speak? Well, it was set up to clear the air, not to save the economy, very "Californian" if you ask me.
August 6, 2012 Newsletter Volume II, Issue 32. So here's how businesses can turn this new rat's nest of Climate Control regulations to their advantage.
August 13, 2012 Newsletter Volume II, Issue 33. Why pay to protect oil Over There, when we can develop it over here? Why hog-tie US security to those who'd just as soon hold us hostage? The only way home-grown fuels are more expensive is if we don't count the real cost of OPEC blood-for-oil.
August 20, 2012 Newsletter Volume II, Issue 34. My favorite organic waste converters are called Hermetia illucens, also known as Black Soldier Flies. They are naturally occurring just about everywhere summers get over freezing and winters stay above maybe10 below.
August 27, 2012 Newsletter Volume II, Issue 35. It seems to me there's more confidence showing in our waste conversion industry these days. Confidence that says, "if we build it, they will come"… here, let me explain.
September 4, 2012 Newsletter Volume II, Issue 36. California lawmakers sent 788 bills to the Governor for signature Saturday morning. A very important one is missing.
September 10, 2012 Newsletter Volume II, Issue 37. Our country's got such a Mother Hen over-protective attitude, not just in our laws, but in our whole social approach to governing. That certainly extends into blocking common sense for resource recovery from waste.
September 17, 2012 Newsletter Volume II, Issue 38. What is it about "recycling" that enthralls everyone? Simple: it's the Right Thing to DO because it is just stupid to keep throwing resources into a hole in the ground, and then paying to keep them there.
September 24, 2012 Newsletter Volume II, Issue 39.
We've entered the Fall Conference period, and so much of the emphasis now is on conversion of waste to electricity, heat, fuels, and commodities that you'd think the battle was won, everyone was already convinced, and the Money was waiting to be picked up for all those new projects.
October 1, 2012 Newsletter Volume II, Issue 40. The upheaval this spring caused when the Energy Commission put the kibosh on injection of bio-sourced methane into the common carrier natural gas lines may well have resulted in some legislative sanity, this time with the assurance that there is actual local benefit.
October 8, 2012 Newsletter Volume II, Issue 41. No disrespect intended to England, but there are certain similarities between London and Los Angeles County, and much that they can learn from each other about waste management and resource recovery.
October 15, 2012 Newsletter Volume II, Issue 42. There's the old joke, "Raise your hand, who's not here…" and it applies to this business of tracking the ways communities convert waste.
October 22, 2012 Newsletter Volume II, Issue 43. Heat is a terrible thing to waste. I don't care what sort of fuel you use to make power or what you do with that generated electrical energy. If you're not using the thermal energy, you're throwing away about half of what you make.
October 29, 2012 Newsletter Volume II, Issue 44. The language used to talk about "waste" seems to be shifting globally. For too long, anybody that really wanted to talk about waste conversion was expected to step outside of Environmentally Friendly Conversations, banned from polite society - sorta like Smokers.
November 5, 2012 Newsletter Volume II, Issue 45. Last Wednesday, we realized to our horror (well, it was Halloween, after all) that even the major energy efficiency programs and associations don't think of on-site waste conversion to electricity, heat, and fuel in the same sense as they do for, say, energy efficient lighting.
November 12, 2012 Newsletter Volume II, Issue 46. I watched in fascination as my mother carefully placed a great variety of materials in that Big Blue Bin in the driveway by the back of the house. When I questioned whether all that stuff was indeed recyclable, she looked up in surprise and replied, "Well, it SHOULD be!"
November 26, 2012 Newsletter Volume II, Issue 48. The waste conversion industrial sector right now is showing strong signs of clumping, bundling, and dog-piling, all technical forms of aggregation, and we've gathered up a number of examples in this week's News.
December 3, 2012 Newsletter Volume II, Issue 49. For the World of Waste Conversion, we can smile at the growing global recognition that intercepting discards and turning them back into raw materials locally makes more sense than brokering waste overseas.
December 10, 2012 Newsletter Volume II, Issue 50. Domestic anaerobic digesters aren't much more complex than a standard septic tank, except they make biogas.
