British Columbia passes legislation which sets standards for the recycling of organic materials in drinking water watersheds.

4/30/2002

Recycling Process Improved, Drinking Water Protected VICTORIA - A new organic matter recycling regulation will strengthen human health standards, making British Columbia the first jurisdiction in North America to limit the use of recycled organic materials in drinking water watersheds. The regulation will also eliminate costly and time-consuming permitting processes for recycling a wide range of organic matter including composted food, scrap wood, treated solids from sewage, fish parts and hatchery debris, the Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection announced today. Standards set by the regulation are more stringent than those developed by the United States and are equal to those used in Europe. As well, the regulation gives medical health officers the ability to veto the use of recycled organic material where it could threaten public health. Under the changes, the process of recycling organic material will adhere to strict performance-based standards. For example, all material used in drinking water supply areas must be pasteurized by heating it for a specific length of time to eliminate disease-carrying organisms. The changes in the composting and recycling regulatory framework will reduce landfill and incineration costs by allowing local governments to recycle materials that previously required permits. The recycled materials will also provide mining operations with a product that can be used to reclaim mines and gravel pits. Similarly, forestry companies, farmers and topsoil manufacturers will benefit by having access to nutrients that are more effective and less expensive than chemical fertilizers. The amended regulatory framework has undergone extensive public consultation and is supported by municipal governments, agriculture, health and recycling groups. Note: This information bulletin is at online. Contact: Tanya Royer, 250 356-2116, Media Relations, Victoria

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Nasa

4/29/2002

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Wright begins installing system at Reedy Creek Improvement District, a governmental entity that provides utility services to the Walt Disney World Complex.

4/25/2002

Wright Environmental Management Inc., of Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada, and Reedy Creek Improvement District, a governmental entity that supplies utility services to the Walt Disney World Complex, are pleased to announce the signing of a contract to supply in-vessel composting technology to Reedy Creek Improvement District in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The composter tunnels will process 21,900 tons per annum of organic waste, with plans for subsequent expansion to include composting of sewage sludge and additional tonnages of organic waste. The selection of Wright Environmental technology concludes an extensive evaluation of composting technologies by Reedy Creek Improvement District and will provide strong economic and environmental benefits to the District.

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EU Regulations force councils to consider "in-vessel" composting plants meeting specified operational standards.

2/25/2002

English councils have been set statutory recycling/composting targets for 2003/04 and 2005/06. In addition, they need to comply with the Landfill Directive - under which landfilling of biodegradable municipal waste must be reduced to 35% of 1995 arisings by 2020. In addition, some councils, responding to public sentiment, are seeking alternatives to mass-burn incineration. In-vessel plants offer advantages over open-air systems in terms of reduced local impacts from dust and bioaerosols. However, large in-vessel plants for municipal waste remain rare in the UK. Biffa composts household organic waste in a plant on the Isle of Wight supplied by Wright Environmental. Another two Wright plants were brought on stream last year by Aberdeenshire County Council, at Banff and Mintlaw. The plants, which consume 20,000 tonnes and 32,000 tonnes of black bag waste per year, respectively, produce stabilised "biowaste". This is used for landfill restoration and daily cover. According to SEPA, almost every Scottish council is looking at in-vessel composting of mixed waste as a way of complying with the Landfill Directive without incineration. Leicester City Council, which is about to select preferred bidders for a 25-year PFI contract, told ENDS Report that most waste firms have so far recommended in-vessel composting based on forced air tunnels, similar to the Wright and Gicom systems. Another option on offer is anaerobic digestion, although this is complicated by the need to find a use for the methane it generates. Most, if not all, major waste companies are including in-vessel composting in tenders for municipal waste disposal contracts. "There will inevitably be a move towards in-vessel, whether it's for mixed or segregated waste," said another waste company manager. "Councils can only meet their recycling/composting targets if they use in-vessel, bearing in mind the 250 metre limit and the EU animal by-products Regulation."

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