tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33790496753287732672024-03-05T12:30:56.722-05:00Composting NewsComposting News Blog is affiliated with the international trade publication, Composting News, which provides INDEPENDENT coverage of composting, wood recycling and organics management. See <a href="http://www.compostingnews.com">www.compostingnews.com</a>.Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614561221709929539noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3379049675328773267.post-8919983641431265842017-11-17T12:19:00.002-05:002017-11-17T12:20:52.058-05:00A look at electric horizontal grinders<div class="western">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">By Ken McEntee</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US"><i>This
look at electric horizontal grinders, courtesy of <a href="http://www.compostingnews.com/" target="_blank">Composting News</a>, is not intended to endorse or
promote any particular product or manufacturer. Attempts were made to
include input from all known North American manufacturers of
horizontal grinders.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Increasing
government regulations – particularly federal emission standards –
and a lower operating cost compared to diesel powered machines, are
driving demand for electric horizontal grinders, manufacturers say. </span>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">We
are definitely seeing an increase in the popularity in electric
machines, and most of that is driven by cost of operation and cost of
ownership,” said Jay Van Roekel, strategic business unit manager at
Vermeer Corp., of Pella, Iowa.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Jason Morey, sales and
marketing manager for Bandit Industries Inc., Remus, Mich., said he
has seen a consistent demand for electric grinders in recent years.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“There hasn’t
necessarily been a large increase, but that may change a little with
this being the last year that we can do Tier 2 diesel engines above
750 horsepower,” Morey said. “Once the Tier 4 final rules go into
effect, I think electric is an option that more people are going to
consider.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Machines
that are not Tier 4 Final must be in production by December 31 in
order to be sold in the U.S.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">Anything
relating to biomass is going electric pretty much,” said Tim
Griffing, sales manager, stationary line, for Continental Biomass
Industries (CBI), of Newton, N.H. “With emissions regulations
changing, if you don’t have to move the grinder, electric is the
direction that everybody is aiming at. In my business it is
increasing 5 to 10 percent a year.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Manufacturers
say electric horizontal grinders provide myriad benefits in
stationary applications, but most see no potential for making the
machines mobile for off-site work using portable generators in the
near future. Hauling an electric generator that can power a grinder,
they say, defeats the purpose of eliminating a diesel engine on the
machine. </span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Electric
grinding equipment, according to Art de St. Aubin, president and CEO
of Rotochopper Inc., of St, Martin, Minn., is one of the most
dramatic and under-utilized means of minimizing costs of mulch
production.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">Electric
grinders have many advantages over diesel grinders, some of them
obvious – such as cost of electricity vs. diesel fuel and some of
them subtle and more complex – such as uptime vs. downtime,” de
St. Aubin said. “Costs for operating and electric grinder for 2,000
hours in a year can be as much as $50,000 less than operating a
diesel processing the same product due to less expensive energy costs
and lower maintenance costs.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">According
to Paul Clark, electric systems engineer at Peterson Pacific Corp.,
Eugene, Ore., the relative consistent cost of electricity, compared
to fluctuating diesel fuel prices, is a main reason why operators
consider electric grinders.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">In
some cases overseas, where diesel costs are really high, they will
only consider electric,” Clark said.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Grinder manufacturers
generally agree that an electric horizontal is likely to provide a
lower production cost per ton than a diesel powered machine if you
process material in a fixed location and have access to a three-phase
power supply.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">It’s
important for people to know that this technology has existed for
some time,” said Pat Crawford, vice president of products at
Diamond Z Manufacturing, Caldwell, Idaho. “It’s not some
mysterious application. We did our first electric tub grinder back in
1990. It has been around and proven for a long time.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Either
electric or diesel grinders and shredders will do the same job on the
material, said Todd Dunderdale, senior area sales manager for
Komptech Americas, Westminster, Colo.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">The
real question is customer requirements, such as space, permit needs
or energy costs,” Dunderdale said. “Typically if a customer plans
on running inside a building they go with an electric unit. For
customers who desire to be mobile, then a track diesel unit is the
best.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Following is a look at what
manufacturers of horizontal grinders for organic materials processing
are saying about the electric option.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ideal for stationary
operation</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Tim
Wenger, vice president of CW Mill Equipment Co., Sabetha, Kan., said
electric grinders are ideal for stationery grinding operations.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">Municipal
operations, for example, are typically more centrally located in that
wood waste is dropped off at a certain location,” Wenger said. “An
electric machine is a big pro in that aspect.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">If
your work requires you to move the grinder to the product, a diesel
is the correct choice,” said de St. Aubin. “Electrics are often
chosen for facilities that wish to place a grinder in line with a
conveyor that handles wood waste. You will often see them at the end
of sorting lines in construction and demolition waste applications or
in consumer waste applications. They are popular for processing green
waste for compost, pallets for mulch, waste wood for animal bedding,
among many other uses.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Electric powered grinders,
Van Roekel said, “will do all the same things that our diesel
powered machines will do. It is basically the same machine. It is
used for pre-processing and product sizing, it can be initial grind
or a regrind or even a final grind. They can be inside or outside, at
a plant or a regional yard where material like green waste comes in.
We see electrics used for more of a 24/7 type of an operation where
they are working the same job and the same material day after day as
opposed to a diesel that is going to go to a site for four to five
hours for a day or two and then move to the next site.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Originally,
Van Roekel said, the market for electric machines was driven by
efficiency of operation compared to diesel engines.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">Over
time, we’re seeing regulations pushing more people toward electric
power,” he said.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Operating
a stationery electric grinder offers convenience and efficiency of
maintenance, said John Snodgrass, who is in technical sales at West
Salem Machinery, Salem, Ore.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“All
of your parts and tools are centralized on site,” Snodgrass said.
“That’s one of the <span lang="en-US">big
advantages of having the stationery horizontal grinder.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">According
to Morey, “If you don’t need to move around, electric makes a lot
of sense as long as you have the infrastructure to support it. Bandit
is known for making mobile equipment, but out horizontal grinders can
be put into a stationery electric application at any time.”</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Cost savings</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">Even
at today’s diesel prices, an electric machine can be about $30 an
hour cheaper to run,” said Clark, citing in part a recent analysis
done by one of Peterson’s customers. “You have to take into
account that there is an initial up-front capital cost because you’re
adding more controllers and you may have to get more power capacity
installed to your site. At today’s lower diesel prices, the
electric machines will, in a reasonable time, break even, then you
will start to see a gain in payback.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Clark
said the additional up-front costs to power a new site could range
between $150,000 and $200,000, including costs from the local power
utility and an electrical contractor.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">If
you already have power, it’s relatively inexpensive,” Clark said.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Van
Roekel said depending on hours of operation and maintenance
practices, the operating costs of an electric grinder can be about
half the costs of running a diesel machine.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">The
machines themselves are comparably priced,” he said. “The extra
costs come with your drive panel that controls the electric power to
the motor. It could be a soft start panel or a variable frequency
drive (VFD) panel with which the motor acts more like a diesel
engine. Then you have the electric power lines that go to the grinder
and the panel, so those are the additional install costs, but that it
is soon made up for in the lower operating costs.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Electric
grinders offer cost savings associated with routine maintenance as
well, de St. Aubin said.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">Besides
savings on diesel fuel, electric grinders eliminate the costs and
downtime associated with maintaining a diesel engine, radiator and
clutch, including oil and filter replacement, coolant exchange, air
filter replacement and clutch fluid and filter replacement where
applicable,” he said.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Wenger
agreed.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">The
nice thing about an electric motor is not having to maintain the
diesel engine,” he said. “You don’t have gas tanks and turbos
and air filters and radiators and head gaskets. That’s one of the
biggest reasons most of our customers have gone electric initially,
and then years ago we had the fluctuating diesel prices.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">According
to Snodgrass, the absence of road hauling equipment also reduces the
cost of an electric machine.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“You
need to have the brakes, the chassis and all of that other stuff to
move a mobile unit,” he said. “You don’t have that on a grinder
that is staying in one place.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“As
long as the (electrical) power is at a decent rate, then the electric
machines are definitely cheaper to run,” Morey said. “You’re
eliminating filters and diesel fuel and you’re going to have all
the Tier Four emission components on these (diesel) engines, so there
is going to be an even greater savings when it comes to the Tier Four
compared to electric.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Kollin
Moore, electrical engineer with Morbark LLC, Winn, Mich., cautions,
however, that the resale market for electric horizontals could be a
limited compared to diesel machines.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Another
disadvantages of an electric machine, Dunderdale said, is the need to
have a mechanic who is proficient on electrics, “which is often
hard to find.”</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Longer life</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">Far
and away the biggest difference between diesel customers and electric
customers is the quantity of hours that they put on the machine in a
year,” Van Roekel said. “The electric powered machines run way
more hours than diesel powered machines. It comes down to
maintenance, but electric motor will last longer. We see an excess of
30,000 hours on many electric machines. We don’t assume that diesel
will go more than 10,000 hours.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">de
St. Aubin agreed.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">Besides
reduced routine maintenance and downtime, electric grinders offer
considerable savings on long-term maintenance and operation,” he
said. “Electric motors also tend to have a longer life span.
Electrics provide constant dependable performance with reliable
uptime. They are extremely reliable machines with some still in
service with more than 30,000 hours on them.”</span></span></div>
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<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Moore
said electric motors typically last up to two or three times longer
than diesel engines.</span></span></div>
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<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“If somebody has had a
diesel machine for years and then they go electric one of the things
they radically notice is that there are no longer any oil changes to
do, you don’t have to change filters,” Clark said. “There is a
lot of mechanical maintenance involved with diesel. With electric,
once you get them set up right, you’re not touching those motors
for maintenance for 10,000 to 15,000 hours depending on how much
you’re grinding, so there is a tremendous reduction in overall
maintenance cost when you go with an electric machine. I think the
life span of an electric machine is longer, as the diesel has
clutches and things that wear out pretty quick. With the electric
machine, belts and consumables will wear out, but the drive train
itself is fairly robust and maintenance free.”</span></div>
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<div class="western">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Better performance?</span></b></div>
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<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Moore
cited the following advantages of an electric horizontal grinder
compared to a diesel powered machine: Cleaner, more efficient power
source with no emission regulations to meet, quieter operation, less
maintenance, less expensive to operate, lower capital cost and less
chance of catastrophic fire.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">A
more consistent end product is the result of the more consistent RPMs
the unit runs at,” Moore said. “Diesel powered machines have a
bigger variance in engine RPMs.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Comparing
the relative grinding power of comparably sized diesel and electric
motors is one area where some manufacturers disagree. Most sources
interviewed suggested that electric motors can provide more power
directly to the rotor than a comparably sized diesel. Pat Crawford,
vice president of products for Diamond Z, Caldwell, Idaho, disagreed.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">I
disagree 110 percent,” he said. “Electric grinders do not perform
exactly the same way as combustion engines with the horsepower and
torque curves. A lot of people think that if you run a 1,000
horsepower diesel you can get away with 700 horsepower electric, but
we go the other way. The reason is the fixed RPM with an electric
motor. If you run a variable frequency drive (VFD), that would help
the situation a little bit, but you still wouldn’t have the range
of RPM utilization that you would have on diesel.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Clark,
however, said electric motors can deliver more power than their
diesel counterparts.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">In
some applications we can provide more grinding power with electric
motors compared to our largest diesel motors,” Clark said. “An
electric motor puts more direct horsepower on the rotor instead of
losing efficiency through the clutch. Sometimes you need that extra
power directed directly to the rotor. The other piece of it depends
on the type of motor controller you have. You can, for short bursts
of time, can deliver up to another 50 percent of the power of that
motor. For example, you can turn a 600 horsepower electric motor into
a 900 horsepower motor for short bursts of time if the rotor demands
it without compromising the integrity of the motor.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Morey
agreed.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“With electric you can run
a lower horsepower and get high horsepower capabilities,” he said.
“In our experience it’s almost two to one from the feedback we
get.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">According
to Snodgrass, “With a 1,000 horsepower diesel, that is not 1,000
horsepower available to grind with compared to an electric where <span lang="en-US">you
get the full 1.000 horsepower.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div lang="en-US" style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Griffing
said electric grinders offer a better torque curve than diesel
powered machines.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div lang="en-US" style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“I
would say comparing a 600 horsepower CAT diesel engine with a 600
horse electric motor, the electric will increase your power at the
rotor by a minimum of 25 percent,” Griffing said.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US">Dunderdale
said the available grinding power is the </span>most
important question to consider.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“Buyers
should be aware that an electric high speed grinder requires the same
amount of horsepower that its diesel counterpart has,” Dunderdale
said. “Typically a 1,000 horsepower grinder needs a 1,000
horsepower electric motor to run it since it is direct drive. However
for our Crambo, for example, the 500 horsepower mobile unit is only
240 horsepower in the electric version because you don’t have the
loss of power as you do with the diesel to run the hydraulics. There
is far less electrical consumption from a 250 horssepower motor than
from a 1,000 horsepower. Also when considering a 1,000 HP electric
grinder, you must also have to purchase expensive soft starts in
order to not overload the power supplier. This can be very
expensive.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Beefier machine</span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Engine
comparisons aside, Griffing said because stationary electric grinders
aren’t governed by Department of Transportation specifications like
mobile units, the machines can be configured to meet the needs of an
operation. That means they can have larger hoppers and longer
discharge conveyors.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Wenger
echoed that.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">Because
they aren’t restricted by road hauling regulations, stationary
grinders can be built to larger capacities,” he said. “When you
install a 150,000 pound machine it’s going to last forever. When
you take away the transportation aspects, it frees you up to build a
grinder for more strength instead of transportation.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div lang="en-US" style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Snodgrass
agreed.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div lang="en-US" style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“Grinders
that are going over the road have some limits on things like width
and weight,” he said. “If you don’t have to take your grinder
on the road, a stationery machine can be much wider with a larger
diameter rotor. You can get into tremendous capacities,”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Operating requirements</span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">Electric
driven grinders can be used anywhere there is enough power to drve
them,” Griffing said.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Manufacturers
generally said minimum requirements generally include three-phase
power with a minimum of 460-480 volts at 60 hertz. Having adequate
electrical power at the installation site is important, and not
always simple to achieve, some manufacturers noted.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">A
lot of people assume that because they have a lot of power or voltage
coming to their facility that they are set,” Crawford said. “But
they may already be using most of their capacity. You can have three
phase, 480-volt power available, but you also need to have sufficient
amperage. Everybody has the voltage, but not everybody has the
amperage.”</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Required
amperage, Crawford said depends in the horsepower of the motor. </span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lower
horsepower machines don’t need that much amperage,” Crawford
said. “But you have to consider that in-rush – what it takes to
start the motor - can be eight times what it takes to operate the
motor.”</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Power
to electric grinder motors is controlled using one of two types of
controller: a soft starter or a variable frequency drive (VDF). A
soft starter helps to protect a motor</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">With
soft start panels you tend to lose a little bit of power, but they
are less expensive,” Van Roekel said. “If you’re regrinding it
really doesn’t require the full horsepower anyway. It depends on
the application. So soft-start is good for some jobs. If you’re
doing more taxing work, you may want to look at the VFD panel. The
VFD panel is something we believe is the secret to good
productivity.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Clark
said Peterson’s machines required between 1,000 and 2,500 amps
depending on the size the motor.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">If
you’re going to use an electric machine, you need to be sure that
you have a power supply that can handle it,” Morey said. “If you
don’t have a big enough power supply then there is going to be a
problem running the machine.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Wenger
said power drops can damage motors.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">Most
problems we’ve had with the electric tubs, particularly on
starting, have been from power drops, especially in the summertime,”
he said. “People generally say 460 volts is the requirement, but
sometimes the voltage in that system can fall to 440. When voltage
drops, amperage goes up and that can trip out the power. I tell
people to have the utility top the power up into the 505-volt range
to protect against drops in voltage, and that usually takes care of
the problem. It’s not a big deal – they just adjust it at the
transformer.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Clark
said Peterson recently had a customer who was experiencing low
voltage. </span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">It
looks like the power company didn’t plan fully for situation,” he
said. “It causes the motors to work a little harder and they get
hotter. The way you handle that is to work directly with your
electric utility company and tell them what you are planning to do so
they can plan accordingly.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Michael
Spreadbury, Peterson’s marketing manager, added, “That is a
conversation you need to have very early on the purchasing process.
