Our Green Streets Blog

A new rapid-mulching product may assist in prolonging the lives of municipal landfills, providing nutrient-rich composts and fertilizers in the process.

A Nevada-based company, Ecologico-Logic, is launching an aerobic machine that has been aptly named the Muncher.

The reason this is good news? A number of cities around the world now sort their municipal trash, diverting organic matter into large anaerobic composters that turn it into nutrient-rich soil. Such systems can be very expensive and the composting process is time-consuming.

Jacob Jacobson and Mohammed Memon claim to have solved the time problem and the accompanying odors that often turn people away from composting locales. The Muncher converts organic waste into mulched and liquid compost in less than an hour via aerobic digestion.

Memon says 11 years have been invested in developing this machine and the accompanying technologies. “It’s been a long road to get it to where it is today – a working prototype.”

This should be good news for the landfill and waste management industries. The two men are out presenting their prototype to interested corporate and municipal parties who they report their interest. One principal reason for garnering interest is how fast the system works. A normal mulching process might require anywhere from 30 to 365 days to convert waste into useable mulch. The Muncher can accomplish this same work within 15 minutes, Jacobson says.

This machine features a patented accelerated waste digestion process. It commences with mechanically shredding pre-separated organic garbage, followed with aerobic microbes within the system and a proprietary chemical treatment that rapidly breaks the matter down into a marketable product. For existing municipal systems the resulting compost can then be used for city projects or sold to agricultural or landscaping entities.

The results can be impressive. Not only is the organic waste kept out of the landfill, it also takes up much less space. Momin reports that one ton of garbage can be converted to about 600 pounds of solid cake mulch and liquid effluent. In addition, he says the Muncher creates no toxic gases, hazardous compounds or foul odors, that it kills pathogens in the garbage, and that the compost it produces contains no harmful chemicals.

There are also economic considerations. A big factor in the solid waste business is the cost of dumping fees. Reducing the mass that ends up in the landfill makes for a positive proposition, says Jacobson. In addition, the end products are nutrient-rich compost and fertilizers – potentially valuable commodities.

Ecologico-Logic is currently looking at building industrial Munchers that are capable of processing up to 50 tons of waste per day. Memon believes the return on investment for the Muncher is between two and five years. Down the road these men also hope to develop smaller units that might be used by restaurants or in homes.

For those people following the trail of trash that gets shipped to the landfill every day, consuming more landfill space, the Muncher may have some good solutions.

Photos:  Jacob Dickinson

Source: Clean Technica (http://s.tt/12SW0)

Architect Doug Eichelberger designed this gabion wall barn, collecting scrap rock.

Gabion baskets, traditionally used for building retaining wall and controlling erosion, also can be used as a homebuilding product for emergency settlements or by those wishing to construct walls with new material approaches.

Colorado architect Doug Eichelberger has used gabion baskets to construct an experimental building on his ranch southwest of Larkspur, CO that he now uses as attractive free-standing barn. But he is most interested in the potential use of gabions where natural or human-caused disasters have occurred and there is a critical need for emergency housing.

As Eichelberger writes: “In war and natural disaster situations, emergency housing is one of the first requirements in the lives of survivor/refugee population. Gabion baskets are most often used for erosion control along rivers and streams. The baskets can also be used in a vertical wall structure. Because the baskets are easy to transport and assemble, they can be taken (even by mule) to the most remote locations. The baskets can be filled with rubble from destroyed buildings, then left as is or covered with indigenous mud stucco finishes. The baskets can be arranged into homes or refugee barracks.

Eichelberger says these are features to this structure:

• Baskets can be filled with stone or concrete rubble
• Baskets are easy to transport to remote locations, where they can be filled with material of choice
• Weight of filled baskets makes for stable floating foundation
• Inexpensive materials are used for fill

A gabion walls ready to support roof. gabionbaskets.net

A couple of places worth visiting for gabions are GabionBaskets.net and Maccaferri.  Maccaferri, based in Williamsport, MD is a pioneer company in gabions, constructing its first wire basket in 1893.

According to Maccaferri, the first gabion retaining structure was constructed in 1893 to retain the banks of the River Reno at Casalecchio. It took 650 workers, 34 days to install the 2,900 gabions.

Gabion retaining structures are rectangular wire mesh baskets that are usually (concrete rubble, in some cases) filled with rock at the project site to form flexible, permeable structures such as gabion retaining walls for commercial, industrial and road projects. They are also used for erosion control for bank stabilization, channel linings, and gabion weirs.

Gabion strength lies in its double twisted hexagonal mesh of steel wire which is reinforced by selvedges of heavier wire running along the edges and by transverse diaphragms. The wire will not unravel even when cut. Assembly is easy, requiring no specialized labor and nearby rock is used for fill.

Gabion retaining structures are available with different levels of protecting coating for durability. With 30% voids, gabion structures offer free drainage providing greater bank stability when used for riverbank protection.

