A project in Wewoka, Oklahoma will use landfill gas to fuel a nearby brick factory, reducing approximately 30,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas pollution per year in the process.

The project is being financed by eBay, Esurance, Designtex, Ceres, Brighter Planet, and College of the Atlantic through the purchase of NativeEnergy’s Help Build carbon offsets.

The project developer is landfill gas to energy specialist, Enerdyne Power Systems and the landfill is owned by Sooner Landfill, LLC, a subsidiary of WCA Waste Corporation and WCA of Oklahoma, LLC.

NativeEnergy is a provider of verified carbon offsets and renewable energy credits. NativeEnergy’s Help Build carbon offsets help finance construction of Native American, family farm, and community-based carbon reduction projects.

Wells will be installed at the Wewoka landfill to capture the gas which will be delivered through a half-mile pipeline to the Commercial Brick Corporation’s kilns.

Bob Hartsock, President of Commercial Brick Corporation, said the favorable long-term contract for the gas from the landfill will pay for the investment to retrofit the burners in his kilns and help the company remain competitive in a challenging market.

Jeff Bernicke, President of NativeEnergy, noted: “This project shows that well-planned environmental initiatives can deliver local economic and social benefits too. We’re pleased to play a central role in this project and are thankful for the substantial participation of key customers.”

eBay, Esurance, Designtex, Ceres, Brighter Planet, and College of the Atlantic have already made significant purchases of carbon offsets from the project.

By purchasing NativeEnergy’s Help Build carbon offsets the companies are providing upfront funding to the project and in return they will receive a share of the project’s long-term verified carbon reductions.

The Wewoka Biogas Project is NativeEnergy’s fiftieth Help Build project. (http://landfill-gas.com)

William Brinker, Vice President and Operations Manager of Enerdyne, said:

“This is a perfect example of how to make a small project work. WCA Waste wanted the gas from their project to be put a beneficial use, and Commercial Brick was looking for a way to control their fuel costs. With the two properties adjoining, this was a perfect match! Thanks to the capital and carbon funding provided by NativeEnergy’s Help Build program, we were able to bridge the gap between all of the parties and build a successful project.” 

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If one person can change things to reduce their Carbon Footprint and make a positive difference on the environment, imagine the difference a whole office can make.

The things we do in our everyday lives have a huge impact on our environment. Whether we realise it not, everyday, we are adding to the problem of global warming.

The idea of this article is to offer some tips which can help you reduce your office carbon footprint and help the environment by not adding to the global warming issue.

Did you really need to print that?

So, you’re sitting at your desk and receive an email, you decide you want a copy of the email, so you print it off. Was that really necessary?

Statistics show that we use over 11 million sheets of paper a year. That’s a lot of paper!

By reducing the amount of paper you use for printing, you are not only saving money, but you are having a positive effect on the environment, because the less paper we use, the less trees need to be cut down and the more oxygen we have.

Whose turn is it to water the plant?

Talking about trees and oxygen, by having a plant or two in your office, you are infact helping your office environment.

Imagine all those systems running in your office; computer, fax, printers, photocopiers and scanners, all these things make the air too dry, so by having plants in your office, you are infact increasing the humidity in the air.

Printer cartridge has run out again

So what do you do when the printer is ready for a refill? Infact, the question should be, what do you do with the empty cartridge?

In the last 10 years, 250 million print cartridges have ended up in either landfill sites or have been incinerated. It would take 1000 years for one cartridge to biodegrade.

With the amount of cartridges thrown away, if laid out, they would stretch across the radius of the moon!

There is now no excuse for anyone to throw an empty cartridge in the bin. More often than not, when you open the box of a new cartridge, there is a bag supplied for you to recycle the old one. All you need to do is put the empty cartridge in the bag and post it off for recycling.

Did you turn off your computer before you left?

Leaving your computer switched on, leaving the lights on, leaving the windows open and leaving office equipment on standby all burn up unnecessary energy.

All computers come with a power saving device, so there is no excuse to leave your computer on standby when you leave work for the day.

By changing your office equipment to power down systems, you are making massive savings to the energy we waste everyday.

You can also change your light bulbs to energy saving light bulbs. Compact fluorescent light bulbs will greatly help you reduce the amount of energy you use in your office on a daily basis.