You need to get the utility involved and you need to talk to your
local electrical contractor.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Having
access to sufficient power, Spreadbury said, is not always a given.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">If
the infrastructure isn’t there it isn’t going to happen,” he
said. “A customer in the Midwest would die to have electric. But
the power company just will not put in the infrastructure.”</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">According
to Griffing, “One downfall of the electric driven grinders is
having enough power available to your site. Not all sites are close
enough for the amperage required to operate large horsepower motors.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Wenger
agreed.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">Location
and proximity to power is a consideration,” he said. “Some of
these mulching operations can be in remote locations, so the ability
to get adequate power can be a hindrance. It might cost a couple
hundred thousand dollars to get lines run to you if you are a
distance away.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Market trends</span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“The shredder/grinder market has grown
over the last couple of years and is forecasted to continue to grow,”
Dunderdale said. “We have seen an increase in the number of
stationary machines typically because larger facilities are now being
planned because of industry consolidation.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Tightened regulations in engine air
emissions will increase the cost of diesel machines, making electric
motors more attractive for the appropriate applications,
manufacturers agree.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“Due to emissions standards becoming more
strict, electric drive is becoming more popular,” Griffing said.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“The increased costs for Tier 4 diesel
powered machines will be substantial,” Crawford said. “I think
you’ll see machines that are not Tier 4 Final on the market through
the first quarter to the first half of next year, but we’re already
seeing a pickup in demand for electrics.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Peterson
also expects stronger interest in electric machines.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">With
onset of Tier 4 and the significant price increases that it is going
to entail, we are going to see more and more applications where, of
the machine does not have to move, we’re going to be quoting more
electric machines,” Spreadbury said.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Wenger
said sales and inquiries for electric grinders increased a few years
ago when diesel prices bumped upward.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">Now,
with the changes in the emissions regulations, people are taking a
closer look at electric power,” he said. “We make a lot of
electric tub grinders, but any of our diesel horizontals can be made
with an electric engine.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">According
to Moore, Morbark has seen the demand for electric grinders slowly
increasing, especially during times when the price of oil has been
elevated.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“Regulatory influences, whether they are about
emissions, dust or noise, are definitely switching people over to the
electrics,” Van Roekel said. “The bulk of Vermeer’s horizontal
grinder sales are diesel powered, but electric machines have been
reducing the gap over the past five years.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Making it mobile?</span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">New
technology has made many electric products more mobile. Horizontal
grinders are unlikely to be one of them, manufacturers agree.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">To
make an electric machine mobile you would need a pretty big diesel
generator, which isn’t cheap,” Van Roekel said. “You’re kind
of defeating the purpose if you’re running a 1,000 horsepower
generator and then you have to move the panel with it to control the
motors. You’re still going to have the noise and air emissions from
the generator.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">That,
Wenger said, is one of the few downsides of an electric grinder.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">They
are not mobile at all,” he said. “You would need a 2,000
horsepower generator to power up a 1,000 horsepower grinder. You’re
better off just getting a 1,000 horsepower diesel engine. I had a
customer who wanted to take an electric grinder from town to town to
town to do custom grinding and he pitched the towns to provide the
electricity. That would have necessitated each town to set
transformers of adequate size to power the machines. It wasn’t
going to happen. The economics just aren’t there.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">De
St. Aubin said that portable configurations using quick-connects are
available, but power availability is essential.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">The
site must have adequate three phase power available,” he said.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Griffing
said quick-connects at adequately powered sites allows an operator to
move an electric to two or three different locations.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">It
works great, but you need to have soft starts at each of the
facilities,” he said.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Wenger added that one customer has two locations
powered up on his site so he can move an electric tub grinder back
and forth.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Snodgrass
noted a similar situation.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“I have seen yards where they have a semi
portable situation,” he said. “They will have a crude pad and the
ability to get power to it so they can process X amount of tons and
when they are finished they can pack it up. The control panel is a
part of the unit, so they can pack it up and move it to another part
of the yard. It isn’t something that you would run for a week –
you probably would run it for a year at a site. But generally, if you
are dragging a generator around you are defeating the purpose.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Converting to electric</span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Wenger
said converting an existing diesel powered horizontal grinder to
electric is simple.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">We
are quoting a project like that now,” he said. “I customer in
California has a diesel grinder and they were not able to get an air
quality permit. Our quote is pull off the 1,000 horsepower diesel
engine and put on a 500 horsepower electric. It is a pretty simple
conversion. It’s not a bad things to do. When a diesel engine goes
bad, instead of a new $60,000 diesel engine you can put the money
toward a conversion. It is probably going to cost you $100,000 by the
time you buy the motors and starters. But you’re going to make that
up in lower operating costs.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Griffing
said diesel-to-electric conversions are becoming increasingly
popular.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">We’re
seeing more and more of it now, especially in California with the
regulations getting stricter,” he said. “If you’re not going to
be moving it you might as well convert it. To buy a new diesel engine
or have one rebuilt, they’re about the same price to convert, so
you’re better off going with the electric.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">What to consider</span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Before
making the decision to install a horizontal grinder, you need to know
your local codes, Van Roekel said.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">There
will be some safety regulations,” he said. “If you are under a
roof there will be some kind of rules to prevent an explosion or a
fire problem. It is high voltage, so you need to lock-out-tag-out and
other proper safety and maintenance practices. Don’t try to
eliminate maintenance schedules. A 24/7 operation is not going to
want to turn it off very often, but you still need to clean the
machine and check the cutters and screens.” </span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Moore
noted that local laws may have restrictions relative to operating
hours and start up times.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Before
purchasing an electric grinder, Wenger said, be sure to do your
homework.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“Talk extensively with everyone involved,
be it the contractor who is pouring the concrete where the electric
machine is going to set or the local electric company,” he said.
“Are there certain times that the grinder should not operate as to
not interfere with electric power elsewhere else, and make sure all
of the people involved in the preparation for the grinder are in
contact. Communication is key.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614561221709929539noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3379049675328773267.post-482275100665285032016-12-12T17:09:00.004-05:002016-12-12T18:00:48.209-05:00EPA nominee would rein in agency<br />
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<i><a href="http://www.compostingnews.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="www.compostingnews.com" border="0" height="65" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhet99e3ONNKlxkfV-YCkOqcDdYcbzD_yEMQnD_0KlrWWUoOXq3fzpRGa3DvRJliKeDm-6Pvzbi114tUgiS6Y43PDXTkAAfXGcMUzEaxO6RXAtoCjrMXERboAcaOZ2KNFDeBhYLWyI4plW7/s200/CN+LOGO.jpg" width="200" /></a></i></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Republished from <a href="http://www.compostingnews.com/" target="_blank">Composting News</a>, December 2016</i> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>By Ken McEntee</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">December 7, 2016</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Many critics of the <a href="http://www.epa.gov/" target="_blank">U.S. EPA</a> have charged that the agency is “out of control,” with </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">overzealous regulations. <a href="https://www.ok.gov/oag/" target="_blank">Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt</a> is one of them, and starting next year, pending congressional approval, Pruitt will be in charge of the agency.<br />President-elect Donald J. Trump this month announced his intention to nominate Pruitt to serve as the administrator of the EPA. <br />“The American people are tired of seeing billions of dollars drained from our economy due to unnecessary EPA regulations, and I intend to run this agency in a way that fosters both responsible protection of the environment and freedom for American businesses,” Pruitt said.<br />Trump said Pruitt, who he called an expert in constitutional law and one of the country’s top attorneys general, brings a deep understanding of the impact of regulations on both the environment and the economy making him an excellent choice to lead the EPA.<br />“My administration strongly believes in environmental protection, and Scott Pruitt will be a powerful advocate for that mission while promoting jobs, safety and opportunity,” Trump said. “For too long, the Environmental Protection Agency has spent taxpayer dollars on an out-of-control anti-energy agenda that has destroyed millions of jobs, while also undermining our incredible farmers and many other businesses and industries at every turn. As my EPA administrator, Pruitt will reverse this trend and restore the EPA’s essential mission of keeping our air and our water clean and safe.” </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicANMRSDXs8HBPEF3kNIAYW7xUo1Bxv3yY_-fnKKkr82m-yPduz3wI5483mOVVn8LuvCXegJrPl2CVZiF98dde4OoXJZqfuRK8ASV7dNTRwhs5SZ-tq9wBDvaVbNYkD2UVTsPXItv2JrAg/s1600/2016-1208+EPA+Pruitt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicANMRSDXs8HBPEF3kNIAYW7xUo1Bxv3yY_-fnKKkr82m-yPduz3wI5483mOVVn8LuvCXegJrPl2CVZiF98dde4OoXJZqfuRK8ASV7dNTRwhs5SZ-tq9wBDvaVbNYkD2UVTsPXItv2JrAg/s200/2016-1208+EPA+Pruitt.jpg" width="133" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />Trump said Pruitt will be deeply involved in the implementation of his energy plan, “which will move America toward energy independence, create millions of new jobs and protect clean air and water.”<br />He said he and Pruitt agree that the new administration must rescind all job-destroying executive actions and eliminate all barriers to responsible energy production. This will create at least a half million jobs each year and produce $30 billion in higher wages, Trump said.<br />As new EPA regulations on clean water and air during the Obama administration have drawn fire from farmers, businesses, state officials and others around the country, Pruitt has been at the forefront of the opposition. He established Oklahoma’s first “federalism unit” to combat unwarranted regulation and overreach by the federal government and has said that states should have the sovereignty to make many regulatory decisions for their own markets.<br />In September Pruitt participated in oral arguments in federal appeals court in West Virginia v. EPA, in which West Virginia and other states filed suit to stay the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan. The Obama administration said the aim of the plan is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.<br />“This has been a historic and consequential day as 27 states joined together to ensure the precious balance of power is preserved,” Pruitt said during a press conference after the oral arguments. “This administration continues to treat states as mere vessels of federal will, abusing and disrespecting the vertical separation of powers defined by our Constitution. That is why attorneys general, senators and congressmen from across the country have joined together today to maintain rule of law and checks and balances in this very process. I am committed to ensuring the ultimate payer in this matter is not overlooked – the consumers.”<br />Last year, Oklahoma passed a law that protects the state from unlawful EPA overreach.<br />“The EPA’s so-called ‘lean Power Plan is the federal government placing the proverbial gun to the head of the state of Oklahoma to make the state bow to the pressure of an unlawful EPA rule,” Pruitt said at the time. “Senate Bill 676 is a bulwark against the overreach of the EPA. This is an important step to the state of Oklahoma’s ability to defend its interests against the unlawful actions of the EPA. No state should be forced to comply with this unlawful rule, and SB 676 is a common-sense approach that ensures decisions about Oklahoma’s power generation are made by state officials and not bureaucrats in Washington.”<br />In June 2015, in Michigan vs. EPA – a case in which the state of Oklahoma also was a plaintiff - the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the EPA unreasonably interpreted the Clean Air Act when it decided to set limits on the emissions of mercury and other pollutants from power plants without first considering the costs to utilities and others before doing so.<br />“Thanks to our victory, the EPA can no longer ignore the substantial costs its rulemaking can heap on industry, and eventually ratepayers,” Pruitt said. “The EPA routinely ignores statutes and congressional directive in order to pick winners and losers in the energy arena.”<br />Also in 2015, Pruitt was among the state officials who filed lawsuits against EPA over the agency’s Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, implemented under the federal Clean Water Act.<br />“I and many other local, state and national leaders across the country made clear to the EPA our concerns and opposition to redefining the Waters of the U.S.,” he said. “However, the EPA’s brazen effort to stifle private property rights has left Oklahoma with few options to deter the harm that its rule will do.”<br />Pruitt called WOTUS an “egregious power grab by the EPA and an attempt to reach beyond the scope granted to it by Congress. This rule renders the smallest of streams and farm ponds subject to EPA jurisdiction. This means that the first stop for property owners is the EPA, which may deem the property owners’ waters subject to the EPA’s unpredictable and costly regulatory regime. It would be a terrible blow to the private property rights of Americans.”<br />WOTUS is now in limbo and virtually certain to be rescinded under the Trump administration.<br />Speaking to <a href="http://www.compostingnews.com/" target="_blank"><i>Composting News</i></a> last month (See <a href="http://www.compostingnews.com/" target="_blank"><i>Composting News</i></a>, November 2016), Robert LaGasse, executive director of the Mulch and Soil Council, a trade association that represents soil and mulch producers, said he hopes the Trump administration will “take a stronger look at EPA and correct some of the errors that it has made recently.”<br />That includes WOTUS, which LaGasse has said “presents a big problem for anybody who wants to make changes to their property.”<br />Jay Lehr, science director for the <a href="http://www.heartland.org/" target="_blank">Heartland Institute</a>, a Chicago-based research organization, and one of the architects of the EPA who has since become a critic of the agency, praised Trump’s nomination.<br />“This is a great day for the environment, the American people and the economy – which will soon no longer be crippled by totally insane regulations, including the idea that humans exhale a pollutant with their every breath,” said Lehr, who has proposed the elimination of the EPA in favor of putting environmental protection under the control of state agencies. “There would be many people on my list for great EPA administrators but none would be any higher on it than Scott Pruitt. We have not had a knowledgeable individual at the helm of EPA for more years than I am willing to say. For well over a decade, we have had a combination of incompetence and anti-capitalists at the helm who knew nothing of environmental science and more importantly they did not care. As long as they could place road blocks in the way of progress with no validity whatsoever as to improved environmental protection, they felt they were doing their job.”<br />Fellow Oklahoman and U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, chairman of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) committee, also praised Pruitt as a “leader and a partner on environmental issues for many years.”<br />“Pruitt has fought back against unconstitutional and overzealous environmental regulations like Waters of the U.S. and the Clean Power Plan,” Inhofe said. “He has proven that being a good steward of the environment does not mean burdening tax payers and businesses with red tape. In his appearances before the Environment and Public Works committee, Pruitt has demonstrated that he is an expert on environmental laws and a champion of states’ roles in implementing those laws.”<br />Across the aisle, Pruitt’s nomination wasn’t greeted as enthusiastically.<br />“I cannot support Scott Pruitt, a denier of climate science, to lead the EPA,” said U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii). “Climate change is real, urgent and caused by humans. It is a scientifically proven fact that any EPA administrator should accept. The EPA has the enormous responsibility of protecting our environment and keeping Americans safe and healthy. Its administrator should share those goals, but Scott Pruitt’s record has shown us that he does not. While the EPA is tasked with protecting our people and our environment from the impacts of climate change, he denies the science behind it. And while the agency has worked to keep our air and water clean and safe, Scott Pruitt has worked to undermine the very rules that protect those resources. The health of our planet and our people is too important to leave in the hands of someone who does not believe in scientific facts or the basic mission of the EPA.”<br />According to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), “For the sake of the air we breathe, the water we drink and the planet we will leave our children, the head of the EPA cannot be a stenographer for the lobbyists of polluters and big oil. Pruitt has brazenly used his office as a vehicle for the agenda of big polluters and climate deniers in the courts – and he could do immense damage as the Administrator of the EPA.”<br />Speaking to Composting News last month, Lehr opined that despite Trump’s open skepticism about global warming, he doesn’t anticipate a sudden reversal in Washington policy regarding climate change.<br />“So far I haven’t read a single word that makes me believe we are going to back up at all on climate change,” he said. “There is no question that Trump feels that it is a hoax, and it is the biggest hoax ever perpetrated on society, and I think he will stick with that. But I think it will take some time to slowly wind it down reasonably. Over a period of time, the more than $5 billion a year of research money that goes to support the climate models at the academic levels will dry up.”<br /></span></span>Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614561221709929539noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3379049675328773267.post-88458439725057515842016-11-25T09:59:00.002-05:002016-11-25T10:11:18.937-05:00Composting human remains: May God rest your soil<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">By Ken McEntee, Owner</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuLGvtxkpX2ovdhuOKbuOphTtDAgYk_BpGukzt2twrzQ4zK57fogKZKYYzHxIYPZ8VLkqqt2O9JXBk3yW4IzkOxlOMs67TMPz11Q-VsN9x8CC4aQO1T0rmBjmbNaN5vPZc5ICEdR_RaM5n/s1600/2010-1020+New+CN+Banner+Art.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="66" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuLGvtxkpX2ovdhuOKbuOphTtDAgYk_BpGukzt2twrzQ4zK57fogKZKYYzHxIYPZ8VLkqqt2O9JXBk3yW4IzkOxlOMs67TMPz11Q-VsN9x8CC4aQO1T0rmBjmbNaN5vPZc5ICEdR_RaM5n/s200/2010-1020+New+CN+Banner+Art.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Republished from <a href="http://www.compostingnews.com/" target="_blank">Composting News</a></span></i><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Thirteen years ago, <a href="http://www.compostingnews.com/" target="_blank"><i>Composting News</i></a> republished <i>Pushing Up Daisies</i>, compost pioneer Malcolm Beck’s essay about human body composting.<br />“In nature, all plants and animal bodies are disassembled, consumed, and returned to the </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC6pQh4rh8fo8hYEbSdrt7v3KuwbsIQ4Rkn9YbH8JmWilmyS_z6ruDi0rvobbAKOoOEL6nr9UZMUPrxfWmlBSg3vqj8hGAvKWGEdK8WSdnYQssMwnoIBLULNSWd6k79_1hAWSv9SFcu4c8/s1600/2016-1122+Urban+Death+Project.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC6pQh4rh8fo8hYEbSdrt7v3KuwbsIQ4Rkn9YbH8JmWilmyS_z6ruDi0rvobbAKOoOEL6nr9UZMUPrxfWmlBSg3vqj8hGAvKWGEdK8WSdnYQssMwnoIBLULNSWd6k79_1hAWSv9SFcu4c8/s200/2016-1122+Urban+Death+Project.jpg" width="153" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Earth by the decomposing microbes, which maintains soil fertility,” Beck wrote. “Wouldn't this also be a more respectful way to handle our deceased?