Baltimore's water wheel keeps on turning, pulling in tons of trash
Julia Botero, NPR, June 23, 2014
John Kellett, who works at the Baltimore Maritime Museum, has developed an innovative way to collect the solid waste that flows from the Jones Falls river into the Inner Harbor after rainstorms: a water wheel.
"It looks sort of like a cross between a spaceship and a covered wagon and an old mill," says Kellett.
The water wheel has been installed in the harbor since May, during which time it has removed 40 tons of trash.
Read and/or listen to the complete story --> here.
Showing posts with label waste reduction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label waste reduction. Show all posts
Monday, June 30, 2014
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Plastic-eating fungus coming to a landfill near you
In the September issue of Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Jonathan Russell and his colleagues at Yale describe how they isolated a fungus they identified as Pestalotiopsis microspora, which has a powerful appetite for polyurethane, a common plastic often winds up buried in landfills.
One of the most promising results of the study is that the fungus can live and prosper on a diet of polyurethane alone, even under oxygen-free conditions similar to those at the bottom of a landfill. This discovery could have important applications in waste reduction via bioremediation, which relies on biological processes to break down pollutants.
From the Register Citizen and Yale Alumni Magazine.
One of the most promising results of the study is that the fungus can live and prosper on a diet of polyurethane alone, even under oxygen-free conditions similar to those at the bottom of a landfill. This discovery could have important applications in waste reduction via bioremediation, which relies on biological processes to break down pollutants.
From the Register Citizen and Yale Alumni Magazine.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Friday, January 8, 2010
One person's trash is another person's treasure
Did you know that there are a multitude of alternatives to the disposal of materials or wastes, which help conserve energy, resources, and landfill space?
Service providers directly connect one-time or regular generators of traditional or even difficult-to-recycle materials with parties that can use those materials. Instead of paying for hauling and disposal, the generator gets revenue and the recipient gets a resource they need, typically at a lower cost or even for free. A handful of the many opportunities for direct recycling, reuse, and repurposing are listed below.
Service providers directly connect one-time or regular generators of traditional or even difficult-to-recycle materials with parties that can use those materials. Instead of paying for hauling and disposal, the generator gets revenue and the recipient gets a resource they need, typically at a lower cost or even for free. A handful of the many opportunities for direct recycling, reuse, and repurposing are listed below.
- The mission of Califorma Materials Exchange (CalMAX) is to build reuse markets for materials from businesses, organizations, industry, schools, and individuals, and to find markets for nonhazardous materials that may otherwise be discarded. And, CalMAX is free.
- Pensylvania Material Trader is a free online service established in 2004 by the Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers' Environmental Management Assistance Program. This service is intended to help businesses find users for materials they have traditionally discarded.
- NY WasteMatch is a free service, created and funded by the NYC Department of Sanitation, which facilitates the exchange of used and surplus goods and equipment from organizations that no longer need them to other entities that do.
- Acting as an information clearinghouse, directory, and marketing facilitator for reusable industrial materials, the Illinois Industrial Material Exchange Service (IMES) deals with waste by-products, off-spec items, hazardous and nonhazardous materials, overstock, and damaged or unwanted materials.
- The Industrial Materials Exchange (IMEX) matches up business industrial waste generators with waste users in the Pacific Northwest.
- RecycleMatch is an online market for transforming commercial waste into value. RecycleMatch charges a percentage fee for each match that it makes based on the cost savings and revenue produced from each material match.
- Biomass Trader is a free network of regional marketplaces (currently Florida, New York, and Pennsylvania) for buyers and sellers, as well as givers and takers, of biomass and biomass-derived products.
- The British Columbia Electronics Materials Exchange (BC-EMEX) is a program from the Electronics Product Stewardship Association of B.C., Canada, that promotes the exchange (or sale) of electronic items priced from $0 to $99.
- For more directly useable and commercial materials (for example, unused construction materials), Freecycle might be worth checking out. The Freecycle Network™ is a non-profit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free, made up of 4,873 groups with 6,877,000 members across the globe. Membership is free.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
12 Alameda County Firms Win StopWaste Awards
Competitive Advantage Cited as Top Reason for Going Green
At a recognition event on October 16, local public agency StopWaste.Org honored twelve Alameda County companies with the 2009 StopWaste Partnership Business Efficiency Awards for outstanding achievements in enhanced operational efficiency, environmental performance and waste reduction.
The winners are:
Speaking to a full house, StopWaste.Org Executive Director Gary Wolff praised the leadership demonstrated by the recognized firms and emphasized their competitive advantage. "The companies we are honoring today are not only saving money and protecting the environment," Wolff said. "By making their operations more efficient, often involving the entire supply chain, these forward-thinking businesses have significantly reduced their vulnerability to economic shocks. In today’s economic climate, that’s valuable."