December 17, 2012 Newsletter Volume II, Issue 51. Not one forest fire has applied for a permit, nor would they have stopped if they'd been denied permission.
December 31, 2012 Newsletter Volume II, Issue 53. The North Pole's global distribution specialist Kringle, Inc. has announced the 2012 annual demonstration of on-board anaerobic digestion with biogas upgrading to power generation.
Teru Talk action items pertaining to waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bio-based products for resource recovery. Last Update: 04/19/2016
On occasion, Teru is out and about or stumbles upon information that you need to know or may just find interesting in the world of waste conversion for resource recovery. That's why Focus Reports were invented.
TERU Focus Report on NYSERDA Funds Biomass and CHP Microgrids, 13 of 83 NY Prize Stage 1 Awards Include CHP, Waste, Biomass Energy Recovery. 07/13/2015
TERU Focus Report on CEC Awards for Waste & Biomass Conversion - California Energy Commission Approves $83.7 Million in Grants for Transportation, Energy Storage, Biogas, and Efficiency Programs. 04/13/2015
TERU Focus Report on California Organics Management Legislative Update by Michael Theroux, and The Green Waste Landfill Cover-Up - by the California Compost Coalition . 09/05/2014
TERU Focus Report on Back from the Biomass Forum. Highlights of the California Biomass Collaborative's 8th Annual Forum, including The Great Debate. 04/16/2011
TERU Focus Report on the Interagency Forest Working Group's trip to the south end of the Lake Tahoe Basin for "What We've Learned" discussions walking through the devastated area of the Angora Fire of 2007. 10/15/2010
Composting and biochar production are both methods to use and recycle organic wastes. Article by Marta Camps, Massey University; and Thayer Tomlinson, International Biochar Initiative. February 2015
"AB 32 and the Waste Management Sector" by Michael Theroux. California Recycling's Place in Greenhouse Gas Reduction. June 2013 Reference to commentary added 07/12/2013
California AB 341 Legislative Review by Michael Theroux. New Diversion Law Modifies California's Integrated Waste Management Act. June 2012 (Revised July 2013)
Page 2: California AB 341 Legislative Review by Michael Theroux. New Diversion Law Modifies California's Integrated Waste Management Act. June 2012 (Revised July 2013)
Linking Bioenergy Crop Development with Soil and Water Phytoremediation by Michael Theroux. Explores the use of Short-Rotation Woody Crop
trees for both production of biomass and phyto-remediation of contaminated soils. May 2007, revised April 2011
Previous Articles by Michael Theroux archived on Teru Talk on waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery.
Discussion of the difference between "dirty" incineration and "clean" conversion, a bright line not yet clearly defined in laymen’s terms and therefore not commonly accepted, by Michael Theroux.
"AB 32 and the Waste Management Sector" by Michael Theroux. California Recycling's Place in Greenhouse Gas Reduction. Addressing AB 341 implementation and the AB 32 Scoping Plan. June 2013
Document files available for download on Teru Talk associated with waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bioproducts for resource recovery.
Teru's Bookshelf contains books that he references time and again in both his consulting work and in developing content for Teru Talk. The Bookshelf also includes books recommended by our readers. New book added 07/16/2012.
Teru's Bookshelf: "Abundance: The Future is Better Than You Think" by Peter H. Diamandis. Providing abundance is humanity's grandest challenge—this is a book about how we rise to meet it. We will soon be able to meet and exceed the basic needs of every man, woman and child on the planet. (2012)
Teru's Bookshelf: "Biodiesel Power: The Passion, the People, and the Politics of the Next Renewable Fuel" by Lyle Estill . Biodiesel Power comes from one who has experienced it from the grease dumpster to the boardroom. (2005)
Teru's Bookshelf: "Biogas Engineering and Application-Volume 1" This book provides an excellent summary of all facets of biogas development in Germany and China. First in a series, the book is a compilation of articles on biogas assembled by the Sino-German Project on Optimization of Biomass Utilization | Biogas.( 2011)
Teru's Bookshelf: "CHAGALL: The Recycling Dragon" This book is about a young dragon, only 300-years old who lives in a canyon near a village. His home is threatened by piles of garbage being dumped into his home.
