"Consultants' report promotes consolidation of waste management efforts"

A report by an independent consultant has come out with strong recommendations that the waste management functions on Martha's Vineyard should not only be consolidated under one central authority but infrastructure changes could force improvements in the ways that our wastes and recyclables are handled. (See Vineyard gazette article http://www.mvgazette.com/article.php?15438). Since publication of its' position paper, The Case for Coordinated Action on Waste, (Go to Recycle section then Household Hazardous Waste section to read the paper), which articulated a similar position, VCS staff have worked at improving the waste handling options on the island. In fact, long before it became routinely accepted VCS was encouraging recycling on the island. Propelled by the vision and hard work of the late Nellie Mendenhall, VCS supported the creation of the Island’s first Household Hazardous Waste Collection system in 1987. The Island Plan position paper on Energy and Waste http://www.islandplan.org/doc.php/Energy%20and%20Waste%20-%20Discussion%20Paper.pdf?id=1425 contains additional recommendations, which serve to highlight the need and importance of having a single political entity manage our waste streams. Opportunities to improve waste reduction, recycling and reuse will develop only when we can maximize our management efforts to minimize our costs. Initiatives such as re-use of construction and demolition materials and municipal waste composting can only occur if such efforts are aggressively pursued. As the consultants report recommends careful and precise financial planning now needs to occur to allow the various member towns to agree on a functional business plan to allow this to happen. We can only hope it happens sooner rather than later.

To get a copy of the Preliminary Solid Waste Management Master Planning Initiative for the Island of MV report, call 508-696-4220 at the Tisbury DPW.

An Update on Nantucket’s Composting and Recycling Center

By Marnie Stanton, Vineyard Conservation Almanac

On a recent trip to Nantucket I had an opportunity to speak with Whitney Hall, President of Waste Options, the company that manages the recycling and composting center at the island landfill. Having had a very interesting tour of this successfully functioning facility just a year earlier, (see article in Almanac recycling section) I was curious to get an update on the goings on.

Mr. Hall was forthcoming with information regarding the controversy surrounding who would pay for the construction demolition waste. The State recently mandated that such waste be shipped off island due to changes in state law prohibiting landfilling of such materials.  Specific terms of the contract that Waste Options had with the town were in dispute. Should the town of Nantucket or Waste Options be responsible for the costs? A lawsuit between the two parties ensued and last April the court ruled in favor of Waste Options.

With that issue behind them, Mr. Hall continued to tell me about his most recent plan to deal with the construction waste stream. He said he was going to pitch the idea of gasification to the Nantucket selectmen later on this month. This process grinds waste down to a two inch size and then heats it in a chamber without oxygen until the solid volatilizes, resulting in the creation of a gas. That gas can then be used to create electricity. Not only would construction debris fuel this process but also plastic bags and textiles that are delivered frequently to the recycling center.

He also mentioned having toured two gasification plants in California, one being the same size as the one he would propose for Nantucket. Both plants are permitted and meet the strict air quality standards that California demands.

When asked about the space this process would take up, he mentioned that it would fit into a building that is 50’x 60’. There is land at the existing refuse facility to accommodate this expansion.

From an economic standpoint, this process is more expensive then incineration with an additional cost of purifying the gas in order for it to be environmentally safe. However the long term returns of home grown electricity as well as the elimination of shipping costs from the construction waste stream will ultimately benefit the island.

Whitey Willauer, Chairman of the Board of Selectmen of Nantucket, also confirmed the high cost to the town of shipping off island the huge amount of construction waste from tear-downs going on island wide. He spoke enthusiastically about the gasification process and was looking forward to hearing the specifics from Whitney Hall. He also mentioned that the DEP is very interested in the process and wants to cite Nantucket as a model for the State.

In addition, Waste Options Co. continues to remove and recycle materials from the existing landfill after which they are installing rubber liners over the shoveled out areas so that in the future harmful or toxic materials will not be able to leach into the groundwater.

The island continues to generate large volumes of material from the digester that grinds out high-grade compost. The compost continues to be is sold to landscapers and will possibly be used by the town when the next bike path is built. Mr. Hall said that last fall they had looked into the possibility of selling the bagged compost off island but were put off by the shipping cost which made it economically unfeasible.