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Now, the Seattle-based <a href="http://www.urbandeathproject.org/" target="_blank">Urban Death Project</a>, is developing a new model of death care that it says “honors both our loved ones and the planet earth.” At the heart of this model is a composting system – called recomposition - that transforms human remains into soil.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“It occurred to me that I didn’t want the last thing I did on this planet to be polluting,” said Katrina Spade, founder and executive director of the project.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Spade has never heard of Beck, the founder and former owner of Garden-ville, a San Antonio-based compost producer. But she shares his view that traditional methods of cremation and burial are undesirable to the body and to the environment.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“The funeral industry gouges families,” she said. “They have to make them feel like they need a fancy coffin so they can make money. It is horrible.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Urban Death Project is working with <a href="http://css.wsu.edu/" target="_blank">Washington State University</a> to develop a prototype composting facility using animal carcasses</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“As far as I know we are the first to do a project like this,” Spade said.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Spade’s interest in composting human remains developed while she was in graduate school for architecture.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“I had an interest in decomposition that goes beyond the average architecture student,” she said. “I grew up in New Hampshire and we always raised and composted our own animals, so I developed a good knowledge of composing and permaculture design.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">She also became interested in the funeral industry.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“Today’s funerals don’t support the grieving as well as they could, and I also found out through research that cremation and convention burial pollute and are wasteful in different ways. We need to create new spaces in our cities where we can do death better, and incorporating the technology of livestock composting made sense.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In the recomposition process, the deceased body would be lowered down into a tall composting bay with a small footprint, where it would be composted with a bulking agent like wood chips. Aeration would be provided by ports in the side of the structure.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“It’s based on livestock composting principles, but we actually invented our own process,” Spade said. “We took the aerated windrow concept and turned it on its side so that it is vertically designed. The reason it is vertical is because it is meant to be for the city, so we need to minimize land use, so the obvious thing to do is to go up. The system we designed is vertically stacked, which I don’t think has ever been done before because there really hasn’t been a need for it. Most composting is done in rural spaces, where there is land.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Gradually, the body move downward through the bay as it decomposed. The end product would be about a yard of compost, including the composted bulking materials.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“We think the process will take four to six weeks, but we really don’t know until we build the prototype,” she said. “This is not like cremation where you give the ashes of the body to the family. This is a corrective system in the end. The bodies are put in and composted individually, but when we get to the second stage there will be a mixing and curing and finishing of the compost, because at that point we are no longer human. Families will be encouraged to take some of that compost, but it won’t just be from a single body at that point.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Spade expects that about six bodies could be moving down through the bay at the same time, each of which would be in a different stage of decomposition. The bays would be modularly designed, so a site could have one or more.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Last winter, Spade and Lynne Carpenter-Boggs, a soil scientist at Washington State worked with Western Carolina University to determine the most efficient way of composting human bodies. Donated bodies were placed in beds of wood chips, To vary the conditions, alfalfa pellets and water were later added to one of the bodies.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Human composting, Spade said is not legal in any state in the U.S.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“Our legal team thinks that if we really want to we could probably do it now in Colorado,” she said. “How we care for deceased bodies is a state by state decision. Most states are the same generally, with three options: bury, cremate or donate to science. In Washington we are working on a strategy to bring it to the legislature to offer another option for consumers.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Urban Death Project, a non-profit organization is now seeking donations toward building a prototype. The current fundraising campaign seeks $20,000 by the end of November. The overall cost of the prototype is expected to be around $75,000, with a final project cost of around $300,000.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“Once we make money we can start to involve Washington State,” she said. “Once we have a prototype, which will only take a couple months to build, we can run a pilot program. We have to have a successful pilot program before we can take it to the legislature. Hopefully we can take this to the legislature within a year and a half to two years.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Spade said she took her idea to Carpenter-Boggs after learning of Washington State’s work in composting livestock moralities. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“We will start by insuring that the system works by using some human sized animals, then maybe we will find some human donors,” she said. “We’re already getting inquiries about this.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ultimately, she said, the process would include on-site memorial services.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“By composting the body, the laws of nature are not violated and the cycles of life will be completed,” Beck wrote. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Through the end of November, donations to the project can be made at <a href="https://recomposition.causevox.com/">https://recomposition.causevox.com</a>.</span><br />
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Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614561221709929539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3379049675328773267.post-4971622013684136072016-11-22T19:05:00.002-05:002016-11-22T19:05:48.819-05:00WOTUS, EPA could be casualties of Trump administration<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By Ken McEntee, Owner</span><br />
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<br />Republished from <a href="http://www.compostingnews.com/" target="_blank"><i>Composting News</i></a>, November, 2016. <br /><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The court-halted Clean Water Rule defining the “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS), and even the U.S. EPA itself could come to an end under the administration of President-Elect Donald Trump, according to experts who keep a close eye on environmental regulations.<br />In the wake of Trump’s election, <i>Composting News</i> asked several experts about what they think the next four years have in store for WOTUS and environmental regulations in general. They included:<br />* Jay Lehr, one of the architects of the EPA who has since become a critic of the agency. Lehr, science director for the <a href="https://www.heartland.org/index.html" target="_blank">Heartland Institute</a>, a Chicago-based research organization, published a proposal two years ago to eliminate the federal EPA and secure environmental protection under the control of state agencies. Lehr said he is confident that at least portions of his plan will be adopted under the Trump administration.<br />* H. Reed Hopper, principal attorney with the <a href="http://www.pacificlegal.org/" target="_blank">Pacific Legal Foundation</a> (PLF), the Sacramento, Calif.-based public interest legal organization that has represented plaintiffs in property rights, civil rights and other cases against governments, including a lawsuit opposing WOTUS. Hopper said he expects WOTUS to be overturned, but doesn’t expect EPA to be eliminated or substantially reduced in scope.<br />* Robert LaGasse, executive director of the <a href="http://www.mulchandsoilcouncil.org/" target="_blank">Mulch and Soil Council</a>, a trade association that represents soil and mulch producers. LaGasse said he is optimistic that Trump’s planned infrastructure improvements will make transportation more efficient, and that an improved economy will boost demand for soil and mulch products.<br />* Frank Franciosi, executive director of the <a href="http://compostingcouncil.org/" target="_blank">U.S. Composting Council</a>, the trade association that represents compost producers.<br />Lehr, who was the nation’s first Ph.D. in groundwater hydrology and was among the first advocates for the creation of the EPA almost 50 years ago, said he is confident that the agency will be dismantled under the Trump administration. His plan calls for a gradual dismantling of EPA over a five-year period.<br />“People are emailing me all over the place,” he said. “They think it can be done.”<br />Lehr believes that state control over environmental regulations will be improve the environment.<br />“100 percent of the work of the nation’s environmental protection is done by the 50 state agencies,” Lehr said. “The federal government does nothing. The EPA has 10,000 useless employees, and all they do is look over the shoulders of the 50 states that do all of the work. Anybody in any business knows that you don’t do your best work when you know some idiot is looking over your shoulder. The only time in recent memory that EPA actually got involved and got their hands dirty on the ground is when they sent several people to deal with a situation at a mining operation in Colorado (Gold King Mine, August 2015). They screwed it up and they <a href="https://www.epa.gov/goldkingmine" target="_blank">contaminated the Animas River</a>. EPA’s response was ‘we’re sorry.’ Anybody else would have been in jail.”<br />Lehr said he would retain EPA’s Office of Research and Development and reduce the agency’s budget from $8.2 billion to $2 billion.<br />“In two years since I introduced it, there hasn’t been a single person who has challenged me with regard to the logic of the plan,” Lehr said. “The EPA is made up of 14 separate offices, most of which are administrative. Only four of them actually deal directly with the environment. The <a href="https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/about-office-research-and-development-ord" target="_blank">Office of Research and Development</a> is the only thing I would leave in the budget.”<br />Lehr believes WOTUS is dead on arrival of the new administration.<br />“The plan was to take over every drop of water in the United States,” he said. “Literally if there is a puddle on your farm and a bird lands in the puddle, the government would control that puddle. It’s dead. There is zero chance that it will go through.”<br />Despite Trump’s open skepticism about global warming, Lehr doesn’t anticipate a sudden reversal in Washington policy regarding climate change.<br />“So far I haven’t read a single word that makes me believe we are going to back up at all on climate change,” he said. “There is no question that Trump feels that it is a hoax, and it is the biggest hoax ever perpetrated on society, and I think he will stick with that. But I think it will take some time to slowly wind it down reasonably. Over a period of time, the more than $5 billion a year of research money that goes to support the climate models at the academic levels will dry up. The maximum of Trump’s backing off will be to assign a new committee of non-hoaxters to study the issue and come out with directives, the bottom line which will be that the climate is always changing, let’s keep our eye on it, let’s make sure that we are prepared for whatever happens.”<br />Despite reports that former Goldman Sachs investment banker Steven Mnuchin – the national finance chairman for Trump’s campaign – is a top contender for secretary of the treasurer, Lehr doesn’t anticipate a resurgence in carbon credits and carbon exchanges. Goldman Sachs was once a leading proponent of a Cap and Trade system through which it hoped to be the largest player in a carbon credit exchange that President Barack Obama once estimated to be a $646 billion business over seven years. Another major player in carbon trading was Generation Investment Management, founded by former Vice President Al Gore, with three former Goldman Sachs bankers.<br />“Carbon credits have never gotten off the ground,” Lehr said. “I think the money that has been wasted on carbon credits and carbon exchanges is going to be reduced.”<br />He believes tax incentives, including incentives for food waste processing technologies and green fuel production, will be eliminated under the Trump administration.<br />“I’ve always thought that turning food waste into fuel was a great idea,” he said. But it can never compete with fossil fuel. We don’t have 100 or 200 years of shale gas and oil in this country. We have 1,000 years. These (alternative) fuels are going to be a niche market. I don’t want to see them go out of business but I don’t want to give them any tax breaks either. I can predict for sure than in the next four years we’re going to see a dramatic reduction in tax breaks on energy and a lot of things that have been around a long time.”<br />Lehr believes Trump’s cabinet will “make life better for every single industry. The people who read your magazine are going to positively influenced. If they live on tax breaks or they live on regulations that make their competitors lives more difficult, then they may not benefit. But in the long haul businesses will benefit by an economic boom.”<br />LaGasse has the same hopes for a booming economy and a better business climate spurred by rolling back regulatory obstacles. He also hopes to see an end to tax credits and subsidies that favor some industries over others.<br />“They create inequities in the marketplace and support technologies that aren’t marketable or can’t survive in a free market,” LaGasse said.<br />Specifically, he says, subsidizing biomass energy diverts wood from mulch producers.<br />“Government subsidies - whether they are U.S. based or whether they are by foreign markets like the U.K., which subsidizes the import of millions of tons of wood pellets - take materials out of the historic wood fiber marketplace and redirect them. Instead of depending on a heavily subsidized foreign market we need to develop our own markets. America first is not a bad idea. If we spend our money here at home and improve our infrastructure and make the marketplace a stable place to do business, how is that bad?”<br />LaGasse hopes the Trump administration will “take a stronger look at EPA and correct some of the errors that it has made recently.”<br />That includes WOTUS, which LaGasse has said “presents a big problem for anybody who wants to make changes to their property.”<br />“We’re in the hopeful phases that they will be rolled back,” he said. “I think people have voted for the premise of returning regulatory agencies to being more regulators and less advocates. If (Trump) curtails some of the overreaching regulation like WOTUS, more development can proceed. Housing can expand. More jobs let more people afford housing, which creates more demand for our products.”<br />Hopper, lead attorney in the <a href="https://www.pacificlegal.org/wotus" target="_blank">first lawsuit filed against the Obama administration to block implementation of WOTUS</a>, said he is hopeful that the rule will be rolled back, along with climate change regulations.<br />“Trump has publicly stated his view that the WOTUS rule is unconstitutional, so it is likely he will pull the rule at some point,” Hopper said. “But it is equally likely the Justice Department will continue to defend the rule up until Trump takes office. The most likely outcome is that the new president will allow the Sixth Circuit (U.S. Court of Appeals) to decide the case, which almost certainly will go against the government given the Sixth Circuit’s nationwide injunction which held the rule was likely invalid statutorily and constitutionally. When that happens, Trump can pull the rule and refuse to defend it in the Supreme Court.”<br />Meanwhile, Hopper said he hopes Trump will roll back climate and carbon regulations, although he expects that it would take months before any changes are seen.<br />“I think Trump is serious about scaling back regulation, especially environmental and immigration regulations,” Hopper said. “In some cases, he may do so through an executive order, perhaps within his first 100 days. In other cases, he may have to allow the agency to issue a new rule that withdraws or supersedes the existing rule. This could take a couple years. There is a lot of inertia in some of these agencies like EPA and it will take awhile for the new administration to move its agenda down the line.”<br />Unlike Lehr, Hopper doesn’t foresee the elimination or reduction of the size of EPA.<br />“Even curtailing the agency seems unlikely,” he said. “So much of what the agency does is the result of entrenched, unelected bureaucrats overstepping their enforcement power. I don’t see that changing no matter who is in charge at the top. Even small-government types seem to change their attitude when they get to Washington and start working in these immense agencies like EPA. I fear the most we can hope for, at least in the near future, is to hold the line on EPA or simply slow its growth.”<br />Hopper said Trump’s lasting legacy may turn on who he appoints to the Supreme Court.<br />“This more than anything will make or break our country,” he said. “If Trump appoints some like-minded individual to replace Justice Scalia, at least the current balance of power on the court will remain with ongoing protections for landowners, state’s rights, and individual liberty. If, perchance, he gets to replace someone else on the bench, like Justice Ginsburg, that could provide a safeguard against big government for decades, if not generations.”<br />Franciosi said he wants to wait until Trump takes office before making any projections as so whether the new president will be a friend or foe to the composting business.<br />“We don’t even know who the EPA (administrator) is going to be, so it’s too early to say,” he said. “I can tell you that the people in the EPA who are working in resource management have been extremely cooperative and they and the USDA want to see the food scraps problem taken care of from a number of levels. From the standpoint of permitting, everything is done at the state level, so I don’t see any impact there. There are some bills in the Senate on food recovery. Those bills have proposed language on infrastructure funding. It seems to me that the new administration is big on infrastructure and big on jobs, and if you look at composting compared to other waste disposal options it creates more jobs than landfilling and incineration. The <a href="https://ilsr.org/initiatives/composting/" target="_blank">Institute of Local Self Reliance</a> has done some studies on that. So the message we need to get out is that we are a better option when it comes to building infrastructure and creating jobs.”<br />Franciosi said he is a “firm believer” in climate change, in contrast to Trump’s view of climate change as a hoax. <br />“But what we do as an industry benefits the environmental tremendously, not only from a greenhouse gas standpoint, but also when you look at all of the eco- system benefits composting provides, like water saving, less pesticide, less fertilizer, better healthy soil. Those all relate economically as well as environmentally. We have been through this before with prior administrations.”<br />Franciosi said the Trump administration isn’t likely to support green energy, which could impact USCC members who are involved in food to biogas projects. He said, however, that most green fuel incentives are offered at the state level.<br />Franciosi said that from the standpoint of federal regulations, the only area that directly impacts composters is in biosolids composting.<br />“It’s the states that are overseeing the regulations that allow composting facilities to operate, and many of them in are in the process of reviewing their regulations,” he said. “We’re here to help them. We have templates for composting legislation, and if any changes are going to be made, they should be science based, not based on hearsay.”<br /></span>Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614561221709929539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3379049675328773267.post-18453504784737004562016-06-29T16:39:00.000-04:002016-06-29T16:39:14.889-04:00Judge blocks green waste compost for organic growing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>By Ken McEntee</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i></i></span><br />