Teru's Bookshelf: "Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash" by Edward Humes. The author takes us on a journey inside the secret world of our biggest export, our trash. It’s the biggest thing we make: The average American is on track to produce a whopping 102 tons of garbage across a lifetime... (2012)
Teru's Bookshelf: "Municipal Solid Waste to Energy Conversion Processes: Economic, Technical, and Renewable Comparisons" by Gary C Young.A technical and economic review of emerging waste disposal technologies, this book is Intended for a wide audience ranging from engineers and academics to decision-makers in both the public and private sectors. (2010)
NEW! Teru's Bookshelf: "Out of the Wasteland: Stories from the Environmental Frontier" by Paul Relis. (April 2015) The book takes us on a journey of the environmental frontier, from the heady days of the birth of environmentalism in Santa Barbara, into the intricate, obfuscated but all important world of government and policy, to important new environmental technologies that can, indeed, free us from this age of oil.
Teru's Bookshelf: "The Brilliance of Bioenergy" by Ralph Sims is for those wishing to learn more about biomass, the technologies and the business potential. It will be welcomed by all involved in biomass production, bioenergy utilization, planning and development.... (2012)
Teru's Bookshelf: "Turning Off the Heat" by Thomas R. Casten. Carbon dioxide emission and its relationship to global warming is the subject of a raging debate among scientists and world leaders. Federal and state governments have proposed three actions to decarbonize our economy: put a cap on carbon emissions, place revenue-neutral taxes on energy, and establish a renewable energy portfolio standard. (1998)
Teru's Bookshelf: "The Next Great Thing by Mark L. Shelton. The Sun, the Stirling Engine, and the Drive to Change the Worldt" One of the major challenges of the coming century is how to keep our technological world working and still save the environment and mankind. (1994)
Teru's Bookshelf: "Waste-to-Energy Commercial Facilities Profiles: Technical, Operational and Economic Perspectives" presents detailed profiles of all commercial-scale facilities in the US that are processing municipal solid waste to recover energy, as well as case studies for three of the facilities. (1990)
Teru's Bookshelf: "Waste to energy conversion technology (Woodhead Publishing Series in Energy)" provides an integrated, comprehensive reference on waste to energy (WTE) conversion technology. (2013)
Teru's Bookshelf: "Waste-to-Energy, Second Edition: Technologies and Project Implementation" by Marc J Rogoff and Francois Screve. The authors cover in detail programs and technologies for converting traditionally landfilled solid wastes into energy through waste-to-energy projects. (2011)
This site is intended to Incite Dialogue about all matters related to Waste Conversion for Resource Recovery. Please join me.
Michael Theroux
What People are Saying about Teru Talk:
"Teru Talk has become invaluable to me in keeping up with waste conversion issues. You are absolutely current and that is so important to explain and to understand this industry." David Roberti - President BioEnergy Producers Association
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"I have been having a look at your web page and I believe you are carrying out an incredible task in the field." Dr. Frédéric Ratel -Responsable de Propietat Industrial Institut Català d’Investigació Química (ICIQ)
"I've been impressed with the growth of Teru Talk as a resource for information regarding conversion technologies. It's a needed resource given the current pace of conversion technology development and interest." Coby Skye - Civil Engineer Los Angeles County DPW
"Thanks for all the good things you're doing at Teru Talk! Your blog presents a spot-on analysis, and is helping to shed a bright light on the folks who have crossed the line one too many times." Dr. Kay Martin - Vice President Bioenergy Producers Association
"I just wanted to take a minute to say how very much I appreciate the tenacity with which you keep us all updated and watching along the horizon with you." Tim o'Shea - CEO CleanFish, Inc
"I've looked through your site, Terutalk - What a great resource. Your action items and due dates are particularly helpful." Su Anne Huang - Market Manager, Landfills FlexEnergy, Inc
"Thanks for putting it in writing…. excellent blog and website my friend. Thanks for doing what you are doing." Chuck Collins - CEO Cascade Power Group LLC
"Teru Talk is really terrific. I read it assiduously, learning something every time." Paul Relis - Senior VP CR&R Waste & Recycling Services
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