Did you know that by leaving a window open overnight; you are wasting enough energy to drive a small car for 35 miles?

It isn’t necessary to leave windows open or lights on in an office overnight, or over a weekend for that matter. So makes sure the lights are off, the equipment is off and no windows are left open when you leave your office.

Whose turn is it to do the stationary order?

Did you know, in the UK we throw out enough rubbish every 2 hours to fill up the Albert Hall?

There is now a wide range of products that we can buy that come from recycling, so it isn’t always necessary to buy brand new products that have not been recycled.

Next time you are flicking through the stationary catalogue, watch out for products that you can buy that have been recycled. Buying recycled office stationary and equipment helps reduce the amount of rubbish we need to throw away, which means less rubbish ends up in landfills.

So there you have it. A few tips to help you help your environment which gives you an environmentally friendly office.

Nicky Bullimore is in Search Engine Marketing and has been writing articles on various topics for a number of years. For more information about how you can make a positive difference on your office environment, read the Environmentally Friendly Office website.

The climate change phenomenon, its causes and consequences, is now generally accepted and recognised by the international scientific community, governments, the private sector, NGOs and the general population.

It requires a robust response. Solutions must be found that will mitigate emissions of greenhouse gases and help to adapt to its unavoidable consequences. The complexity of the issue requires the acceptance of a common responsibility from both the public and private sector.

The waste industry occupies a unique position as a potential reducer of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As industries and countries worldwide struggle to address their carbon footprint, waste sector activities represent an opportunity for carbon reduction which has yet to be fully exploited.

The waste sector offers a portfolio of proven, practical and cost effective technologies which can contribute to GHG mitigation. When adapted and deployed according to local traditions and needs, they can help secure significant global GHG emission savings.

The transfer of sustainable technology to developing countries is crucial to reducing GHG emissions. The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), introduced under the Kyoto protocol, has provided an opportunity for the waste sector to make significant advances towards this goal. However, structural and administrative improvements to the CDM registration process are needed.

Waste policies and regulations can be strong national drivers to reduce GHG emissions.

However, accurate measurement and quantification of GHG emissions is vital in order to set and monitor realistic reduction targets at all levels. Current methodologies form a valuable database for assessment of GHG emissions from waste activities, however, improvements are required to adequately represent the full life-cycle of materials and energy.

Read More ISWA: Waste and Climate Change White Paper.

The government says the Planning Act 2008 will enable decisions on major infrastructure projects in areas such as energy, aviation, road and rail transport, water and waste to be taken much more speedily than under the current system.

Under the Act ministers will set out National Policy Statements detailing national infrastructure priorities and the decisions as to whether to allow individual projects to go ahead will then be taken independently by a new Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC).

The government will set out a timetable to set-up the IPC and consult on the detailed regulations and NPSs to implement the new system in the New Year.

Communities secretary Hazel Blears said: “Now that the Planning Bill has been given Royal Assent we can begin to create the faster, fairer planning system we need to reduce our fossil fuel addiction and build up a new generation of renewable energy infrastructure sources like wind power. Many low carbon power sources will now get faster approval, and the country could save £300m a year.”

Planning Bill minister John Healey added: “The new Planning Act 2008 will bring about real culture change for deciding the future needs of our national infrastructure. Importantly it will also give the public three chances to get their views on proposals across instead of one.”

But countryside campaigners the CPRE expressed doubts about how well the Bill will work in practice. Paul Miner, CPRE’s senior planning campaigner commented: “We have monitored the Bill closely throughout its passage through Parliament. Some of it is sensible. But we doubt that its centrepiece – an expensive, unelected, unaccountable commission taking big planning decisions – will work in practice.

“There is a grave danger that this new commission will be seen merely as a promoter and a rubber stamp for highly damaging infrastructure projects imposed without proper debate. It will be interesting to see who steps forward to be a commissioner on this new body, given the challenges it faces.”

The government launched the recruitment process for the position of IPC chairman in October. Shortlisting will take place early next year with interviews in spring and appointment in early summer.

…along with new environment and transport bills

Susanna Gillman, PlanningResource, 27 November 2008

A raft of other legislation that will impact on planning was passed last night along with the Planning Bill.

The Climate Change, Energy and Local Transport bills have also gained Royal Assent.