<a href="http://www.compostingnews.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Composting News</i></span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><br /></i>The ability to use of green waste compost to grow certified organic crops is in limbo after a federal judge vacated USDA guidance that allows compost that might contain pesticide residuals. <br />The <a href="https://www.wga.com/" target="_blank">Western Growers Association</a> (WGA) called the ruling “short-sighted and potentially market-devastating.”<br />Following this month’s ruling by Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley, of the U.S. District Court, Northern California District, Guidance Document <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwj31-Lmis7NAhWEPD4KHT1RAPoQFggeMAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ams.usda.gov%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fmedia%2F5016.pdf&usg=AFQjCNEdnL6TawRS8sVJV7KoJYTETbzZ-A&sig2=-zp8DyT8Z7bdKMew91rlfA" target="_blank">NOP 5016</a> will be vacated effective August 22. That will exclude green waste compost – mainly grass clippings - from being used in organic growing unless it is proven not to be contaminated by residual pesticides. The court sent the matter sent to the <a href="http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome" target="_blank">USDA</a>, which administers the <a href="https://www.ams.usda.gov/about-ams/programs-offices/national-organic-program" target="_blank">National Organic Program</a> (NOP), for further action, providing a tight two-month window.<br />USDA created the problem in 2011 when it adopted NOP 5016 without putting the guidance document through the proper public review process as mandated by the federal Administrative Procedures Act (APA). That was the basis of a lawsuit filed last year by the Oakland, Calif.-based <a href="http://www.ceh.org/" target="_blank">Center for Environmental Health</a> (CEH) and two other environmental groups against USDA. The plaintiffs asked the court to vacate NOP 5016, which they dubbed the “Contaminated Compost Decision,” due to the APA violations. CEH said the allowance for compost that might contain pesticide residuals would compromise the integrity of the organics program.<br />"We applaud the court's decision to protect the integrity of the organic program," said Caroline Cox, research director for CEH. "We will continue to watchdog the USDA to insure that the program meets consumers' expectations for meaningful organic standards."<br />The <a href="https://www.ota.com/" target="_blank">Organic Trade Association</a> (OTA), which represents more than 8,500 organic growers, processors and other businesses, said the court decision may disrupt the organic industry.<br />“OTA is concerned that prematurely removing this guidance for all organic operations will create serious disruptions to the organic industry, especially for organic producers who have been following the NOP’s regulations on the application of organic compost,” said Maggie McNeal, OTA’s director of media relations. “The lifting of this longstanding policy will also cause a significant disruption to certified organic manufacturers, handlers, and processors. Packaged organic food products must be made of certified organic ingredients obtained from certified organic farms. If the certification of the farms that produce these ingredients is voided, or even under challenge, certified organic manufacturers will be limited in their ability to obtain and use these ingredients.”<br />WGA, a trade association whose members farm about 185,000 certified organic acres and use an estimated one million tons of compost every year, argued prior to Corley’s ruling that vacating NOP 5016 would necessitate expensive pesticide testing on compost made from grass clippings before it could be used for certified organic production.<br />Such testing requirements would cause “extraordinary cost increases that may render organic production economically infeasible,” according to Hank Giclas, senior vice president, strategic planning, science & technology for WGA. The association provided input to the court as an amicus to show that the sudden withdrawal of the guidance would harm organic agriculture, composting operations and consumers in California.<br />“We asked the court to simply allow USDA to fix any procedural problem to the guidance without doing away with these important rules that codify well-established organic practices,” said Dennis Nuxoll, vice president of federal government affairs for WGA. “Now, starting in August, California organic farmers – who have followed USDA’s lead in good faith – won’t know the rules of the road.”<br />He said WGA is concerned that certified organic farmers will no longer enjoy the protections of NOP Guidance 5016 if their organic compost contains incidental residues of prohibited substances that they did not cause – opening them up to potential lawsuits.<br />“Furthermore, we recognize that no analytical testing currently exists to confirm the absence of all disallowed chemical substances, and the cost of trying to conduct such testing would be prohibitive and could render organic production economically unfeasible,” Nuxoll said.<br />Frank Franciosi, executive director of the <a href="http://compostingcouncil.org/" target="_blank">U.S. Composting Council</a> (USCC), said the council’s Legislative & Environmental Affairs Committee was looking into the matter and should have a response in early- to mid-July.<br />“It is very expensive to test for residuals of pesticides in compost, but the big thing is who is going to set the limits, if there are going to be any,” Franciosi said. “It is pretty impossible in today’s environment to have materials that are void of any kind of manmade substance.”<br />The suit was filed in April 2015 against USDA, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service and the NOP. Plaintiffs said NOP 5016 changed the existing rules for the use of compost in organic production and should have gone through an appropriate process of public notice and comment before it was implemented. <br />The issue originated in 2009, when the <a href="https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/" target="_blank">California Department of Food Control and Agriculture</a> (CDFA) found residue of NOP-prohibited pesticide bifenthrin in samples of three different commercial green waste compost products made by Grover Environmental Products, Feather River Organics and Nortech Waste LLC. Bifenthrin is used to control fire ants and other inspects and is applied to lawns through a variety of brand name products. CDFA advised organic producers and accredited certifying agents that the three affected composts were banned for use in organic crop production.<br />NOP said it then addressed the issue nationally by sending a draft policy on pesticide residues in compost to accredited organic certifying agents and received six comments, all of which “urged the NOP to take an alternative approach” to the CDFA decision. Following that, USDA issued NOP 5016, which applied an “unavoidable residual contamination” exception to compost.<br />The lawsuit was filed five years later.<br />OTA said it will participate in any upcoming comment process to ensure that the needs of organic operations are heard.<br />“But we remain concerned that removing the compost guidance prematurely will throw the market into disarray,” OTA said. “With no guidance, there could be inconsistency – which is not desired by certified organic operations or consumers.”<br /><br /><br /></span>Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614561221709929539noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3379049675328773267.post-2547132519634433942016-05-24T16:03:00.000-04:002016-05-24T16:03:21.418-04:00Federal court to hear 'contaminated compost' case<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By Ken McEntee</span><br />
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Owner</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.compostingnews.com/" target="_blank">Composting News</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />May 20, 2016<br />A hearing has been reset to May 26 on a federal case that may determine whether compost made from grass clippings must be tested for pesticides before being used in certified organic production.<br />Such testing requirements would cause “extraordinary cost increases that may render organic production economically infeasible,” according to Hank Giclas, senior vice president, strategic planning, science & technology for Western Growers Association (WGA). <br />Western Growers, a trade association whose members farm about 185,000 certified organic acres and use an estimated one million tons of compost every year, this month was granted amicus status by a federal judge in support of defendants USDA and its National Organics Program (NOP) in a federal lawsuit relating to their allowable use of potentially pesticide contaminated compost for certified organic food.<br />Federal Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley, of the U.S. District Court, Northern California District, also was considering amicus requests from the Organic Trade Association (OTA) and the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) to join the case in support of the federal agencies.<br />The case involves NOP’s issuance, in April 2010, of guidance for Allowance of Green Waste in Organic Production Systems (Document NOP 5016). The guidance allows, for certified organic production, the use of green waste compost that may contain residue from synthetic pesticides applied to lawns. The three plaintiffs in the suit are asking the court to prevent the federal agencies from allowing such compost to be acceptable for organic production. Their primary argument is that NOP 5016 was put into effect without first undergoing proper public hearing procedures.<br /><b> </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>The case</b><br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The suit was filed in April 2015 by plaintiffs Center for Environmental Health (CEH), of Oakland, Calif., Center for Food Safety (CFS), of San Francisco and Beyond Pesticides, of Washington, D.C. against defendants USDA, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service and USDA’s National Organic Program.<br />The plaintiffs say USDA improperly issued NOP 5016, which they call the “Contaminated Compost Decision,” as a guidance document without providing public notice or comment opportunities. They say that since the document changed the rules for the use of compost in organic production, it constitutes a legislative rule, not simply guidance, and is subject to the federal government’s Administrative Procedure Act (APA), which mandates public notice and comment.<br />NOP regulations support the use of composted plant and animal materials to maintain or improve soil organic matter. The regulations specify that organic producers must “manage plant and animal materials to maintain or improve soil organic matter content in a manner that does not contribute to the contamination of crops, soil or water by plant nutrients, pathogenic organisms, heavy metals or residues of prohibited substances.”<br />The organic standards prohibit the use of synthetic chemicals, but allow for exceptions that are specified on a “National List” of allowed and prohibited substances. To be added to the National List, a synthetic substance must get agency approval after a review process to determine human or environmental harm and whether wholly natural substitutes are available.<br />Recognizing that trace amounts of synthetic chemicals may be present on farms, NOP regulations contain exceptions for unavoidable residual environmental contamination (UREC) in organic products. The exception, plaintiffs say, is intended for agricultural inputs generated on farms where farmers are unable to control contamination already in the soil and air and should not apply to compost made from grass clipping contaminated with synthetic pesticides.<br /><br /><b>Bifenthrin</b><br /><br />In 2009, the California Department of Food Control and Agriculture (CDFA) found residue of NOP-prohibited pesticide bifenthrin in samples of three different commercial green waste compost products made by Grover Environmental Products, Feather River Organics and Nortech Waste LLC. Bifenthrin is used to control fire ants and other inspects and is applied to lawns through a variety of brand name products. CDFA advised organic producers and accredited certifying agents that the three affected composts were banned for use in organic crop production.<br />NOP said it then addressed the issue nationally by sending a draft policy on pesticide residues in compost to accredited organic certifying agents and received six comments, all of which “urged the NOP to take an alternative approach” to the CDFA decision.<br />In December 2009 and February 2010, CCOF – one of the parties now seeking amicus status in the lawsuit – tested soil and crop samples where affected compost had been applied at the rate of five to six tons per acre and did not detect bifenthrin samples above a detection limit 0.01 parts per million. Following that, NOP issued NOP 5016, which applied the “unavoidable residual contamination” exception to compost.<br />“The NOP standards are process based and do not mandate zero tolerance for synthetic pesticide residues in inputs, such as compost,” the guidance document says. “Compost that is produced from the approved feedstocks…is acceptable for use in organic production provided that any residual pesticide levels do not contribute to the contamination of crops, soil or water.”<br />Plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which was filed five years later, said, “For the first time, the Contaminated-Compost decision allowed organic producers to use contaminated materials such as commercial food waste and lawn trimmings treated with synthetic pesticides as compost for their crops as long as the producers do not either directly apply synthetic pesticides or contribute to the contamination of crops, soil or water…The Contaminated-Compost decision did not define or explain how it would measure the contamination of crops, soil or water.”<br />The plaintiffs argue that bifenthrin, for example, is not an unavoidable environmental contaminant as allowed by NOP rules prior to NOP 5106, but rather a substance intentionally applied to grass that becomes a feedstock for compost.<br />“The Contaminated-Compost decision changed the legal status of bifenthrin and other pesticides that are prohibited for use in organic production but are now being allowed in green waste used in organic production,” the suit says. “Prior to the Contaminated-Compost decision, the National Organic Program banned producers from using contaminated compost materials in organic agriculture. But the Contaminated Compost decision renounced that ban, tolerating the use of contaminated compost materials and thus undermining organic standards.”<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Dismissal denied</b><br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">In September, the court denied USDA’s motion to dismiss the suit. The motion to dismiss was based on USDA’s insistence that public notice was not necessary before issuance of a “guidance document.” The plaintiffs argue that because NOP 5016 creates a change of policy, rather than just guidance.<br />“Defendants have not shown that as a matter of law NOP 5016 is merely a guidance policy for which no notice and comment is required,” the court ruled.<br />New parties<br />With just two weeks remaining before a scheduled hearing on summary judgment in the case, the plaintiffs objected to Western Growers’ last minute request to support USDA and NOP under amicus status. The court, however, granted amicus status early this month, said it would also consider last minute amicus status requested by OTA and CCOF. Corley also rescheduled the hearing on summary judgement – motions filed by each side to rule in their favor without further moving forward in the case – from May 12 to May 26.<br />Western Growers said its members – farmers in California, Arizona and Colorado – grow, pack and ship almost half of all U.S. produce, and produce a third of all fresh organic produce in the U.S. Yet, the association explained its last minute interest in the case because it became aware of the case and its implications for certified organic farmers in March.”<br />Western Farmers, however, said it wants to appear only to explain the implications should the court rule in favor of the plaintiffs.<br />Those implications, Giclas wrote, could include residue testing of all compost before it could be used for organic production.<br />“To improve soil organic matter content in a manner that does not contribute to contamination of soil, crops or water resources, our members use significant amounts of manufactured compost that is generally obtained from an OMRI (Organic Materials Review Institute) recognized commercial source,” Giclas wrote. “We are not aware of available substitutes for prepared compost for certified organic operations. The unavailability of compost unless proved to be analytically free of all known substances that are not allowed by the federal organic regulations will have a dramatic and negative impact on the soil on organic farms. It will likely impact adversely the soil fertility, soil tilth, biological activity and crop nutrients.”<br /></span>Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614561221709929539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3379049675328773267.post-43606097912506671362016-05-05T10:00:00.000-04:002016-05-06T09:25:37.373-04:00Seattle food waste rule violates privacy, court rulesBy Ken McEntee<br />
<a href="http://www.compostingnews.com/" target="_blank">Composting News</a> <br />
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Snooping through residents’ garbage to find violations of Seattle’s food waste disposal ban violates residents’ rights to privacy, as protected by the Washington state constitution, a King County Superior Court judge ruled this month. Judge Beth M. Andrus granted summary judgement to plaintiffs in Bonesteel v. City of Seattle and issued an injunction against enforcement of unconstitutional portions of the city’s food waste disposal ban.<br />
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The ruling does not mean that Seattle’s ban on the disposal food waste and compostable paper in residential garbage itself is unlawful, and the plaintiffs did not challenge the city’s right to ban food waste from trash collections.<br />
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“The ruling that the city’s ban on recyclables and food waste in the trash is lawful helps Seattle meet its recycling goals,” said Andy Ryan, media relations coordinator for Seattle Public Utilities (SPU). “The ruling requires that we ensure the way trash is collected maintains our customers’ privacy. We will study the ruling and determine what changes we need to make in the program and the city ordinance.”<br />
Bonesteel v. City of Seattle is a civil rights lawsuit filed in July 2015 on behalf of a number of Seattle residents who say their rights were violated by the inspection provisions of the food waste ordinance. <br />
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“Today’s ruling is a victory for common sense and constitutional rights,” said Ethan Blevins, staff attorney for the <a href="http://www.pacificlegal.org/" target="_blank">Pacific Legal Foundation</a> (PLF), a non-profit public interest legal organization that represented the residents at no charge. “A clear message has been sent to Seattle public officials: Recycling and other environmental initiatives can’t be pursued in a way that treats people’s freedoms as disposable. Seattle can’t place its composting goals over the privacy rights of its residents. By authorizing garbage collectors to pry through people’s garbage without a warrant, the city has promoted a policy of massive and persistent snooping. That’s not just wrong as a matter of policy, as the judge has correctly ruled, it is wrong as a matter of law.”<br />
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At issue was Seattle Ordinance No. 124582, which prohibits residents from throwing food and compostable paper in the trash. The food waste ban requires garbage collectors to monitor the contents of garbage cans through visual inspection and to report residents to Seattle Public Utilities when significant amounts of a can’s contents (more than 10 percent) are made up of recyclables or food waste. The law applies to single-family homes, apartments and commercial properties.<br />
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As invoked by the lawsuit, PLF said, the ordinance violates the right to privacy. Article I, section 7, of the Washington Constitution provides that “no person shall be disturbed in his private affairs, or his home invaded, without authority of law.” The provision offers more expansive protection than the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Washington courts “jealously guard” the right to privacy, holding that people have a reasonable expectation that the contents of their garbage cans will remain private, and that the government may not search rubbish bins without a warrant, PLF said.<br />
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SPU inspectors or contractors inspected residents’ trash containers to visually determine whether they exceeded 10 percent food waste. If they did, a sticker indicating the violation was placed on the container and a $1 fine was levied. Seattle contracts with Waste Management and Recology/CleanScapes to collect trash. Compostables are collected by Lenz Enterprises and PacificClean of Washington.<br />
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According to the suit, collectors tagged about 500 trash cans per week when the program started in early 2015. The rate of tagged cans dropped to about 40 per week by late 2015.<br />
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Ryan said the city is “pleased that the court’s ruling recognizes the city's ability to regulate what goes into trash cans to address conservation and safety needs. Plain view monitoring for dangerous items is vital to protecting worker and public safety. This was the most important issue at stake in this case.”<br />
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Also see <a href="http://compostingnews.blogspot.com/2015/10/seattle-sued-for-trashing-privacy-rights.html" target="_blank">Seattle sued for trashing privacy rights</a>. <br />
<br />Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614561221709929539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3379049675328773267.post-54431691318430329022015-10-21T12:53:00.000-04:002015-10-21T13:13:11.901-04:00New federal water rule blocked by court <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="mailto:ken@recycle.cc" target="_blank"> By Ken McEntee</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">As many observers expected, the Obama administration’s new “Clean Water Rule” that redefines the “<a href="http://www2.epa.gov/cleanwaterrule/definition-waters-united-states-under-clean-water-act" target="_blank">Waters of the United States</a>”
(WOTUS) has been stayed in federal court. This month, the Sixth U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals issued a nationwide stay of the new rule,
blocking its implementation while numerous court challenges across the
country are sorted out and tried.<br /><br />“The Sixth Circuit stayed the
rule across the country to maintain the status quo while it determines
if the court has jurisdiction to hear the challenge on its merits or
whether the federal district courts should hear the cases first,”
according to the <a href="http://www.pacificlegal.org/" target="_blank">Pacific Legal Foundation</a> (PLF), which sued the administration on behalf of a group of landowners, farmers and cattlemen to invalidate WOTUS.<br /><br />WOTUS,
which was developed by the U.S. EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers,
was issued on June 29 and immediately was challenged in 10 different
suits involving more than 30 states and scores of private parties. <br /><br />The stay was hardly a surprise. In July, Jay Lehr, science director for the <a href="https://www.heartland.org/" target="_blank">Heartland Institute</a>,
a Chicago-based research organization, <a href="http://compostingnews.blogspot.com/2015/10/wotus-muddies-waters-may-stifle.html" target="_blank">told <i>Composting News</i></a> that a
barrage of lawsuits, injunctions and acts of Congress was likely to