When asked about the recycle and composting center, Mr. Willauer said in hindsight it probably would have been better for the town if they had initially borrowed the money to install their own facility, and hired their own manager, and in doing so taken ownership of the facility. However, since that opportunity of ownership hadn’t happened, he was comfortable working with the Waste Options Co.. In reference to ownership he said that he would like to consider the option of the town owning the new gasification processing plant and subcontract the management to Waste Options, if the technology is economically feasible.

When asked if Nantucket would be willing to work together to collaborate on alternative energy sources with the Vineyard, Mr. Willauer said yes. Unlike the proposed Cape Wind project which is privately owned, he felt that cooperative ownership (with Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard) of a wind farm on the shoals off of Tuckernuck was something that both islands should consider, particularly since there was very little traffic through that area. He also mentioned looking into the practicality of installing tidal power in the Muskeget Channel, which has a strong 5-knot current that would generate a constant energy source that could be used to make electricity.  Both energy sources would benefit the islands. He would be interested and willing to continue meeting with Vineyard officials to share information and work together to brainstorm alternative energy and waste ideas.

Don Hatch from the MV Refuse Disposal District in Edgartown said that both Oak Bluffs and Tisbury, which have their own refuse centers, were willing to share in the expenses of hiring an independent company to do an island-wide feasibility study of waste and volume issues on the island.  Both towns contributed $2,500 toward the $10,000 needed to fund the study. The board of the Edgartown Refuse District, which represents the other four towns, voted last night to contribute their share of the funding in order for the feasibility study to go forward. Now that all the funding is in place, Mr. Hatch said the study will begin Oct. 1st and be completed within three months. One of the important considerations is the comparison now of waste and volume compared to a similar study done on island in 1989. When this comprehensive study is completed it hopefully will help in determining the feasibility of an island wide composting and recycling center.

The Nantucket dump has a well organized recycling and composting center!

By Marnie Stanton, Vineyard Conservation Almanac

At a recent visit, Nantucket's dump was extremely active with people splitting up their recyclables contained in clear plastic bags. Use of the clear bags is mandated by the town to prevent “cheating”. Under the watchful eyes of patrolling attendants, very few will succeed in improperly mixing recyclables. The design of the facility is impressive: one side of the large rectangular structure has multiple windows opening to collection stalls where you can selectively fling cans, bottles, newspapers, magazines and plastic. An assortment of other household items like mattresses to metals are sorted into a gnarled mess in big open bins. Around the corner of the huge building sit neat compressed stacks of crushed cans (aluminum at .40 cents per pound), cardboard ($70.00 per ton), plastics ($150.00 per ton), and other items, all slated for off-island markets. Under the terms of the contract between the town and its service provider, Waste Options Inc., all of the revenue from the recycling component of the refuse facility goes directly to the Town of Nantucket. Waste Options is a private enterprise that operates the recycling and composting arm of this well run efficient operation.

Waste Options president Whitney Hall explained that all the onsite composting activity comes from household waste which is collected and processed in a huge twelve-and-a-half-foot diameter pipe called a digester. The digester slowly rotates tumbling and “cooking” the waste at 150 degrees for three days. Then the organic material is separated from the inorganic, screened to 3/8” density and left to cure for an additional 21 days at a temperature of about 160 degrees. The inorganic material is compressed into neat bales that are destined for the old Nantucket landfill. The landfill is actually being methodically scooped out and recycled through the digester, and the areas to receive the new inorganic materials are being outfitted with double-layered rubber liners to prevent leaching contaminants into the groundwater. When the organic material is cured, it is mixed with grass clippings, brush, and wood chips and composted to produce a commercial product which is then sold to local landscapers to improve the sandy soils of the island. Revenue from the sale of compost and topsoil is split between the Town of Nantucket and Waste Options.

Local building contractors were also given incentives to bring in clean non-treated wood, which was chipped and added to the mix. This past July the state passed a bill which banned wood from landfill disposal. Construction and demolition waste must now be shipped off island, bringing a significant added expense in dealing with Nantucket's solid waste stream. The issue is particularly acute because of the island's huge number of house “tear-downs”. Compared to a national rate of increase of such demolitions of about 17%, Nantucket is experiencing up to a 40% increase in tear-downs.