Styrofoam can be recycled

In spite of what many recycling proponents think, Styrofoam now has a place in the recycling supply chain, reports Fort Collins artist, Nancy Dobbs, who has been storing Styrofoam junk in hopes her wait would lead to getting the material recycled.  That was when she heard about one innovative company, ACH Foam Technologies, which ran a recycling operation from its corporate offices in Denver.

While Styrofoam may be regarded as a miracle substance for the packaging industry, it has long been considered a curse with no cure by recyclers and environmentalists due to an interminably long lifespan and its difficult fit in the recycling industry, where most regard it as nonrecyclable.

Thus Dobbs was happy to make the long drive south from Fort Collins with a carload of Styrofoam she had collected over the years. ACH indicated it was willing to receive the load, as long as it hadn’t been contaminated with food.

Read more of this >>

A composting toilet from BioLet in Sweden. Photo: BioLet

For those considering building without a septic tank or access to a sewer line, it might be time to look at composting toilets, especially if putrid smells can be avoided.  Swedish-based BioLet has manufactured waterless toilets for 35 years and indicates odor is not a problem, especially in Sweden where waterless toilet systems are required in many places. Here, the average American uses 7,665 gallons of water each year just flushing the toilet.

Just a few years ago mention of a composting toilet brought far more in the way of frowns than applause. As Peter Andersson, BioLet USA’s president pointed out in a press release, “People would go, “A what toilet…?!?” You either quickly changed the subject, or went into an ever-lasting explanation about what it is, how it works and especially why on earth anybody would want to have a toilet that doesn’t flush. Things are changing.”

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Photo of Chang's Hong Kong apartment Source: Marcel Lam

Architect Gary Chang has implemented some stunning solutions for small-space living in his Hong Kong apartment. To get a first-hand glimpse of Mr. Chang’s take on how spaciousness in a small space might look and feel, look at this You Tube video clip: story from Hong Kong.

This compact living space represents an inspiring case study for anybody considering the challenges of living in inner city areas with limited space. From the standpoints of density and functional practicality, this Chang design offers great potential. Consider that Chang’s apartment contains not just one room, but 24 rooms in one.

Read more of this >>

On the positive side, V-16 engines at the DADS landfill run on captured methane to generate enough electricity for 3,000 homes and reduce greenhouse gases. Photo: grmeyers

This Sunday’s Denver Post runs a thought-provoking column by Susan Greene that is worth reading. The subject: trash management in Denver compared to other cities.

Greene writes, “I’m talking trash — heaps of bags, lawn trimmings and boxes in cans and Dumpsters across town. Most of us city folk toss garbage with no fees and no clue where it’s headed.”

I recommend reading her column. Many of us in Denver believe we are leading the way in cultivating a greener lifestyles, including practices such as wasting less and recycling more. Not quite true, it appears.

“Denver lost funding for its pilot compost program, which managed to slash household trash 38 percent, and will end that project this spring. Progress is stalling in a town that recycles 22 percent less than the U.S. average.”

The comparison showing Denver recycles 22 percent less than the US average hit me the hardest. I hoped we were leading the pack and we aren’t even close concerning the measures of recycling and wasting less. All of us need to start regarding sustainability issues more seriously.

Meet Planet Blue! source: SavePlanetBlue.com

An interactive online game site, SavePlanetBlue.com has been launched. After one year of development, children around the world are invited to come register and become Planet Blue Savers. Registration is free.

According to the launch announcement, children today are more aware of  environmental issues than at any other time before. Site visitors will encounter an animated 3-D website that provides customizing options. Read more of this >>

Sustainable packaging winners announced. Source: Converting Magazine

This press release came at the end of May care of Converting Magazine. We usually tend to shy away from releases, however, what was covered here — sustainable packaging — was important enough we chose to offer the information and the video of the awards ceremonies by Dupont.

Have a look at some great works that combine imagination and social responsibility in the packaging field:

29 May 09 Wilmington, DE — “A diverse group of businesses in multiple market segments are turning to sustainable packaging solutions to improve the environmental profile of their product offerings, according to DuPont as the company today announced the winners of the 21st DuPont Awards for Packaging Innovation at the industry’s first online interactive exchange on sustainable packaging (left). Winners include well-known brands such as Estee Lauder, Procter & Gamble, Unilever and Conagra for food, pharmaceutical, personal-care and other packaging segments. For more information on the winners and their sustainable packaging innovations, click here. Read more of this >>

View of Denver City & County Building from State Capitol. Pictures courtesy of www.aviewoncities.com

The City & County of Denver has partnered with Best Buy and Guaranteed Recycling Xperts (GRX) offering Denver residents an easy way to recycle their electronic items such as old televisions, monitors and computer components. Read more of this >>

For those who missed it, this last Saturday, March 28th, from 8:30 – 9:30 PM local time was Earth Hour.  For those who may be unfamiliar with Earth Hour, it was first marked in 2007, when The WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) and The Sydney Morning Herald sponsored a campaign to get 2.2 million citizens of Sydney to turn off non-essential lights and appliances for one hour to raise awareness of the need to address climate change. Read more of this >>