block the new regulations from going into effect.<br /><br />“I think this
will be in the courts for years,” said Lehr, the nation’s first Ph.D. in
groundwater hydrology who was among the first advocates for the
creation of the EPA almost 50 years ago. “With all of the various filers
from multiple states and organizations, I can’t imagine that they will
have trouble finding judges at the right levels who will place
injunctions against the carrying out of this law.”<br /><br />H. Reed
Hopper, principal attorney for PLF, said that whichever court ultimately
decides the fate of the new rule, the Sixth Circuit’s stay decision is
noteworthy in its conclusion that the rule appears to be invalid on its
face because:<br /> </span><br />
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It
is arguably inconsistent with Supreme Court decisions limiting the
scope of the Clean Water Act, including PLF’s 2006 case of <a href="http://www.pacificlegal.org/page.aspx?pid=3839" target="_blank">Rapanos v. United States</a>;</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It was apparently issued without adequate public review and comment; and</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It
may undermine the Clean Water Act’s goal of recognizing the primary
role of the states in protecting local land and water use.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />“As
PLF argues in our challenge to the sweeping rule, the Obama
administration’s new rule represents an unprecedented expansion of
federal power that could bring virtually all the nation’s water and much
of the land under command-and-control direction from Washington, D.C.,”
Hopper said. “Its vast expansion of the Clean Water Act jurisdiction
violates both the terms of the act and the constitution’s limits on
federal authority. Under its vague and limitless terms, the only waters
that are clearly not subject to federal regulatory power are a few that
are expressly excluded, including artificial reflective pools,
ornamental waters and some ground water.”<br /><br />As reported in the August issue of <a href="http://www.compostingnews.com/" target="_blank"><i>Composting News</i></a>, Robert LaGasse, executive director of the <a href="http://www.mulchandsoilcouncil.org/" target="_blank">Mulch and Soil Council</a>,
expressed reservations about WOTUS, saying that the rule “presents a
big problem for anybody who wants to make changes to their property.”<br /><br />"The
rules are so vague that you might get one answer from one regulator and
a completely different answer from another regulator,” LaGasse said.<br /><br />The <a href="http://compostingcouncil.org/" target="_blank">U.S. Composting Council</a>, on the other hand, isn’t concerned about the new rule, according to Cary Oshins, director of education for the organization.<br /><br />“I don’t think this will make much of a difference for compost sites,” Oshins said.<br /><br />Opponents like Hopper, however, said the rule, if enacted, would impact everybody.<br /><br />“Property
owners around the country will be faced with the prospect of being
micro-managed by federal bureaucrats,” Hopper said. “This turns our
federal system on its head. Under our constitutional framework, the
states and localities are charged with the primary role in land use
regulation and local water-quality protection. The new rule usurps the
authority and responsibility of the states, and empowers bureaucrats in
Washington D.C. to act as zoning and land use czars for the entire
nation.”</span>Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614561221709929539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3379049675328773267.post-75357630903922026592015-10-21T12:33:00.000-04:002015-10-21T12:33:35.858-04:00Plastic company cannot claim biodegradability, FTC rules<a href="mailto:ken@recycle.cc" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By Ken McEntee</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2015/10/ftc-concludes-ecm-biofilms-made-false-misleading-unsubstantiated" target="_blank">ruled</a> biodegradability claims by a plastics additive manufacturer to be deceptive. The attorney for Painesville, Ohio-based <a href="http://www.ecmbiofilms.com/" target="_blank">ECM BioFilms</a> said ECM will appeal the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.<br /><br />“It is a disastrous decision that should be held as unconstitutional under the First Amendment,” said Jonathan Emord, of Washington D.C.-based <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ftc-bans-biodegradable-on-products-300161724.html" target="_blank">Emord & Associates</a>. “It is an egregious instance of abuse of agency discretion.”<br /><br />Emord said FTC’s order against ECM reversed the decision of its own administrative law judge and contradicted the testimony of its own scientific experts.”<br /><br />In January 2015, FTC’s Chief Administrative Law Judge D. Michael Chappell <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/biodegradable-plastics-claim-upheld-against-ftc-challenge-in-precedent-setting-ecm-biofilms-case-300032378.html" target="_blank">ruled</a> that ECM’s claim that its plastics additive, ECM MasterBatch Pellets, causes plastics to biodegrade was supported by competent and reliable scientific evidence and rejected FTC’s challenge to that claim. Chappell also rejected FTC’s argument that the term “biodegradable” implies that a product will completely biodegrade into elements found in nature within one year after customary disposal — a position articulated in the FTC’s Green Guides industry guidance.<br /><br />Along with reversing the ALJ decision, FTC changed the one-year rule in its Green Guides to says that products must be proven to break down into natural elements within five years of disposal to claim biodegradability.<br /><br />ECM advertised the additive causes plastics to be biodegradable, that plastics treated with MasterBatch Pellets are “biodegradable in a landfill” and that plastic products made with ECM additives “biodegrade in nine months to five years.”<br /><br />Emord said the latter claim had been since withdrawn.<br /><br />FTC in October 2013, filed an administrative complaint alleging that ECM’s claims were false or unsubstantiated. After about three months of hearings, the commission officially issued its opinion and final order against ECM on October 19. The order basically tells ECM to stop making claims of biodegradability.<br /><br />“In its opinion, written by Commissioner Terrell McSweeny, the commission affirmed (Chappell’s) initial decision that ECM made deceptive claims that plastics treated with ECM’s additive would completely biodegrade in a landfill within nine months to five years, and that scientific tests supported this claim,” FTC announced. “The commission also upheld the ALJ’s finding that ECM encouraged its customers – companies that manufacture plastics – to pass on the deceptive claims to their customers and end-users.”<br /><br />FTC said that based on its own examination of the evidence, it also found that ECM made implied claims that plastic products treated with ECM’s additive will biodegrade in a reasonably short period of time, or within five years, and that these claims were false and unsubstantiated. This reversed the ALJ’s finding that the commission did not prove that ECM’s environmental marketing conveyed such implied claims. In its ruling FTC considered ECM’s customers’ inability to “readily judge for themselves the truth or falsity of ECM’s claims.”<br /><br />The FTC vote to approve the Opinion and Final Order was 4-0, with Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen dissenting in part and issuing a separate statement. In her statement, Ohlhausen agreed with the ALJ that FTC failed to prove that ECM’s unqualified “biodegradable” claim caused reasonable consumers to believe that treated products would biodegrade in a reasonably short time period.<br /><br />“This is a momentous decision in the sense that is will transform the industry,” Emord told Composting News. “It promulgates a new rule amending the FTC Green Guide to say that plastic has to biodegrade into elements in nature within five years of customary disposal or you can’t call it biodegradable. The problem is that is not scientific. First of all, materials don’t ordinarily break down into elements - they break down into compounds. Any substance from a piece of wood to banana to a piece of paper breaks into compounds, not elements, which means that there is nothing that can qualify for the term ‘biodegradable.’”<br /><br />Emord said the five-year rule for a substance breaking down into elements is “nutty.”<br /><br />“Intrinsically biodegradable substances cannot be predicted to biodegrade within any set time period,” he said. “It depends on ambient environmental conditions and the relative presence of biota. Under the new FTC rule, a product that completely biodegrades five years and one minute after disposal is not lawfully labeled ‘biodegradable’ but one that completely biodegrades just one minute before is.”<br /><br />Emord said more than 20 gas evolution tests done by ECM and companies that purchased the additive confirmed intrinsic biodegradability.<br /><br />“Those are generally accepted tests and FTC rejected those tests and articulated what it would accept as biodegradable in broad terms,” Emord said. “There is no testing methodology to prove what they will accept. Nothing is going to completely break down, even if it is intrinsically biodegradable, within five years by any reliable measure.”<br /><br />Emord said Mort Barlaz, of North Carolina State University, “who is recognized as one of, if not the top expert in the world on biodegradation of plastics in the world,” testified to the commission that the ECM additive made plastics intrinsically biodegradable.<br /><br />“The method of testing was even affirmed as valid by FTC's own testifying expert, Dr. Thabet Tolaymat, a representative of the U.S. EPA,” Emord said. The judge agreed, in very tedious detail, that we showed proof of biodegradability, and that FTC did not prove otherwise. Without a reasoned explanation for departure from the science, the FTC adopted instead an arbitrary five-year cut off as the standard for allowing biodegradable claims. This is a very strange process where the prosecutor is also the judge. The commission simply rejected all of the evidence that convinced the ALJ of our case, and didn’t have to explain why.”<br /><br />According to ECM, plastics treated with its additive has been tested and proved as biodegradable and safe for the environment by using the following ASTM test methods D5209, D5338 and 5511.<br /><br />A complete history of the case against ECM can be found in FTC Docket No. 9358, at <a href="http://tinyurl.com/p3bx5gd">http://tinyurl.com/p3bx5gd</a>.<br /></span>Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614561221709929539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3379049675328773267.post-48178747885488406842015-10-12T14:14:00.000-04:002015-10-12T14:25:56.648-04:00Local media duped: Apple maggot interrupts yard waste movement<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By <a href="mailto:ken@recycle.cc" target="_blank">Ken McEntee</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.compostingnews.com/">Composting News</a><br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The <a href="http://agr.wa.gov/" target="_blank">Washington State Department of Agriculture</a> is continuing to work with composters in the eastern part of the state to ensure that apple maggots don’t threaten the state’s $2 billion apple industry, said Steve Fuller, policy assistant to the state director of agriculture.<br /><br />Fuller said the department has hired three consultants to assist in a pest-risk analysis, which is expected to be completed in March 2016.<br /><br />He said a quarantine on food waste being transported from western Washington to composting facilities in eastern Washington remains in effect.<br /><br />Meanwhile, the <a href="http://www.compostwashington.org/" target="_blank">Washington Organic Recycling Council</a> (WORC) said local media falsely reported that the department shut down two composting facilities in Eastern Washington for operating without a permit to accept organic material. Specifically, television station KIMA, in Yakima, Wash., reported the shutdowns based on unchecked press releases from what WORC said were fictitious organizations using the names <i>Western Washington Compost Alliance</i> and the <i>Washington State Composting News</i>. Neither of those organizations appear to exist.<br /><br />“All of our member compost facilities in eastern Washington are still open for business and have been operating legally,” WORC said.<br /><br />Apple maggots deposit eggs in apples. The larvae eat the fruit and eventually emerge as flies during the spring. The maggots are common west of the Cascade Mountains, where 60 to 80 percent of the apple trees are thought to be infested, Fuller said. The bulk of the state’s apple industry is located east of the Cascades.<br /><br />Fuller said apple growers became concerned about potential infestation of their orchards after PacifiClean Environmental LLC signed a contract to haul yard waste from Seattle, in western Washington, to its composting facility in Quincy, in the east. <br /><br />“That was the trigger that caused the concern,” Fuller said. “There are apples in the backyard green waste bins and that is a potential pathway for apple maggots to move across the state.”<br /><br />Along with PacifiClean, three other composters, he said, were receiving yard waste from the state’s quarantined area. The agriculture department asked those facilities to stop processing municipal green waste delivered from the quarantined area of the state. Besides PacifiClean, the others were Royal Organic Products, of Royal City, Barr-Tech Composting, in Spokane, and Natural Selection Farms, of Sunnyside.<br /><br />Fuller said those facilities are operating, but are not taking yard waste from the quarantined area. He said the facilities are cooperating with the state and could be able to process the material once research shows that there is no danger of apple maggot infestation. <br /><br />“We have been working to identify the right set of operating conditions that would allow composters to control the risk of spreading apple maggots,” Fuller said. “We want them to be successful in the composting business while affording the apple industry the protection that it needs.”<br /><br />Presently, he said, it is believed that the heat generated during the composting process is sufficient to kill the apple maggot larvae and pupae, but that needs to be confirmed in a “scientifically rigorous way.”<br /><br />Fuller said two consultants from the U.S. and an international consultant have been hired to conduct the pest-risk analysis.<br /><br />Officials from PacifiClean and Natural Selection Farms did not returned calls to Composting News prior to publication.<br /><br />Dan Corum, president of WORC, commenting on the media reports, which were based on information from apparently phony organizations, said, “It is puzzling and unfortunate that someone would perceive a need to issue false information anonymously. Eastern Washington compost facilities are and have been open and operating legally within their permits and in cooperation with state and local regulators. WORC member compost facilities have been cooperative and working with regulators to find beneficial solutions to issues that impact both agriculture and composters.”<br /><br />He said WORC members have been active in the recent developments regarding special permits to be issued by the department of agriculture for the transportation and composting of food and yard trimmings from quarantine areas for apple maggot to compost facilities located within pest-free areas of the state. <br /></span>Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614561221709929539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3379049675328773267.post-82840488336729075502015-10-12T14:01:00.000-04:002015-10-12T14:01:39.675-04:00Oakland reduces food compostable collection rates<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By <a href="mailto:ken@recycle.cc" target="_blank">Ken McEntee</a></span><br />
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<br />October 7, 2015<br /><br />Following angry protests from restaurant owners in Oakland, the city has lowered its commercial compost collection rates to 30 percent below the cost of picking up trash through July 2016. After that, the organics collection rate will increase to 25 percent below the waste collection rate. (<a href="http://compostingnews.blogspot.com/2015/10/oakland-restaurants-protest-food-waste.html" target="_blank">See related article.</a>)<br /><br />The move reversed a situation in which the city, in July, while declaring that it wants to keep organics out of landfills, set commercial organics collection rates higher than the rate for waste collection (see <a href="http://www.compostingnews.com/" target="_blank"><i>Composting News</i></a>, July 2015).<br /><br />The new rates were part of a new 10-year contract that gives Waste Management of Alameda County a monopoly on the commercial collection of trash and compostables in the city of Oakland. The new rates coincided with the city’s launch of “Oakland Recycles,” a new zero waste program of trash, compost and recycling services with a goal to divert all compostable and recyclable material away from landfills.<br /><br />Independent restaurant owners uniting under the name the name Oakland Indie Alliance, trashed the arrangement, protesting in front of City Hall.<br /><br />“We are shocked by the massive compost fee increases in the contract,” Gail Lillian, owner of Liba Falafel, said at the time. “Additionally, the composting fees are set higher than trash fees, serving as a deterrent for composting.”<br /><br />Lillian said, her monthly charge for organics collection more than doubled, from $225 per month to $460 per month – an increase of almost $3,000 per year. Trash collection rates increased, she said, but not nearly as much as her composting bill.<br /><br />Prior to a special City Council meeting to consider revising the rates, almost 40 restaurant owners sent a letter to council that said the proposal revisions were not good enough.<br /><br />“We hope that you agree that the protracted and convoluted process of writing and approving the original contract will stand as an example of how not to write a city contract for many years to come,” the letter said. “We understand this is biggest contract Oakland has ever written, and that council and city staff spent many hundreds of hours and millions of dollars to write it. Much of this effort and money was clearly wasted. Instead of writing a contract that serves the citizens and businesses of Oakland – either by providing us services we needed, or by keeping rates sustainable for services we already had – council approved a contract which has been referred to as the ‘Rolls Royce’ of contracts, with vastly increased costs being borne primarily on the backs of restaurants and multi-tenant buildings through exorbitant rates. Many of us invested in Oakland during challenging times, and hope to benefit from its resurgence. Terrible deals like this pull the rug out from under us. Oakland's independent business community will wither like it did during the early 2000 dot-com boom if you continue to ignore our needs.”<br /><br />The organics collection rate adjustment to 30 percent of the waste collection rate through July 1, 2016, and 25 percent of the trash rate thereafter, the restaurateurs said, because:<br /><br /><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Landfill and compost rates are still the highest in the region, by far. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Regional compost rates for most surrounding cities are at 50 percent of landfill rates.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Twenty-five percent is far below the norm.“We need you to do more,” the letter said. </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“</span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Please take the time to make this contract right.”</span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The restaurateurs called for the removal of unnecessary services from the contract with Waste Management; the re-examination of the balance of rate adjustments between the various entity types; examining the disposition of the $28 million annual franchise fee paid to the city; and bringing commercial rates in line with others in the region.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />The city, however, approved its proposed rate adjustment.<br /><br />Under the new program, the city admitted, commercial composting service rates charged by Waste Management “upside down – higher, in most cases, than the comparable rates for trash service, creating a disincentive for businesses to compost.”<br /><br />For example, the monthly rate for collecting a 20-gallon cart of trash once a week was initially set at $27.97. The rate for the same sized cart and frequency of collection for compostables was set at $33.84 per month. Weekly collection of a seven-yard trash bin was $968.10 per month, compared to $1,109.75 for compostables.<br /><br /><br /></span>Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614561221709929539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3379049675328773267.post-50780826012342430502015-10-12T13:51:00.000-04:002015-10-12T13:51:37.197-04:00Oakland restaurants protest food waste collection hikes<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">(Originally published in <a href="http://www.compostingnews.com/" target="_blank">Composting News</a>, July 2015)</span><br />