The 2009 award winners substantiate industry experts' claim that environmental responsibility positively impacts the bottom line. For example, the US Postal Service's Oakland Processing and Distribution Center has realized annual savings of $90,000 through increased recycling and waste prevention efforts, and Boston Scientific Corporation has slashed their disposal services bill by 50 percent. Expanding efficiency efforts beyond their own company, Bayer HealthCare LLC is working intensively with their suppliers while Costco Livermore is promoting their successful waste reduction program companywide.
Contact Justin Lehrer at StopWaste for more information.
At a recognition event on October 16, local public agency StopWaste.Org honored twelve Alameda County companies with the 2009 StopWaste Partnership Business Efficiency Awards for outstanding achievements in enhanced operational efficiency, environmental performance and waste reduction.
The winners are:
- Bayer HealthCare, LLC (Berkeley)
- 555 12th Street by Shorenstein Realty Services (Oakland)
- Boston Scientific Corporation (Fremont)
- Carl Zeiss Meditec (Dublin)
- Costco Wholesale (Livermore)
- La Tierra Fina (Union City)
- Golden Gate Fields Racetrack (Albany)
- Lucky Supermarkets (Alameda county stores)
- US Postal Service's Oakland Processing and Distribution Center
Speaking to a full house, StopWaste.Org Executive Director Gary Wolff praised the leadership demonstrated by the recognized firms and emphasized their competitive advantage. "The companies we are honoring today are not only saving money and protecting the environment," Wolff said. "By making their operations more efficient, often involving the entire supply chain, these forward-thinking businesses have significantly reduced their vulnerability to economic shocks. In today’s economic climate, that’s valuable."
The 2009 award winners substantiate industry experts' claim that environmental responsibility positively impacts the bottom line. For example, the US Postal Service's Oakland Processing and Distribution Center has realized annual savings of $90,000 through increased recycling and waste prevention efforts, and Boston Scientific Corporation has slashed their disposal services bill by 50 percent. Expanding efficiency efforts beyond their own company, Bayer HealthCare LLC is working intensively with their suppliers while Costco Livermore is promoting their successful waste reduction program companywide.
Contact Justin Lehrer at StopWaste for more information.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Bay Trash Hot Spots
Plastic bags threaten the bay
Kelly Zito, San Francisco Chronicle, September 15, 2009
In their fourth annual report on the most garbage-strewn sites in the region, Save the Bay says plastic bags remain a severe threat, clogging wetlands, strangling wildlife and harming water quality. The 50-year-old environment advocacy group zeroed in on 10 hot spots where a total of almost 15,000 plastic bags were retrieved from the Bay Area during 2008's Coastal Cleanup Day.
And please consider donating a few hours of your time for 2009's Coastal Cleanup Day, Saturday, September 19. Volunteers are still needed!
Kelly Zito, San Francisco Chronicle, September 15, 2009
In their fourth annual report on the most garbage-strewn sites in the region, Save the Bay says plastic bags remain a severe threat, clogging wetlands, strangling wildlife and harming water quality. The 50-year-old environment advocacy group zeroed in on 10 hot spots where a total of almost 15,000 plastic bags were retrieved from the Bay Area during 2008's Coastal Cleanup Day.
- 1.37 million plastic bags were picked up by volunteers during the Ocean Conservancy's 2008 International Coastal Cleanup Day, second only in number to cigarette butts.
- Californians use approximately 19 billion plastic bags and 5 billion paper bags annually.
- Bay Area residents use 3.8 billion plastic bags every year. Each year about 1 million end up in the bay.
- 12 million barrels of oil are used to produce 30 billion plastic bags in the US every year.
- The average use time for plastic bags is about 12 minutes.
- In San Francisco, as many as 30 percent of people in grocery stores are bringing in their own bags says Mark Westlund, spokesman for San Francisco's Department of the Environment.
And please consider donating a few hours of your time for 2009's Coastal Cleanup Day, Saturday, September 19. Volunteers are still needed!
Friday, August 14, 2009
StopWaste.Org Wins Award For Outstanding Waste Prevention Program
Innovative Campaign Cuts Transport Packaging Waste and Cost
StopWaste Partnership, Oakland, California, August 12, 2009
Last week, StopWaste.Org's "Use Reusables" campaign won the 2009 award for Best Waste Prevention Program from the California Resource Recovery Association (CRRA). The award honors innovative and effective initiatives that help move California closer to its sustainability goals.
The "Use Reusables" campaign helps companies throughout the Bay Area streamline and "green" their supply chain by replacing cardboard boxes, wood pallets, and other short-lived transport packaging materials with reusable alternatives. Bay Area companies who have already made the switch to reusables have saved millions of dollars in packaging expenses and disposal costs.
StopWaste is currently expanding the program throughout the region to help even more businesses realize the economic, environmental and supply chain efficiencies of reusable transport packaging, and will be offering free training workshops later this year.
