[Terrapreta] city and farm

[Green Waste Recycle Yard]

Some might be surprised to learn that plastics only make up 12% of the MSW
in the US. The largest component of MSW is organic materials, with a full
25% being yard trimmings and food scrap (about half and half).
 
As manager of a green waste MSW facility diverting some of this organic
waste, I can attest that there is plenty of feedstock in the MSW stream. In
our area, eucalyptus (hardwood) and radiata pine (softwood) could provide
consistent feedstocks for agrichar production. I would love some R&D
company(s) to set up shop locally with the feedstock we can supply.
 
Some of our urban tree waste already goes to power cogen electricity plants
and I'm sure that's true for other areas. That same feedstock could be
available for alternative energy/biochar technologies.
 
>From the EPA 2006 report:
(http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/pubs/msw06.pdf)
(http://www.epa.gov/msw/msw99.htm)
 

Materials in MSW

Total MSW generation in 2006 was 251 million tons. Organic materials
continue to be the largest component of MSW. Paper and paperboard products
account for 34 percent, with yard trimmings and food scraps accounting for
25 percent. Plastics comprise 12 percent; metals make up 8 percent; and
rubber, leather, and textiles account for 7 percent. Wood follows at 6
percent, and glass at 5 percent. Other miscellaneous wastes made up
approximately 3 percent of the MSW generated in 2006. (See Figure 5.) 

 
Best,
  
Bernie Lenhoff
Business Manager
Green Waste Recycle Yard
 

  _____  

From: terrapreta-bounces at bioenergylists.org
[mailto:terrapreta-bounces at bioenergylists.org] On Behalf Of Sean K. Barry
Sent: Wednesday, November 14, 2007 10:01 AM
Subject: Re: [Terrapreta] city and farm
 
Municipal solid wastes are not a good choice for a feedstock for charcoal to
be used in agricultural soils.  This was discussed a couple weeks back.
Plastics make a substantial portion of the municipal solid waste stream.
Plastics do contain carbon and can be made into a form of charcoal.
However, plastics also contain many toxic chemical additives (plasticizers,
hardeners, stabilizers, dyes, etc) that give the different types of plastics
their properties for use.  These chemicals include poly-vinyl chlorides,
fluorinated carbons, some heavy metals, and they decompose slowly , leaving
toxic compounds that can pollute biological systems and water systems.
Halides and heavy metals are a big no-no for biological systems.
 
 
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