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<br /><br />By <a href="mailto:ken@recycle.cc" target="_blank">Ken McEntee</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">July 20, 2015<br /><br />The city of Oakland this month began its Zero Waste initiative to keep recyclable and compostable materials out of landfills. Local restaurant owners, meanwhile, were hit with a big surprise when they got their new trash bills, which took effect on July 1.<br /><br />“We are shocked by the massive compost fee increases in the contract,” said Gail Lillian, owner of <a href="http://libafalafel.com/" target="_blank">Liba Falafel</a>. “Additionally, the composting fees are set higher than trash fees, serving as a deterrent for composting.”<br /><br />For example, the monthly rate for collecting a 20-gallon cart of trash once a week is $27.97. The rate for the same sized cart and frequency of collection for compostables is $33.84 per month. Weekly collection of a seven-yard trash bin is $968.10 per month, compared to $1,109.75 for compostables.<br /><br />As a result of a new 10-year contract with the city of Oakland that gives Waste Management of Alameda County a monopoly on the commercial collection of trash and compostables, Lillian said, her monthly charge for organics collection more than doubled, from $225 per month to $460 per month – an increase of almost $3,000 per year. Trash collection rates increased, she said, but not nearly as much as her composting bill.<br /><br />In a letter to Waste Management and to Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, a group of local restaurant owners said that cost advantages of composting and recycling created strong incentives to reduce landfill use, leading to different choices when shopping for supplies and ingredients to reduce waste. It makes no sense, Lillian says, especially in light of the city’s Zero Waste initiative, to make restaurants may more to separate their compostables. <br /><br />Following a protest by local restaurant owners – who have formed a new group called the Oakland Indie Alliance - City Council was considering a revised proposal that would reduce rates for organics collection to 90 percent of the trash rate. Lillian called it a short term fix.<br /><br />Until the new waste contract went into effect, Waste Management controlled commercial trash collection, but companies were free to contract with other vendors for recycling and composting pickups, Lillian said. Lillian and some other restaurant owners hired Recology to take their food waste. The new contact gave Waste Management a monopoly on composting as well. The contract was approved last fall, ending a suit Waste Management filed against Oakland after the city earlier awarded an exclusive collection contract to another company.<br /><br />“We expected to see a rate increase with the new contract, but we didn’t expect this,” she said.<br /><br />On June 10, Lillian and about 24 other restaurant owners held a press conference in protest of the new rates on the steps of Oakland City Hall. Some brought their food waste containers with them.<br /><br />“The restaurants, whom have been big supporters of composting for years, are getting massive increases in this new contract,” she said. “Some of us have seen our composting rates triple. One restaurant is getting an increase of $11,000 from last year and some others say they are being charged $8,000 more.”<br /><br />A boycott of composting is one response the restaurant owners could consider, Lillian said. Unfortunately, however, they could be fined under a new law that prohibits more than 10 percent recyclables or food waste in their trash bins.<br /><br />On July 20, City Council held a special meeting to consider the rate revision.<br /><br />“Even at 90 percent of the trash collection rate, the charge is still 30 to 40 percent of the comparable rates for surrounding cities,” Lillian said. “In addition, the revised contract would allow Waste Management, starting next year, to recoup their losses from lowering their organics collection rates this year.”<br /><br />Lillian said City Council members were “furious” about the contract and showed support for the restaurant owners. But she acknowledged that council members were negligent in approving a contract that they apparently had not read.<br /><br />“I do hold them responsible because they should have done their due diligence,” Lillian said. “But I am confident that they will now act on our behalf.”<br /><br />As part of the contract, she said, the city required Waste Management to switch its truck fleet to use natural gas powered vehicles. To comply, she said, Waste Management had to purchase 86 new trucks for $330,000 each.<br /><br />“The city should have realizes that Waste Management was going to try to raise rates to cover those costs,” Lillian said. “We expected to get a bit of an increase but this increase isn’t what we thought they signed us up for.”<br /><br />The Indie Alliance was formed in March after the city passed a minimum wage of $12.25 per hour – a 36 percent increase from the previous minimum wage.<br /><br />“We’re getting squeezed,” she said. “That’s why we’ve gone from seven to 70 members in the few months. First it was the high wages, then the composting rate hike. And a $15 minimum wage is coming soon.”<br /><br />Calls to city officials, including Council President Lynette Gibson McElhaney and Sean Mahar of Oakland Environmental Services, were not returned.<br /><br /><br /></span>Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614561221709929539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3379049675328773267.post-75483489604461742812015-10-12T13:01:00.001-04:002015-10-12T13:56:11.058-04:00WOTUS muddies the waters; may stifle property use<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">(Published in <a href="http://www.compostingnews.com/" target="_blank">Composting News</a>, August 2015) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">By Ken McEntee<br /><br />The new “Clean Water Rule” defining the “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) purportedly is intended to clarify enforcement of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA). Instead, many observers say, the new rule, which is set to take effect on August 28, has further muddied the waters, creating new vagaries that can stifle even simple plans of businesses and landowners.<br />The rule, created by the U.S. EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers, was published in the <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2015/06/29/2015-13435/clean-water-rule-definition-of-waters-of-the-united-states" target="_blank">Federal Register</a> on June 29.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">“This rule presents a big problem for anybody who wants to make changes to their property,” said Robert LaGasse, executive director of the <a href="http://www.mulchandsoilcouncil.org/" target="_blank">Mulch and Soil Council</a>, the national trade association that represents producers of horticultural mulches, consumer potting soils and commercial growing media. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">“Under this rule, making changes to your property is going to require a lot more investigation and engineering to be sure that you’re not going to be in violation of some law. If you have to make corrections to your land in a hurry, you are jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. The rules are so vague that you might get one answer from one regulator and a completely different answer from another regulator.”<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And the penalty for a violation – even an ambiguous one - can be severe: As much as $37,500 per day, and/or criminal prosecution, according to M. Reed Hopper, principal attorney with the <a href="http://www.pacificlegal.org/" target="_blank">Pacific Legal Foundation</a> (PLF), a Sacramento, Calif.-based public interest legal organization. In July, PLF, on behalf of a variety of landowners and organizations, filed the first lawsuit against the Obama administration to block implementation of the new rule. <br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">As of August 18, the PLF suit has been followed by more than 10 more suits challenging WOTUS have been filed, involving more than 70 plaintiffs, including 11 states, filed in 10 different District Courts. The federal government has motioned to consolidate the district court cases in the D.C. District Court.<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">“The rule,” Hopper said, “is illegal and unconstitutional because it sets no limit on the CWA’s reach, while explicitly expanding it to waters that the Supreme Court has already ruled to be off-limits to federal control. This new regulation is an open-ended license for federal bureaucrats to assert control over nearly all of the nation’s water, and much of the property, from coast to coast.”<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Previously, the CWA provided EPA jurisdiction over navigable waters. The new rule would extend that jurisdiction to such waters as Prairie potholes, Carolina and Delmarva bays, pocosins, western vernal pools in California and Texas coastal prairie wetlands. The presence of those bodies on a property generally could give EPA authority over that land.<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Fortunately, said Jay Lehr, science director for the Heartland Institute, a Chicago-based research organization, a barrage of lawsuits, injunctions and acts of Congress is likely to block the new regulations from going into effect. <br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">“I think this will be in the courts for years,” said Lehr, the nation’s first Ph.D. in groundwater hydrology who was among the first advocates for the creation of the EPA almost 50 years ago. “With all of the various filers from multiple states and organizations, I can’t imagine that they will have trouble finding judges at the right levels who will place injunctions against the carrying out of this law. If we get lucky and we get a new administration we could put an end to this very quickly. Just about anybody who can get elected on the republican side I think would end it, although Jeb Bush makes me nervous. Even Hillary Clinton may not want to unleash the EPA quite as unreasonably as Barack Obama as a mechanism to reduce the capability of our country.”<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Despite his optimism that the new rule, as written, will never take effect, Lehr says business owners should stay informed and proactively fight against it.<br />“Land and business owners should not be too comfortable about this being shot down,” he said. “I think people are better off being nervous and therefore activated. I would like to see people put their nervousness to use by contacting their representatives. We can’t afford to be passive. If everybody sits back and does nothing, we could end up in a world of hurt.”<br /><br />What’s the problem?<br /><br />Presently, through the Clean Water Act, EPA may regulate all navigable waters of the nation. The new rule extends that regulatory power to non-navigable waters – some of which are small and often unconnected to navigable water.<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">“The rule expressly excludes puddles,” Hopper said. “But it does include Prairie potholes and vernal pools which have the appearance of puddles. It also provides that water within a 100-year floodplain, or water within 4,000 feet of a tributary may be under EPA jurisdiction.”<br />Whether or not EPA could regulate such water would be determined on a case-by-case basis under the “significant nexus standard.” Significant nexus refers to whether a body of water has, or reasonably could make a connection to navigable waters.<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">“This is no small thing,” Hopper said. “If this goes into effect, trying to do almost anything on land where any water runs would require you to go through a federal approval process. Basically, if you are within 4,000 feet of a stream and you are going to disturb the land, you will need a federal permit and the cost is prohibitive. On average it would be $170,000 and it would take a couple years to process.”<br />The vagueness of the 85,000-word rule, Hopper said, is equally problematic.<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">“If you have wet spots on a property within EPA jurisdiction, and you want to know whether you can do anything on that property, a prudent lawyer is going to tell you that if your situation is not expressly excluded in the rule, that you should get a determination from the Corps of Engineers,” he said. “That creates another problem because up to now the courts have said that if you disagree with that determination you have no right to challenge it.”<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Because EPA doesn’t have the resources to enforce the new rule on everybody, LaGasse said, enforcement would likely become a complaint-driven.<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">“It’s something that could pop up anywhere at anytime, and enforcement would be uneven,” he said. <br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">General runoff, Hopper said, is typically excluded from regulation.<br />“But if it is a point source where they can point to a specific conduit as a discharge then it is questionable,” he said. “This has come up in situations like in manure piles at a dairy. The agency has gone both ways on this, so you’re taking your chances. That’s the problem. There is no clarity.” <br />Lehr calls the rule “shear insanity.”<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">“I have been involved in this since day one and I have yet to find a single human not connected with an environmental activist organization who thinks this makes sense” he said. “It isn’t about clean water. It’s about the EPA taking over every stitch of land with water on it that they possibly can.”<br /><br />Impact on compost and mulch<br /><br />The <a href="http://compostingcouncil.org/" target="_blank">U.S. Composting Council</a>, the national trade association that represents compost producers, isn’t concerned about the new rule, according to Cary Oshins, director of education for the organization.<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">“I don’t think this will make much of a difference for compost sites,” Oshins said. “This rule really just refines the definition of waters of the U.S. We are already strong proponents of using best management practices for storm water and contact water management. Since the rule encourages the use of green infrastructure, which is a strong and growing market for compost, this is overall a good rule change.”<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Will Bakx, founder of <a href="http://www.sonomacompost.com/" target="_blank">Sonoma Compost Co.</a>, in Petaluma, Calif., disagrees.<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">“I don’t feel so comfortable about it,” said Bakx, vice chair of the <a href="http://caorganicsrecycling.org/" target="_blank">California Organic Recycling Council</a> and an executive board member of the <a href="http://californiacompostcoalition.org/" target="_blank">California Compost Coalition</a>. “I think neighbors have been provided with another avenue to go after composting facilities.”<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Bakx has first-hand knowledge about that.<br />In May, his 22-year-old operation was ordered permanently shut down to settle a federal water quality suit filed by a neighborhood group. The suit, which involved storm water runoff into a nearby creek, cited violations of the Clean Water Act, which regulates the discharge of any pollutant into waters of the U.S.<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">“Our situation had less to do with water quality than politics,” Bakx said. “The Clean Water Act was used as an excuse to shut us down.”<br />Which is precisely what concerns WOTUS opponents like Lehr and Hopper.<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">“The worst case scenario is the cost of fighting it legally when the EPA comes at somebody without just cause,” Lehr said. <br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Although Sonoma’s problems preceded the new WOTUS rule, Bakx said the new rule could make it difficult to operate a composting facility. Waste discharge requirements for compost operations, now under consideration by the California Water Boards, he said, are directly impacted by WOTUS.<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">“Although they say otherwise, the state guidelines basically require a zero discharge facility,” Bakx said. “It will present significant costs to operators. It’s ironic, isn’t is, that there is a mandate to divert organics from the landfill, then they make it expensive to do it. If you’re in an area where landfill tipping fees are $25 a ton, how can you set up a composting facility that will cost you $50 a ton to operate?”<br /><br />Implementation unlikely<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Lawsuits like the one filed by PLF on behalf of the landowners, state cattlemen’s associations of California, Washington and New Mexico and others, Lehr said, will likely prevent WOTUS from ever going into effect.<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">On August 12, the Southern District Court of Georgia held a hearing on the preliminary injunction motion filed by 11 states opposing the rule. Chief Judge Lisa Godbey Wood said she would rule by the WOTUS implementation date of August 28 on the preliminary injunction motion filed by 11 states opposing the rule.<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">“I am the world’s leading optimist so it is not conceivable to me that this could ever become the law of the land,” Lehr said.<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">This article, by <a href="http://www.compostingnews.com/" target="_blank">Composting News</a> editor Ken McEntee, was originally published in <a href="http://www.soilandmulchproducernews.com/" target="_blank">Mulch & Soil Producer News</a>.</span>Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614561221709929539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3379049675328773267.post-48468865815824926782015-10-12T12:42:00.000-04:002015-10-21T16:40:14.556-04:00Seattle sued for trashing privacy rights<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRIWMwuChVCImoRrTIH7ydUCekw7bEgxWAcMT9piHwcNvokPWquj4QUtDanHCF-n8bjSb102xA9RcPMOXV3MFTFsxZOa7JmPe3JHCU7XFR6SbVBVAaEUckbgpiH5cKjpQ0jErvXoR3C44s/s1600/CN+LOGO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="65" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRIWMwuChVCImoRrTIH7ydUCekw7bEgxWAcMT9piHwcNvokPWquj4QUtDanHCF-n8bjSb102xA9RcPMOXV3MFTFsxZOa7JmPe3JHCU7XFR6SbVBVAaEUckbgpiH5cKjpQ0jErvXoR3C44s/s200/CN+LOGO.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Originally published in <a href="http://www.compostingnews.com/" target="_blank">Composting News</a>, July 2015</i></span><br />
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<a href="mailto:ken@recycle.cc" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By Ken McEntee</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The city of Seattle is violating residents privacy and due process rights by requiring garbage collectors to snoop through people’s garbage as part of a new ban on throwing food and food waste into the trash, claims a lawsuit filed against the city this month. A civil rights lawsuit, Bonesteel v. City of Seattle, was filed by attorneys with the Sacramento, Calif.-based <a href="http://www.pacificlegal.org/stopcitysnooping" target="_blank">Pacific Legal Foundation</a> (PLF), on behalf of a number of Seattle residents who say their rights are violated by the new food waste ordinance. <br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“This program calls for massive and persistent snooping on the people of Seattle,” said Brian Hodges, PLF principal attorney and managing attorney with PLF’s Pacific Northwest Center in Bellevue, Wash. “This is not just objectionable as a matter of policy, it is a flagrant assault on people’s constitutional rights.”<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The suit seeks a permanent injunction and a declaration that the snooping law is void and unenforceable because it flouts core privacy and due process guarantees.<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Donor-supported PLF is a public-interest watchdog organization that litigates nationwide for limited government, property rights and individual rights.<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">In the lawsuit filed in King County Superior Court, PLF attorneys represent — without charge — Seattle residents Richard Bonesteel, Scott Shock, Steven Davies, Sally Oljar, Mark Elster, Greg Moon, Keli Carender and Edwin Yasukawa.<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">At issue is Seattle Ordinance No. 124582, which took effect on January 1, prohibiting residents from throwing food and compostable paper in the trash. The food waste ban requires garbage collectors to monitor the contents of garbage cans through “visual inspection” and to report residents to Seattle Public Utilities when “significant amounts” of a can’s contents (more than 10 percent) are made up of recyclables or food waste.<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Currently, an “educational” tag is affixed to offending cans. Starting in January 2016, fines will be imposed. The law applies to single-family homes, apartments, and commercial properties.<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Seattle can’t place its composting goals over the privacy and due process rights of its residents,” said PLF attorney Ethan Blevins. “This food waste ban uses trash collectors to pry through people’s garbage without a warrant, as Washington courts have long required for garbage inspections by police.”<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Hodges added that although it is “laudable to encourage recycling and composting, the city is going about it in a way that trashes the privacy rights of each and every person in Seattle. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The city may try to put a happy face on the program, with assurances that it’s not nosy and meddlesome, but the internal documents tell another story. Training documents call for ‘zero tolerance’ and show garbage collectors removing bags to inspect a garbage can, peering into translucent bags, and opening torn or untied bags.<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Garbage collectors have already begun placing brightly colored tags in plain view on “offending” cans, PLF said. Starting in January 2016, fines will be imposed ($1 per offense for residents; $50 for multi-family property owners and commercial establishments). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Although PLF said the fines are nominal amounts, two state constitutional rights are violated:<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">* Right to privacy. Article I, section 7, of the Washington Constitution provides that “[n]o person shall be disturbed in his private affairs, or his home invaded, without authority of law.” This provision offers more expansive protection than the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Washington courts “jealously guard” the right to privacy, holding that people have a reasonable expectation that the contents of their garbage cans will remain private, and that the government may not search rubbish bins without a warrant.<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“The constitution and courts of Washington recognize that the right to privacy, like the right to property, is a fundamental freedom,” said Hodges. “Seattle city government is subverting that right by prying into people’s private affairs via their trash cans.”<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">* Right to due process. Article 1, section 3, of the Washington Constitution says, “No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” Yet for most alleged offenders, the food waste ban does not provide any method for challenging claims of violation. In fact, it operates solely on the word of garbage collectors. With one exception for repeat commercial offenders, there is no requirement for preserving evidence (such as photographs) and no opportunity for appeal.