For more information about the "Use Reusables" campaign please visit www.UseReusables.com.
StopWaste Partnership, Oakland, California, August 12, 2009
Last week, StopWaste.Org's "Use Reusables" campaign won the 2009 award for Best Waste Prevention Program from the California Resource Recovery Association (CRRA). The award honors innovative and effective initiatives that help move California closer to its sustainability goals.
The "Use Reusables" campaign helps companies throughout the Bay Area streamline and "green" their supply chain by replacing cardboard boxes, wood pallets, and other short-lived transport packaging materials with reusable alternatives. Bay Area companies who have already made the switch to reusables have saved millions of dollars in packaging expenses and disposal costs.
StopWaste is currently expanding the program throughout the region to help even more businesses realize the economic, environmental and supply chain efficiencies of reusable transport packaging, and will be offering free training workshops later this year.
For more information about the "Use Reusables" campaign please visit www.UseReusables.com.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Food Waste In --> Clean Water Out
Food waste helps power wastewater plant
Kelly Zito, San Francisco Chronicle, July 24, 2009
Under an innovative program touted as the first of its kind in the nation, the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) collects about 100 tons of food scraps from restaurants and grocery stores each week, speeds up the decomposition process, and uses the resulting methane gases to fuel the energy-hungry pumps and pipelines at its 49-acre wastewater treatment plant. Leftover scraps are turned into compost.
If EBMUD hits its long-term goal of processing 100 to 150 tons of food waste each day, district officials hope to begin selling a steady, sizable amount of renewable energy to Pacific Gas and Electric Co.
"This is a great opportunity, especially since our primary focus is public health and environment," said David Williams, director of wastewater at the utility. "Right now, we take a lot of carbon out of the ground and put it out into the air. In this case you're taking carbon that's already here and getting the energy out of it. That's a great thing."
The US Environmental Protection Agency, which awarded EBMUD $50,000 to study the food waste program, said it is the first wastewater system of its kind in the country. Williams expects more utilities to follow, given that treating wastewater consumes a huge amount of energy and that many facilities already have much of the necessary equipment.
Read the complete story here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/23/BAS618T9N9.DTL
Kelly Zito, San Francisco Chronicle, July 24, 2009
Under an innovative program touted as the first of its kind in the nation, the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) collects about 100 tons of food scraps from restaurants and grocery stores each week, speeds up the decomposition process, and uses the resulting methane gases to fuel the energy-hungry pumps and pipelines at its 49-acre wastewater treatment plant. Leftover scraps are turned into compost.
If EBMUD hits its long-term goal of processing 100 to 150 tons of food waste each day, district officials hope to begin selling a steady, sizable amount of renewable energy to Pacific Gas and Electric Co.
"This is a great opportunity, especially since our primary focus is public health and environment," said David Williams, director of wastewater at the utility. "Right now, we take a lot of carbon out of the ground and put it out into the air. In this case you're taking carbon that's already here and getting the energy out of it. That's a great thing."
The US Environmental Protection Agency, which awarded EBMUD $50,000 to study the food waste program, said it is the first wastewater system of its kind in the country. Williams expects more utilities to follow, given that treating wastewater consumes a huge amount of energy and that many facilities already have much of the necessary equipment.
Read the complete story here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/23/BAS618T9N9.DTL
Monday, July 20, 2009
Turning Waste Into Energy
Onion company is one of a growing number of businesses that use their waste to produce electricity.
Tiffany Hsu, Los Angeles Times, July 17, 2009
Steve Gill recently began using juice from his onion crop to create energy to run his refrigerators and lighting, slicing $700,000 annually off his electric bill and saving $400,000 a year on disposal costs at his 14-acre plant in Oxnard. Gill figures the $9.5 million system will pay for itself in less than six years while eliminating up to 30,000 tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions a year.
"It's a great sustainability story, but it was first a business decision to solve a waste problem," said Gill, 59, who co-owns the company with his brother David. "But in doing so, we solved a lot of environmental problems too."
Gills Onions is one of a small but growing cadre of US companies generating their own electricity on site with waste from their production processes. In addition to plant material, firms are using a variety of feedstocks, including animal manure, vegetable oil, whey -- even beer.
Farmers and processors in California's $37 billion agricultural industry are looking for ways to save money and reduce their environmental footprint, said Sonia Salas, science and technology manager for the Western Growers Association. "Many growers want technology that helps them handle waste," she said. "This is a concept that other operations can definitely use."
Read the complete story here: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-onions-fuel17-2009jul17,0,5226835.story
Tiffany Hsu, Los Angeles Times, July 17, 2009
Steve Gill recently began using juice from his onion crop to create energy to run his refrigerators and lighting, slicing $700,000 annually off his electric bill and saving $400,000 a year on disposal costs at his 14-acre plant in Oxnard. Gill figures the $9.5 million system will pay for itself in less than six years while eliminating up to 30,000 tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions a year.