Mr. Hall emphasized the startling success of the recycling and composting activity. “We are in the business of landfill diversion. We're able to divert 86% of the municipal waste stream from the landfill.” This materials-conservation effort is a vast improvement from the days when the Nantucket dump was declared to be the worst in the state and threatened with closure.

Whitney Hall has also made multiple visits to the Vineyard to discuss whether the Waste Options approach is feasible here. Currently, the Vineyard uses BFI to haul our refuse off island. The Vineyard's Refuse District took a look at regional composting/recycling several years ago. Mr. Hall believes strongly that an on-island solution using the digester method will make more and more sense as off island disposal costs continue to rise. He welcomes the Refuse District board's reconsideration of this approach as a tangible example of sustainable practices of benefit to the entire Vineyard community.

Biodegradable food service supplies available at Cronig's

By David Nash, VCS Board Member

Those fantastic picnic and tableware items used at the VCS Fest are now available at both locations of Cronig's markets and their Healthy Additions store.  VCS used biodegradable and compostable supplies at its' fair last summer and the response was nothing short of overwhelming so we worked with Steve Bernier during the off season and now those products are here.

VCS was receiving regular requests asking where these items could be purchased and the supplier continued to receive Vineyard -based orders.
Biodegradable and compostable products have become more diverse and more available to consumers in a broad variety of products.  Better designs and reliability are also noted in the products now in Cronig's.  VCS worked primarily with Biocorp, a mid-west distributor of environmentally friendly products from all over the world.

In addition to the assortment of products manufactured from post-consumer recyclables, these newer products feature the use of renewable raw materials in their production.  In some cases, the raw materials are derived from the by-products of agricultural activities such as the processing of sugar cane which leaves a residue called bagasse which can be utilized to create plates, bowls and chowder cups.   The clear beverage cups, which everyone at VCS Fest thought were made of plastic, are derived from a mixture of corn starch, limestone and vegetable oil.  Of course, one of the more surprising items was the tableware which was made from compressed wheat starch leading some to question whether we could “eat our spoons”.

Eating the spoon isn't really an option but due to their composition they can all be composted.  VCS did that with nearly all of the waste generated at its fair and in addition to the lack of petroleum products used to produce any of these items, the compostability is probably the most exciting aspects of these innovative products.  When products are manufactured to create a more durable or water resistant product, even when made of biodegradable materials, the energy needed to break these products down into usable compost is also increased.  With these material, compost temperatures of 140 degrees F are required to sufficiently breakdown the fibers and molecular structures to begin the compost process.  Grinding and shredding will help accelerate the decomposition as well.

Will the typical backyard compost system accomplish this?  The answer is yes if you have a good well maintained system and if you pay attention to the basics of good composting techniques.  Watch the temperature and moisture content and make sure a good variety of raw materials are added to the bin.   Optimally, a system designed to achieve these conditions on a more automated or on a larger scale will do a much more efficient job but these systems are not available on Martha's Vineyard-------yet.

For now, we can only encourage the use of these wonderful new products which are at least derived from renewable sources and are not dependant upon petroleum for their manufacture.  Take a look at what is available and plan your next family outing using these items.  If you are having a catered event, let your caterer know that you would like to use these environmentally friendly products as a replacement for the plastic tableware, plastic cups and plastic plates which we have all used for so many years now.

Here's a good recycling program!

Wondering what to do with your spent printer ink cartridges? Janna O'Shaughnessy has the answer! Two years ago, the PTO at the Edgartown Elementary School where her three boys go to school, needed to do some fund raising. As an active member of the PTO, she contacted the Institution Recycling Network (IR) in New Hampshire to find out about recycling ink jet and laser jet cartridges from printers. She discovered a wonderful program that does just that.

Janna received free plastic envelope mailers and boxes for returning cartridges, and the company pays all the FedEx mailing and handling expenses. Where cartridges can be refilled and reused, IR Network will reimburse the school from one to five dollars per cartridge, depending on the size. If the cartridge can't be reused, then it is automatically recycled.

Since the program started almost two years ago, the PTO has raised $1,700 for the Edgartown School. Janna mentioned that 50 island businesses are participating in the program, along with IBM in Waltham. And anyone – businesses or individuals – who uses printer cartridges can participate. If you aren't already participating in this valuable program please consider doing so. Janna is ready to pick up your empty cartridges, so give her a call at 508-627-4548.

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