<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“This law makes garbage collectors the judges and juries,” said Hodges. “You’re at the mercy of their off-the-cuff estimates about the amount, or percentage, of food waste and recyclables in your garbage can. If their subjective hunch goes against you, you get a fine and/or a brightly colored ‘shame tag’ to embarrass you in front of the public. The people of Seattle should not be treated with less respect than is due to accused criminals. In fact, the state constitution guarantees them a right to be treated fairly and with due process, and our lawsuit seeks to uphold that right.”<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Davies, one of the plaintiffs in the suit, said, “There is nothing trivial about government abridging our right to personal privacy in our homes and our daily lives. Seattle’s garbage law promotes government snooping, and that’s not just offensive, it’s a violation of constitutional protections for all Seattle residents. The city can’t treat people’s basic rights as disposable, and I’m grateful Pacific Legal Foundation is helping us stand up for that principle.”<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Elster, another plaintiff, added, “Social engineering of this sort leads to unnecessary and unwelcome government intrusion. Seattle’s garbage recycling program may seem well-meaning, and the inconveniences to the public might seem trivial, but there’s nothing harmless about the city attempting to coerce everyone through a program of official prying. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">We’re suing on behalf of all Seattle residents who value their privacy and other basic freedoms, because the people’s constitutional rights take precedence over the politicians’ policy preferences.”<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">More information, including the complaint, video, a blog post and a Stop City Snooping webpage, is available at <a href="http://www.pacificlegal.org/">www.pacificlegal.org</a>.</span>Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614561221709929539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3379049675328773267.post-78664951207500326952014-07-31T19:39:00.000-04:002015-10-12T13:53:16.230-04:00Composting Council boots another executive director<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>By Ken McEntee</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><a href="http://www.compostingnews.com/" target="_blank">Composting News</a> </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">For the third time in about three years, the U.S. Composting Council has terminated its executive director. The council’s board of directors, on July 29, announced that it was “bidding farewell” to Lori Scozzafava, who had been hired as executive director 14 months earlier, in May 2013. The decision to let Scozzafava go actually had been made sometime during the previous week, sources said.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />Lorrie Loder, president of the USCC, indicated that the board could hire an association management company instead of an individual executive director to manage the organization.<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Loder, senior director of technical services at Synagro, said the board has been disappointed with the Washington lobbying efforts of past executive directors. She said the board is seeking a leader who “has connections in order to help facilitate some of the missions of the industry and our membership.”<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Asked whether that is an area in which previous executive directors have fallen short, Loder said, “There were various reasons, but that is probably quite a bit of it. We moved our office to where we were close to Washington D.C. in the hope that we would have more legs on the ground on Capitol Hill.”<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Asked whether there are any specific issues that require a better lobbying effort, Loder said, “Yes. It was the persistent herbicide issue and some of those yard waste bans and really the movement to recover organics from the waste stream. And then building healthy soils by putting compost back instead of shoving all of this great stuff in a landfill.”<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The July 29 press release, in which Scozzafava’s departure was announced, was headlined, “USCC undertakes restructuring to prepare for surge of organics composting efforts.” Scozzafava’s termination was announced in the manner of an afterthought in the fifth paragraph of the press release: “With the restructuring process, the USCC board of directors bids farewell to Lori Scozzafava, who is moving on to other career opportunities, as executive director. The transition team is integrating the executive director search into the restructuring process.”<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">According to the announcement, “In a move set to position the U.S. Composting Council to continue its quarter-century as the foremost authority on composting, the USCC's board of directors announced a restructuring effort to prepare the organization for rapid growth. The vigorous restructuring process is being led by a transition team developing growth plans that are targeted toward sustainable diversified growth in a dynamic, growing organics industry.”<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">In just the past year, USCC said, the number of states taking legislative and administrative actions, such as food scraps diversion, requirements for compost in public and private projects, has multiplied.<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">"This will require states to quickly grow their public and private organics composting infrastructure, and the USCC is the best resource to help guide that," Loder said in the announcement.<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">As a result, USCC said, the organization is shifting more and more resources towards development of educational programs and outreach to membership.<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Scozzafava's departure follows the April 2013 termination of Michael Virga, who had been in the position of executive director for 19 months, starting in September 2011. Before Virga, Stu Buckner served in the role for about nine years, from 2002 until the summer of 2011. Buckner had been under contract as executive director through the end of 2011. Earlier that year, the board told Buckner that it planned to conduct a search for an executive director, but invited him to re-apply for his job.<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">When Virga was hired, Frank Franciosi, then president of USCC, said the appointment was in line with USCC’s aim to heighten its role as an advocate for the industry to impact policy areas such as agriculture, energy and climate change. Franciosi said USCC membership had been surveyed two years earlier about the direction they wanted the organization to take. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The survey suggested that members wanted a stronger effort to lobby for industry issues and a stronger market development effort, he said.<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Shortly after Virga took the position, the council moved its headquarters from New York to Bethesda, Md. <br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">In April 2013, the board announced Virga’s departure and the hiring of Scozzafava, who had previously been deputy director of the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA). </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The board, at the time, declined to confirm whether Virga was fired or quit. Loder described the parting as “a mutual agreement.” Loder, at that time, described Scozzafava as “a perfect fit” for the council, citing her 25 years of experience in the solid waste management industry.<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Now, as the council looks for a new leader for the fourth time since 2011, Loder said she has no concerns about the stability of the organization.<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Not at all,” she said. “The organization is very stable financially. We’ve got a strong membership and a strong involvement by our board. There are no concerns about that. Can we find a one size fits all executive director? No. And that’s what this succession planning committee is going to bring to the board.”<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">When it was suggested that from a member’s standpoint, USCC members can’t be blamed for being uneasy about the volatility in the leadership position, Loder replied, “I have actually spoken a couple members and one of them said to me that Abe Lincoln went through a few people, too, to find the right person,” a reference to Lincoln’s appointment of Ulysses S. Grant as commander of the Union armies.<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The succession planning committee, she said, will make a recommendation to the board regarding a replacement for Scozzafava. The committee, she said, is made of past board presidents and several other board members. No timetable has been set for a decision, Loder said.<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Whether it will be a position or we look to go a different route with a management company, it’s really up to the succession planning committee,” she said. “The sooner the better of course, but we want to make sure this is the change we make to take us into the future for a longer term and not have to make a change again for a while. I am willing to let them take their time to make the right recommendation.”<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The ideal leader, she said, would be “somebody that has knowledge of the composting industry, knowledge of the issues and has connections in order to help facilitate some of the missions of the industry and our membership.”<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Established in 1990, the USCC has nearly 1,000 members in the U.S., Canada, and other countries. In its most recent tax filing, for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2013, the council reported revenue of just more than $1 million and expenses of about $1.16 million, with assets totaling $788,000. During that year, Virga earned about $155,000. <br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The council’s revenue was derived from several sources, as follows:<br />Conference Revenue $408,000<br />Membership Dues $284,000<br />Seal of Testing Assurance $136,500<br />Training $62,700<br />Publication sales 11,100<br />Other $6,800</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">See more from the monthly <a href="http://www.compostingnews.com/" target="_blank">Composting News</a> publication. </span></span>Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614561221709929539noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3379049675328773267.post-78921063301561573342013-05-02T18:03:00.000-04:002013-05-02T18:03:00.255-04:00Composters oppose climate tax, cap and trade<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> By Ken M<span style="font-size: small;">cEntee</span> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Although about 75 percent of compost producers responding to a <i><a href="http://www.compostingnews.com/" target="_blank">Composting News</a></i> survey this month believe global warming is occurring, more than half of the respondents believe that a tax on greenhouse gas emissions or a mandatory cap and trade system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions would have negative impacts on the economy that would outweigh any environmental benefits.<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Only about 17 percent of respondents believe a tax on greenhouse gas emissions would be an effective way to reduce or stop global warming and only about 22 percent believe a cap and trade system to reduce greenhouse gases would be effective in reducing or stopping global warming.<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The survey was emailed to almost 700 producers, permitted only one response per computer IP address and had a response rate of about 14 percent, representing a only small portion of the nation’s composting facilities.<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But certain trends were made clear by the responses.<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Of the 75 percent of respondents who believe global warming is occurring, about half believe human activities are responsible, and half believe it is due to circumstances beyond our control. One respondent commented that the survey did not allow for an opinion that global warming is caused by both human activities and natural occurrences beyond our control.</span></span><br />
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The survey indicated that many composters remain unsure about global warming issues. Asked whether global warming is happening, about 14 percent responded, “I don’t know” – an answer that garnered 14 to 25 percent of the responses on most of the nine questions on the survey.<br /><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Regarding a tax on greenhouse gas emissions, 19 percent of respondents said it would be worth it despite a negative impact on the economy. Only 5.4 percent said such a tax would not have a negative impact on the economy.<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Regarding a cap and trade system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, 17 percent said it would be worth it despite the negative impact on the economy. About 14 percent said a cap and trade system would not have a negative impact on the economy.<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Although more than half of the respondents believe a greenhouse gas tax or a cap and trade system would have a negative impact on the economy and would not be worth it even if it had environmental benefits, almost 29 percent of the respondents said they would like to make money by selling carbon/greenhouse gas reduction credits by composting because it would be good for them, the environment and the economy. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Almost 26 percent said they would like to make money selling such credits which would be good for them, good for the environment but bad for the economy. Twenty percent said they would not want to make money by selling greenhouse gas credits. But 26 percent of those responding to the question agreed to none of the eight options, indicating a flawed question.<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Details of the survey questions follow<span style="font-size: small;"> below. </span>Six respondents chose to provide comments regarding the issue of global warming as it relates to composting. Those comments are published below.<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If you are a compost producer and did not receive this survey by email, we may have no email for you, or we may have an incorrect email. You can get into our database by sending your email and other company information to <a href="mailto:ken@recycle.cc">ken@recycle.cc</a>. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>1. Which of the following do you most agree with?</b>Human activities are responsible for global warming. 38.90%</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Global warming is occurring but it is a natural occurrence that is beyond our control. 36.10%</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Global warming is not occurring. 11.10%</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I don’t know. 13.90%<br />Skipped question (1)<br /><br /><b>2. Which of the following do you most agree with?</b>Global warming is happening and a tax on greenhouse gas emissions would be an effective way to reduce or stop it. 16.70%<br />Global warming is happening but a tax on greenhouse gas emissions would not be an effective way to reduce or stop it. 44.40%</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Global warming is not happening. 13.90%</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I don’t know. 25.00%<br />Skipped question (1)<br /><br /><b>3. Which of the following statements do you most agree with?</b>Global warming is happening and a “cap and trade” system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions would be an effective way to reduce or stop it. 21.60%</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Global warming is happening but a “cap and trade” system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions would not be an effective way to reduce or stop it. 48.60%</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Global warming is not happening. 10.80%</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I don’t know. 18.90% <br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>4. Which of the following statements do you most agree with?</b>A tax on greenhouse gas emissions would have a negative impact on the economy but it would be worth it<br />because it would have positive environmental benefits. 18.90%</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A tax on greenhouse has emissions would have a negative impact on the economy and would not be worth it<br />even though it would have positive environmental benefits. 54.10%</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A tax on greenhouse gas emissions would not have a negative impact on the economy. 5.40%</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I don’t know. 21.60% <br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>5. Which of the following statements do you most agree with?</b>A mandatory cap and trade system for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions would have a negative impact on the economy<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>but it would be worth it because it would have positive environmental benefits. 17.10% A mandatory cap and trade system for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions would have a negative impact on the economy<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>and would not be worth it even though it would have positive environmental benefits. 54.30%</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A mandatory cap and trade system for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions would have not have a negative impact<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>on the economy. 14.30%<br />I don’t know. 14.30%<br />Skipped question (2)<br /><br /><b>6. Which of the following statements do you most agree with?</b>The use of compost in its various applications can help to reduce global warming. 59.50%</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The use of compost in its various applications has no effect on global warming. 18.90%</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Global warming is not occurring. 8.10%</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I don’t know. 13.50% <br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>7. Please rank the following revenue steams according to which you believe are the most important to your composting operation, with “1” being the most important and “3” being the least important. This question assumes the implementation of a cap and trade system in which greenhouse gas reduction credits can be sold.</b><br /><b>Sales of compost:</b>Most important: 61.1% Second most important: 38.9% Least important: 0.0%<br /><b>Tipping fees to accept feedstock: </b>Most important: 38.9% Second most important: 55.6% Least important: 5.6%<br /><b>Revenue from the sale of carbon/greenhouse gas credits:</b>Most important: 0.0% Second most important: 5.6% Least important 94.4%<br />Skipped question (1)<br /><br /><b>8. Which of the following statements best reflects your attitude toward <span style="font-size: small;"></span>carbon/greenhouse gas reduction credits in a cap and trade system?</b>• I would like to make money by selling carbon/greenhouse gas reduction credits by composting.<br />It would be good for me, good for the environment and good for the economy. 28.60%</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">• I would like to make money by selling carbon/greenhouse gas reduction credits by composting.<br />It would be good for me and good for the environment but bad for the economy. 25.70%</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">• I would like to make money by selling carbon/greenhouse gas reduction credits by composting. <br />It would be good for me and good for the economy, but bad for the environment. 0.00%</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">• I would like to make money by selling carbon/greenhouse gas reduction credits by composting.<br />It would be good for me, but bad for the environment and bad for the economy. 0.00%</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">• I would NOT like to make money by selling carbon/greenhouse gas reduction credits by composting<br />even though it would be good for me, good for the environment and good for the economy. 5.70%</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">• I would NOT like to make money by selling carbon/greenhouse gas reduction credits by composting.<br /> It would be good for me and good for the environment but bad for the economy. 0.00%</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">• I would NOT like to make money by selling carbon/greenhouse gas reduction credits by composting.<br />It would be good for me and good for the economy, but bad for the environment. 0.00%</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">• I would NOT like to make money by selling carbon/greenhouse gas reduction credits by composting.<br />It would be good for me, but bad or neutral for the environment and bad for the economy. 14.30%</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">• I don’t agree with any of these statements. 25.70%<br />Skipped question (2)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Comments from respondents:</span></span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="font-size: small;">1. I find this idea of cap and trade a very fascist and oppressive concept. It is not about the environment it is another way for those in power to tax those who are productive. Compost should be about healing the soil and improving nutrient density in crops.<br /><br />2. Global warming has many influence and your survey does not represent that. the survey questions are very slanted and made me feel that you should have put the "I don't agree with any of these statements" at the end of each survey question. also, compost use doesn't have the greatest impact, it is the act of composting that has the greatest greenhouse impacts.<br /><br />3. I could not provide an answer to #1 because none of the options given adequately cover my view. I would say most experts and probably most people would say that global warming is caused by both human activities as well as by natural occurrences. I think a loud minority of folks believe that human activities have had no impact on global warming and (if it is even happening), it is entirely due to natural occurrence. On the other hand, those that do believe that human activities are having an impact on global warming generally also agree that there may be natural occurrences at play. So to conclude, most would likely say both factors contribute to global warming but there is no option to select this point of view. Regardless of what is to blame, the most important thing is do people believe it is happening and if so is it a bad thing. If it is a bad thing, then we should try to stop or slow it down. What caused it has become a bit of a red herring and an unnecessary lighting rod. Rather than assigning blame, the focus should be on recognizing it is occurring and figuring out ways to combat it.<br /><br />4. The balance is creating a system that is fair but not overly complex to administer so that it outweighs the benefits.<br /><br />5. In the value chain there appears to be a bottle neck at the end user level. As a public facility our largest problem is to have a steady end user base that will take our mulch material made from the green bin pick-up. These users are typically farms that don't like contamination and expect tipping fees. Private facilities pay a tipping fee to the farms. This has forced our operation to differentiate our product as a premium one since we can't pay a tipping fee. This strategy has worked more or less but the longevity of these end users and the total capacity at this level needs to be better determined and enhanced if more material is to be processed by this system.<br /><br />6. What little I know about it and what other countries that been involved with global warming and cap and trade that it has not been a benefit and more costly to implement than was projected. It is a money making scheme for a very few as far as I am concerned.</span></span></span>Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614561221709929539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3379049675328773267.post-30428193720989179562013-05-02T16:30:00.001-04:002013-05-02T16:48:14.380-04:00Virga out, Scozzafava in as USCC director<a href="mailto:ken@recycle.cc" target="_blank">By Ken McEntee</a><br />