The climate legislation makes the UK the first country in the world to adopt legally-binding carbon emission targets.

Under the Climate Change Act, the government will have to adhere to five year carbon budgets and will be required to provide annual reports on its progress towards meeting the budgets.

Energy and climate change secretary Ed Miliband said: “The UK is the first country in the world to introduce a legally-binding framework to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

“Setting the 80 per cent target was the easy part: now the work really begins. Government, communities, businesses and individuals need to work together to bring about change.

“The Energy and Planning Acts will be instrumental in reducing carbon emissions, removing barriers to enable industry to invest in important new infrastructure, and giving individuals and communities the incentive to use energy more efficiently and generate their own heat and energy.”

Meanwhile the Local Transport Act 2008 will help bring all modes of transport together, by strengthening the role of the Passenger Transport Authorities – to be renamed Integrated Transport Authorities (ITAs) – and by enabling new ones to be established.

These will help major urban areas outside London to improve coordination of the road network and public transport.

The existing six Passenger Transport Authorities will be renamed ITAs from early in the new year. They will take on full responsibility for local transport planning across their areas.

The Act also creates the opportunity for local areas to review their existing arrangements, and to propose reforms including enhanced powers and boundary changes.

More at UK Government.

Companies handling construction waste in Wales can now sign up to a standard recognising that they are disposing of it correctly and in line with their Duty of Care.

Launched by Constructing Excellence in Wales (CEW) and Jane Davidson, Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing, the ‘Green Compass’ standard is the first of several planned initiatives intended to ensure construction and demolition waste is being disposed of safely and environmentally.

In 2005, one third of waste sent to licensed waste management sites in Wales was from the construction sector, with over half ending up in landfill. The standard – which was developed in cooperation with the industry – is part of several initiatives being developed to potentially divert “significant quantities” of construction waste away from landfill.

Speaking at the launch of the standard on Monday (September 29), Ms Davidson said: “I have awarded £1.5 million of funding to CEW for three years to help the industry reduce and recycle more of its waste. CEW is now turning ideas into action in the form of the Construction Waste Programme.”

“The construction industry has been on board every step of the way to develop this programme and suggest ways of improving the current situation. Green Compass is a result of one of these ideas; I believe it will make a big impact on diverting significant quantities of waste from landfill and also help minimise our carbon footprint,” she added.

CEW has commissioned the British Standards Institution (BSI) to develop the ‘Green Compass’ standard as a Publicly Available Specification (PAS 402), with companies invited to sign up and demonstrate sound waste management for potential customers.

The scheme is currently being developed further through a pilot scheme with ten companies testing the standard in a trial which will run until July 2009. A public consultation will also be held to seek a wider selection of views from stakeholders on the intent of the scheme.

Paul Jennings, CEW’s construction waste programme director, said: “We have a huge task to reach out, educate and work with the entire construction waste industry in Wales and in time we will address each aspect of the construction process, but the best starting point is the actual handling of waste itself.” More at Let’sRecycle.

More about construction waste and Site Waste Management Plans.

Waste facilities in Leicestershire and the South West will see major improvements thanks to a combined £181.6 million in funding announced by Defra today.

In Leicestershire, the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) project is expecting to divert 98,000 tonnes of Biodegradable Municipal Waste from landfill in 2020. In the South West the PFI project will divert 293,000 tonnes from landfill in 2020 – making an important contribution to the UK’s landfill directive targets.

Leicestershire plans to build on its already successful recycling and composting record. Not only does the county expect to reach the Government’s 2020 recycling target of 50 per cent 10 years early, but with further plans it aims to reach 58 per cent by 2017. In the South West, 92 per cent of the biodegradable waste in the area will be diverted from landfill.

The schemes could also deliver estimated total net carbon savings of 53,260 tonnes in 2019/20, compared to the current situation. The potential for combined heat and power (CHP) could increase this further to 121,500 tonnes of savings over both projects.

Waste Minister Joan Ruddock said:

“Reducing our reliance on landfill is an essential part of the drive to tackle climate change and I welcome the ambitious commitment made by Leicestershire and three authorities in the South West.

“PFI agreements like this create a real incentive for local authorities and industry to work together to cut waste and make better use of the waste we do create, as well as reducing our impact on the environment.”