"It's a great sustainability story, but it was first a business decision to solve a waste problem," said Gill, 59, who co-owns the company with his brother David. "But in doing so, we solved a lot of environmental problems too."
Gills Onions is one of a small but growing cadre of US companies generating their own electricity on site with waste from their production processes. In addition to plant material, firms are using a variety of feedstocks, including animal manure, vegetable oil, whey -- even beer.
Farmers and processors in California's $37 billion agricultural industry are looking for ways to save money and reduce their environmental footprint, said Sonia Salas, science and technology manager for the Western Growers Association. "Many growers want technology that helps them handle waste," she said. "This is a concept that other operations can definitely use."
Read the complete story here: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-onions-fuel17-2009jul17,0,5226835.story
Monday, July 6, 2009
EPA Awards StopWaste $35,000 to Promote Reusable Packaging
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded $35,000 to Oakland, California-based StopWaste.Org to expand their "Use Reusables" campaign, which teaches businesses how to reduce costs and improve their environmental performance by replacing limited-use pallets, boxes, and other transport packaging materials with durable, reusable alternatives.
The EPA grant enables StopWaste.Org to partner with agencies around the Bay Area to bring the campaign’s core element — a free, 3-hour, hands-on training workshop — to their communities. The grant was awarded through the EPA’s competitive program for innovative solid waste reduction projects.
The first workshop open to all Bay Area businesses takes place on Thursday, July 9, from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm at the GreenV Sustainable Center, 1 Chestnut Avenue in South San Francisco. For this event, the "Use Reusables" campaign is partnering with co-sponsor and workshop host, San Mateo County RecycleWorks, a program of San Mateo County’s Public Works Department that provides resources to promote environmentally responsible practices.
More information here: http://www.usereusables.com/events/index.html
The EPA grant enables StopWaste.Org to partner with agencies around the Bay Area to bring the campaign’s core element — a free, 3-hour, hands-on training workshop — to their communities. The grant was awarded through the EPA’s competitive program for innovative solid waste reduction projects.
The first workshop open to all Bay Area businesses takes place on Thursday, July 9, from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm at the GreenV Sustainable Center, 1 Chestnut Avenue in South San Francisco. For this event, the "Use Reusables" campaign is partnering with co-sponsor and workshop host, San Mateo County RecycleWorks, a program of San Mateo County’s Public Works Department that provides resources to promote environmentally responsible practices.
More information here: http://www.usereusables.com/events/index.html
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Garbage Police? Or Good Policy?
San Francisco approves toughest recycling law in the US
John Coté, SF Chronicle, June 10, 2009
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 9-2 Tuesday to approve the most comprehensive mandatory composting and recycling law in the country. It's an aggressive push to cut greenhouse gas emissions and have the city sending nothing to landfills or incinerators by 2020. The ordinance is expected to take effect this fall.
The legislation calls for every residence and business in the city to have three separate color-coded bins for waste: blue for recycling, green for compost, and black for trash. Failing to properly sort your refuse could result in a fine after several warnings, but fines will likely only be levied in the most egregious cases.
Cities from Pittsburgh to San Diego have mandatory recycling. None, however, require all food waste to be composted. Seattle passed a law in 2003 requiring people to have a compost bin, but unlike San Francisco, it did not mandate that all food waste go in there.
About 36% of what San Francisco sends to landfill is compostable, and another 31% is recyclable, a comprehensive study found. By the city's count, it currently diverts 72% of its waste; the best in the nation. If recyclables and compostables going into landfills were diverted, the city's recycling rate would jump to 90%.
Read the complete story here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/10/MN09183NV8.DTL
John Coté, SF Chronicle, June 10, 2009
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 9-2 Tuesday to approve the most comprehensive mandatory composting and recycling law in the country. It's an aggressive push to cut greenhouse gas emissions and have the city sending nothing to landfills or incinerators by 2020. The ordinance is expected to take effect this fall.
The legislation calls for every residence and business in the city to have three separate color-coded bins for waste: blue for recycling, green for compost, and black for trash. Failing to properly sort your refuse could result in a fine after several warnings, but fines will likely only be levied in the most egregious cases.
Cities from Pittsburgh to San Diego have mandatory recycling. None, however, require all food waste to be composted. Seattle passed a law in 2003 requiring people to have a compost bin, but unlike San Francisco, it did not mandate that all food waste go in there.
About 36% of what San Francisco sends to landfill is compostable, and another 31% is recyclable, a comprehensive study found. By the city's count, it currently diverts 72% of its waste; the best in the nation. If recyclables and compostables going into landfills were diverted, the city's recycling rate would jump to 90%.
Read the complete story here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/10/MN09183NV8.DTL
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