<a href="http://www.compostingnews.com/" target="_blank">Composting News</a> <br />
May 2, 2013<br />
<br />
After exactly 19 months on the job, Michael Virga’s tenure as executive director of the U.S. Composting Council ended on April 19. The council announced on May 2 that Lori Scozzafava, former deputy executive director of the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), was hired as Virga’s replacement.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrnLExuMwCuQWh5ugqd7gMLBIIFAwf9fKNYx1_V1Iq7-_lh-Pc0oZrU55wnT6Vzxi4sqdUzwedKlQrcN2nBB5_NrLyc0zIJJZLngP5abojR8C_V7SZhSRRoYJNDS0zssZiCrFz5lw6DB_X/s1600/Scazza.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrnLExuMwCuQWh5ugqd7gMLBIIFAwf9fKNYx1_V1Iq7-_lh-Pc0oZrU55wnT6Vzxi4sqdUzwedKlQrcN2nBB5_NrLyc0zIJJZLngP5abojR8C_V7SZhSRRoYJNDS0zssZiCrFz5lw6DB_X/s200/Scazza.jpg" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Scozzafava</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Lorrie Loder, president of the council, declined to say whether Virga or the board initiated the parting.<br />
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“It was a mutual agreement,” she said. “Mike indicated that he had some other career opportunities.”<br />
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When asked whether the vote by the council’s Board of Directors was a vote to terminate an employment agreement, or whether it was a vote to accept a resignation, Loder said it would not be appropriate to comment.<br />
<br />
Loder, however, confirmed that Virga, through his consulting company, Green Solutions, has submitted a proposal to do contract work for the council – possibly in a fundraising capacity. She said the board has not made a decision about accepting the proposal. Virga could not be reached to comment.<br />
Virga operated Green Solutions before he was hired as executive director of USCC in September 2011 and after he left his position as executive director of the American Forest and Paper Association.<br />
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Frank Franciosi, past president of USCC, said Virga’s strengths were soliciting sponsors and raising money for the council’s Research and Education Foundation. He also confirmed that Virga has submitted a proposal to do contract work for the council.<br />
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“The board may consider it,” Franciosi said. “He left on good terms.” <br />
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Loder said the board is “excited” to hire Scozzafava.<br />
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“We did a search and we are very pleased that Lori accepted our offer,” she said.<br />
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She declined to say how many candidates were interviewed.<br />
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“Lori happened to be available,” she said. “With the industry growing like it is it is a perfect fit.”<br />
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The council said Scozzafava is a highly experienced association executive who has been involved in solid waste management for more than 25 years. She left her position as deputy executive director of SWANA in 2012.<br />
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Franciosi said Scozzafava’s experience in dealing with municipalities through SWANA will be valuable in her new position.<br />
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Scozzafava joined SWANA in 1999 and was deputy executive director from 2004 to 2012. Before that she was the director of the Maryland Department of the Environment’s Recycling Division, a consultant with Gershman, Brickner & Bratton Inc. and recycling coordinator for Morris County, N.J.<br />
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"Lori's extensive industry and association management experience will help the USCC and its membership reach their goals and rise to a new level," Loder said. <br />
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Scozzafava said this is a great opportunity to bring her association expertise and understanding of the industry to the council.<br />
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“The timing is perfect to position organics management into national prominence as a major contributor to achieving recycling goals and environmental sustainability,” she said.Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614561221709929539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3379049675328773267.post-24390741338100166942012-06-19T18:40:00.000-04:002012-06-19T18:43:07.306-04:00Wholesale pricing added to Composting News market surveySince <i><a href="http://www.compostingnews.com/" target="_blank">Composting News</a></i> was launched in 1992, we have accumulated prices for compost in a variety of market regions throughout the U.S., using a variety of methods to obtain price information. Recently, several producers suggested that our price quotations should include producers’ wholesale prices along with the retail prices at their facilities.<br />
<br />
In an attempt to collect wholesale price information, we revised our anonymous online survey (<a href="http://www.recycle.cc/formcompostpricesurvey.htm">www.recycle.cc/formcompostpricesurvey.htm</a>) and asked respondents by email to report wholesale prices for several common products along with their retail prices. We received the usual good number of responses from around the country reporting pricing for compost made from yard waste and food residuals, along with shredded wood mulch and colored mulch.<br />
<br />
The response level was lower for biosolids compost. We received only two responses that provided wholesale prices for composted cow manure and zero data for wholesale prices for composted chicken manure.<br />
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The wholesale price data have been added to the table that is always published on page 6 of <i>Composting News</i>. <br />
<br />
We will continue to survey the market on a monthly basis with an emphasis on getting more participation in providing wholesale pricing. Your participation is welcome, whether you complete the anonymous web survey, or simply call or email (<a href="mailto:ken@recycle.cc">ken@recycle.cc</a>) to share prices and market insights. We are also interested in hearing how market pricing and reporting can be improved to benefit your businesses.<br />
<br />
Since 1990, our company also has published <a href="http://www.recycle.cc/freepapr.htm" target="_blank"><i>The Paper Stock Report</i></a>, a publication that tracks transaction prices in the recovered paper industry.<br />
<br />
Wastepaper prices are somewhat easier to track. The paper recycling industry has specifically-defined grade categories, such as Old Corrugated Containers, Old Newspaper and Sorted Office Paper, which are accepted globally.<br />
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Compost is a much different product from scrap paper. Producers have their own recipes based on locally available feedstocks and demand for specific end uses. <br />
Privately owned facilities that produce high quality compost often are in competition with public facilities that give away their products.<br />
<br />
Compilation of data that offers an apple-to-apples comparison of compost prices from region to region and from product to product is a larger challenge than in the other market we serve. That’s one reason why your input is so valuable.<br />
<br />
Following are some observations from this month’s pricing surveys.<br />
* Some respondents provided prices ranges for their products, for both retail and wholesale prices. Those prices were entered as both a low price and a high price for their respective categories.<br />
* In Missouri, one producer provided a retail price of $27.95 per yard for a compost product that evidently contained yard waste and food waste. The wholesale price is $19.50 per yard – a 30 percent reduction. The same producer reported a retail price of $34.95 for shredded wood mulch, with a wholesale price of $24.95, a 29 percent markdown. For colored mulch, the retail price is $31.95, while the wholesale price is $17.50, a 45 percent reduction. Another Missouri producer offers a smaller discount for wholesale orders. The company reported a retail price ranging from $25 to $35 per yard for its compost product, with a wholesale price ranging between $22 to $30 per yard, with margins apparently between 12 and 14 percent. Margins for wood mulch, colored and natural, came in between 10 and 20 percent.<br />
* In Texas. A producer reported a retail price of $15 a yard for compost, and a wholesale price of $8.50 to $9.00 a yard, a discount of 40 to 43 percent.<br />
* A large percentage of respondents came from the Mid-Atlantic East Coast, or locations surrounding the Chesapeake Bay, from Baltimore down through the Norfolk, Va. area. Producers in those areas generally reported a fairly consistent discount of around 50 percent on their wholesale prices of compost made from yard waste and food waste compared to their retail price. Yard waste compost averaged about $24 per yard; $12 per yard wholesale.Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614561221709929539noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3379049675328773267.post-15398239653176064562012-01-23T13:15:00.001-05:002012-01-23T13:15:45.096-05:00Is compost important?Gardeners: What's your favorite product to make your soil healthier for thriving plants? Do you use compost on your vegetable and flower gardens? Why or why not? Let me know at <a href="mailto:ken@recycle.cc">ken@recycle.cc</a>Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614561221709929539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3379049675328773267.post-16604850045975429922011-06-18T19:39:00.001-04:002011-06-18T19:41:28.238-04:00New DuPont herbicide will contaminate compostNew herbicide will contaminate compost<br />
<a href="http://www.compostingnews.com/">Composting News</a><br />
By <a href="http://www.facebook.com/kenmcentee">Ken McEntee</a><br />
June 17, 2011<br />
In reply to the U.S. Composting Council’s (USCC) request for a special review of the registration for the new herbicide Imprelis, the U.S. EPA Office of Pesticide Programs said it is seeking the advice of legal council about the matter. Imprelis, made by DuPont, can survive the composting process and remain active in a finished compost product.<br />
The product label specifies that clippings from lawns treated with Imprelis should not be used as a mulch or placed in a compost pile.<br />
Imprelis has been registered in every state except California and New York for use by licensed applicators on lawns and other turf areas for control of broadleaf weeds like dandelion, clover and plantain. The Composting Council of Canada said it doesn’t appear that Imprelis is available for sale in Canada, having yet to be registered through Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA).<br />
USCC last month issued an alert warning composters to watch out for grass clippings contaminated with the new herbicide. USCC said grass from treated lawns could end up in a compost pile, and unlike most herbicides, Imprelis will survive the composting process and still be active in the finished compost. Preliminary research has shown that Imprelis does not break down significantly faster than the leaves and grass in the compost, so the concentration stays about the same. An unsuspecting gardener using contaminated compost could end up damaging their flowers and vegetables, most of which are also broad-leafed.<br />
The product label contains a warning about composting:<br />
“Do not use grass clippings from treated areas for mulching or compost, or allow for collection to composting facilities. Grass clippings must either be left on the treated area, or, if allowed by local yard waste regulations, disposed of in the trash. Applicators must give verbal or written notice to property owner/property manager/residents to not use grass clippings from treated turf for mulch or compost.”<br />
In March, DuPont issued suggested language for applicators to use regarding management of grass clippings from areas treated with Imprelis:<br />
“Today we have treated your lawn with an innovative weed control product from DuPont. The product label requires that you do not use grass clippings from areas treated with Imprelis for mulching or compost, or allow for collection to composting facilities. Grass clippings must either be left on the treated area, or, if allowed by local yard waste regulations, disposed of in the trash.”<br />
"One problem is that the warning is on page seven of a nine page label," said Dr. Stuart Buckner, executive director of the USCC. “Unfortunately not everyone reads or follows the label. We are requesting the U.S. EPA initiate a special review of the registration due to the likelihood of residual herbicide levels in compost damaging non-target plants."<br />
He said he received a reply from the EPA acknowledging the request and saying that the Office of Pesticide Programs is seeking the advice of counsel. No timeframe was given.<br />
USCC said it is unlikely that municipal or commercial compost will contain significant amounts of Imprelis, though it is possible in suburban areas where a large amount of clippings could come from commercially treated lawns. It could especially be an issue for places like schools, recreational fields or golf courses that use their grass clippings to make compost and then use the compost in landscape beds or gardens instead of placing back on turf.<br />
"We are alerting our members to this issue, that they need to make sure their haulers are informed to not bring them grass clippings that have been treated with Imprelis," Buckner said. "We also suggest they work with their state's bureau of pesticide applicator licenses to ensure applicators know about this restriction.”<br />
DuPont said Imprelis, an innovative product to control a wide spectrum of broadleaf weeds, is the “most scientifically advanced turf herbicide in over 40 years.” Imprelis contains a single active ingredient – Aptexor - that is absorbed by the roots and shoots of target weeds providing consistent performance.<br />
Aptexor, the first compound in an advanced generation of carboxylic acid herbicides, has unique properties at both the molecular and whole plant levels that translate into more powerful herbicidal activity. The most noticeable symptoms after application include the bending and twisting of stems and the cupping of leaves.Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614561221709929539noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3379049675328773267.post-17459488786853393382011-06-18T18:00:00.001-04:002011-06-18T19:31:43.303-04:00The June 2011 Composting News now availableThe June issue of <a href="http://www.compostingnews.com/">Composting News</a> will mail on Monday.<br />
<br />
Please support the great companies that make Composting News possible:<br />
<a href="http://www.morbark.com/">Morbark Inc</a>., <a href="http://www.grinderwearparts.com/">Grinder Wear Parts</a>, <a href="http://www.rotochopper.com/">Rotochopper Inc</a>., <a href="http://www.hamerinc.com/">Hamer</a>, <a href="http://www.rotomix.com/">Roto-Mix</a>, <a href="http://www.hclmachineworks.com/">HCL Machine Works</a>, <a href="http://www.clearspan.com/">Clear Span</a>, <a href="http://sludgefacts.org/">SludgeFacts.Org</a>, <a href="http://www.petersoncorp.com/">Peterson</a>, <a href="http://www.wastecon.org/">SWANA WasteCon</a>, <a href="http://www.compostsoftware.com/">Aschl Management Systems</a>.<br />
<br />
Find all the products, equipment and services you need for your composting, organics recycling or wood waste management business from the <a href="http://www.recycle.cc/resource.pdf">Composting News Product, Equipment and Services directory</a>, now featuring immediate-link QR codes.<br />
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Headlines from the June 2011 issue of Composting News<br />
*New DuPont herbicide will contaminate compost<br />
*PepsiCo rolls out compostable cups<br />
*Waste Management to develop organics facility in Central Florida<br />
*Turning Earth licenses anaerobic technology<br />
*World's largest wood pellet production plant opens in Georgia<br />
*National compost prices<br />
*Kreider Farm gets credit for certification for poultry waste processing<br />
*Holland Mulch offers new yard waste site<br />
*Most restaurants recycle; 13 percent compost<br />
*Compost product news: ClearSpan, NorcoKenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614561221709929539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3379049675328773267.post-75043775929491120772011-05-03T09:26:00.000-04:002011-05-03T09:26:22.620-04:00Composting Council to search for new executive director<i>From Composting News, May 2011</i><br />
<br />
By Ken McEntee<br />
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Frank Franciosi, president of the U.S. Composting Council, said the USCC board will conduct a nationwide search for an executive director. Present executive director Stu Buckner’s contract expires at the end of 2011. Buckner will be considered as part of the search if he wishes to be.<br />
Franciosi said the USCC board has retained the services of Sterling Martin Associates, a national firm, to conduct the search.<br />
“This will be an open and transparent search that will include our existing executive director, staff and members, as well as individuals within and outside the composting industry,” Franciosi said. “We are confident that Sterling Martin Associates possesses the skills and experience to deliver the leadership that the USCC wants and deserves.”<br />
“The search is due diligence on our part as a board, to see who is available and at what salary,” Franciosi said. <br />
The board in 2010 did a compensation study for the executive director’s position and other positions within the organization. However, he said, salary is not an issue in Buckner’s possible replacement, noting that Buckner’s earnings as executive director are substantially incentive based. <br />
Franciosi said in the announcement that USCC is entering a “new phase of growth.”<br />
He didn’t indicate that the board has any philosophical differences with Buckner regarding the future direction of the organization. <br />
The search process is expected to launch in early May.<br />
Buckner, who previously served as USCC president, was hired as executive director of the struggling organization in December 2001. Since that time, USCC membership has grown substantially and is on a solid financial footing. Net assets as of the end of 2009 exceeded $715,000.<br />
Matt Cotton, who served three years as president, acknowledged the progress made by the organization during Buckner’s leaders, but said conducting the national search “is the responsible thing to do.”Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614561221709929539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3379049675328773267.post-47465857068451206042011-01-20T13:19:00.000-05:002011-01-20T13:19:40.066-05:00January 2011 Composting News<span style="color: #669966;">Headlines from the January 2011 issue of Composting News</span><br />
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<li> Ohio releases updates to composting rules<br />
</li><br />
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<li> Dow to restrict aminopyralid usage to limit compost exposure<br />
</li><br />
<li> Enviva LP plans North Carolina wood pellet plant<br />
</li><br />
<li> Michigan extends public comment on compost rules<br />
</li><br />
<li> EPA to defer greenhouse gas permitting for biomass plants<br />
</li><br />
<li> National compost prices<br />
</li><br />
<li> SWANA e-session: best practices in food waste programs<br />
</li><br />
<li> EPA releases data on animal feeding operations<br />
</li><br />
<li> Waste Management to open organics plant in Florida<br />
</li><br />
<li> Compost product news: Morbark, Vertal, Peterson</li>Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614561221709929539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3379049675328773267.post-24302596467555318702010-09-22T16:58:00.000-04:002010-09-22T16:58:31.314-04:00Headlines for the August 2010 Composting News<h6><br />
<li><b><span style="color: #669966;">Headlines from the August 2010 issue of Composting News</span></b> </li><br />
<li> Testing finds txoics in San Francisco's free compost<br />
</li><br />
<li> Garick acquisitions could mean more composting for Waste Management<br />
</li><br />
<li> Mississippi biofuel plants will convert wood chips to crude oil<br />
</li><br />
<li> Dow looking at biomass energey at Michigan plant<br />
</li><br />
<li> Enviva acquires CKS Energy<br />
</li><br />
<li> National compost prices<br />
</li><br />
<li> Compost product news: Norco Equipment, Gaia Recycle</li><br />
</h6>For more information visit <a href="http://www.compostingnews.com/">www.compostingnews.com</a>.Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614561221709929539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3379049675328773267.post-44495402948388489392008-04-01T22:36:00.001-04:002008-04-01T22:38:16.465-04:00Composting News Web SiteFor the latest news in composting, wood recycling and organics management visit <a href="http://www.compostingnews.com">Composting News</a> on the Web.Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614561221709929539noreply@blogger.com0