Minutes of first meeting

Minutes from our first meeting

SC EX Comm meeting with TCCH – Waste team:  August 24, 2010

Attending:

• Hank Rodenburg –
• Liane Salgado –
• Bob Weickert –
• May Becker –
• Judith Ferster –
• Melissa McCullough –

Attending this Ex Comm meeting were TCCH attendees interested in Waste issues.  The group went around the table to brainstorm actionable ideas.

May described some of the discussions we had had with the Ex Comm, on the possibilities with composting at apartments and restaurants as well as residences.

Bob noted the fear some have of composting, and that there is an Orange Co Solid Waste person (Muriel Willamen) who gives instruction on how to compost, suggesting that perhaps that could be expanded.  Bob saw opportunities in churches and schools, and had started with St Thomas More.  He had them reducing, and recycling, and next trying to replace Styrofoam with compostables.  He started compost bins there around 10 years ago, but with some resistance.

(Then he said that perhaps there were opportunities to build on SC’s success with sunsetting coal early at UNC, and perhaps we could convince UNC to use not fossil fuels at all, but to use waste-incineration energy generation at Carolina North.  This would require us to find means and to whom we should talk.

Liane encouraged us to talk about these “wastes” as resources, like a biological cycle.  This will get people to stop thinking about there being an “away” where you can send garbage.   She described municipal composting programs elsewhere.   And she noted that there could be projects at a smaller scale first.  For example, locally, Spence, of Spence’s Farm, is willing to pick up restaurant “waste” and compost it with his horse manure.   Vimala, Driade and others would like to provide their by-products as compost material.  Spence would like help to build bins and work on the facility at the farm, and could pick up in his van.  Liane also noted that we could write a pamphlet with a procedure on how to approach and talk to restaurants, schools or churches.  She also noted that many possibilities are actually illegal.   This can be state, local or even neighborhood covenants.

Melissa noted that EPA has quantification tools for the benefits of composting.   She did have a pet idea of a campaign to minimize small serving packaging and substituting powder for liquid (e.g. Gatorade).

Hank described his distress about the saga of the transfer station in Orange County, when we shouldn’t have a transfer station at all.  Why don’t we go into the latest technology for incineration?   Another issue with potential is getting rid of plastic bags.  Perhaps have a two step program – have all stores that use plastic bags have a recycle bin and then go into eliminating all plastic bags.  (Melissa will send the mockumentary about the life cycle of the plastic bag to this group.)  Bob noted that Harris Teeter, Whole Food and Weaver St. have started composting their produce waste.  Melissa described a partnership in Philadelphia, where a food bank partnered with a commercial composting facility, which allowed them to take donations with a higher waste percentage since they didn’t have to pay tipping fees.  Chapel Hill does sell composters for $50, maybe they should be free or cheaper.   Also, it was discussed that there are already food banks who are taking grocery unsaleables.  In addition, how could we get more people to use reusable bags.  For the SC, waste to energy – will be a hard sell.   The SC is skeptical and has initiative against waste to energy, with fears about air quality, and the nature of the waste coming in.  American waste streams are too toxic or do not burn well.  The City of Charlotte has recommended that there be greater EPA oversight for incinerator inputs.  Some noted that the waste stream is cleaning up with separate battery, CFL, and the like being recycled more – but the question is “is it enough?”  Is the alternative, trucking long distances, better?  UNC is working on a study to look at this issue.   But there was concern about replacing one problem with another, and that we should proceed on this one with caution.

The group discussed if we should include wasting water in the work of this group, but decided that this was not an easy fit.

The group then decided to rank what the group would like to work on.

• Liane will do some research on what restaurants and groceries are composting already, whether farmers will take back finished compost and other composting questions.
• Bob volunteered to check with Interfaith Power and Light, to see if they had something useful in terms of prototype outreach scripts to approach schools and churches.
• Hank will draft an examination of possible policies and how we could approach advocating any new policies.  He noted the difficulty of implementing policy in NC with the “home rule” way that the State has to approve.
• Judith will look back into the local Food Lion, and see if there is a way to reestablish her previous conversation.

The group decided to meet once a month on the third Tuesday.

NOTE SINCE THE MEETING:    TCCH is participating in the 10-10-10 event per 350.org, in Carrboro.   Talked about it at the TCCH-Energy meeting 8-25.   Waste group and SC should discuss.

Also: Grist magazine Compost 101 article: http://www.grist.org/article/food-composting-101-slideshow

And the Plastic bag mockumentary: http://www.grist.org/article/2010-08-17-follow-epic-life-cycle-of-majestic-creature-plastic-bag-video