Harvest Power, Triple T Trucking work toward zero waste

Today, Harvest Power’s partnership with New Hampshire-based Triple T Trucking was featured in the Brattleboro Reformer. The story, by staff writer Chris Garofalo, presented plans to create an organics to energy and recycling station in the New England area that works toward a common goal of zero waste while creating renewable energy.

Harvest CEO Paul Sellew was interviewed for the piece. He explained that both the renewable energy and compost production model for this project differ from earlier methods of eliminating waste:

To remove organic materials from the waste stream, Harvest will produce high quality compost products while generating electricity from food and yard waste.

“So our view is to combine these two, increase diversion from landfills, recycle these organic materials and beneficially reuse them through the production of renewable energy and high-value compost,” said Sellew. “We think this is the next evolution in the development of the organics industry in the United States.”

The company presently operates a similar facility in British Colombia, Canada, but has several others that are expected to go online by the end of the year.

The story also does a clear and concise job of explaining the technology behind this plan.

Harvest uses High Solids Anaerobic Digestion (HSAD) at its facilities, the degradation and stabilization of organic materials with a solids content between 25 and 50 percent. By comparison, a wet anaerobic digestion system processes the same materials with a solids content between only 2 and 15 percent.

Anaerobic digestion reflects the same process that occurs in a cow’s stomach — using similar micro-organisms in a large chamber and capture the biogas as it is produced in an ideal environment.

Through HSAD, Harvest operators break down food and yard waste using naturally occurring bacteria to produce renewable biogas energy. Workers then aerobically compost the remaining digestate to capture the nutrients and organic matter to create a high quality compost-based product.

The partnership with Triple T represents a mutual interest in environmental sustainability for this region. Though the initiative has the ability to create jobs, improve air quality and boost recycling efforts, the article also notes the challenges yet to come.

Read the story in its entirety here. Let us know your thoughts.

Florida’s Gov. Crist vetoes yard waste bill

It’s official – Floridians are in favor of recycling. That was the message Tuesday when Florida Gov. Charlie Crist vetoed a House bill that would have repealed a state-wide ban related to yard waste disposal

. According to an article in The Florida Tribune, Crist considered the bill to be a step backwards for the state’s recycling efforts and he did not support a move that would only fill up area landfills more quickly.

The bill in question, HB 569, was originally  introduced by Ralph Poppell, chairman of the House Natural Resources Appropriations Committee. Groups like the Sierra Club of Florida spoke out against the HB 569 which would have allowed yard waste to be included in landfills, increasing the need for landfill space.

Individual voices on this matter were also heard. Gary Liss, a California-based Zero Waste advocate, wrote to Gov. Crist noting that overturning the yard waste ban would be bad for the economy as well as the environment. His letter addressed concerns for Florida businesses that would be impacted as well as the fact that the move would not lead to energy independence.

The Campaign for Recycling noted that the bill passed by the Florida legislature contradicts the Environmental Protection Agency’s plan to reduce-reuse-recycle. Obviously, Gov. Crist agreed.

What are your thoughts on HB 569 and the governor’s actions to veto it?

Moving toward a zero waste society

The National Solid Waste Management Association took a stand last week in support of the zero waste initiative. According to a recent article in Waste Business Journal, NSMWA President and CEO Bruce J. Parker noted that the transition to a zero waste society has begun in American households.

We are still generating a significant amount of municipal solid waste – about 250 million tons last year, according to EPA estimates. But Parker pointed out that the number is several million tons less than it was 20 years ago. The transition may be slow, but we are moving steadily in the direction of a zero waste society.

“Solid waste companies are an important partner in zero waste efforts,” Parker said. “Zero waste doesn’t mean ‘no trash,’ but rather, continuing to find economically achievable ways to treat as much waste as possible as a resource. It means diverting more of the waste stream away from disposal to be recycled or turned into a clean, renewable source of energy. Trash haulers and other solid waste processors will still be needed to make it work.”

When people look to establish a zero waste economy, they aim to increase recycling efforts and to support investments in new technology. Harvest Power sits at the intersection of these two trends.

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