BioCycle July 2009, Vol. 50, No. 7, p. 4

Time To Act
Nora Goldstein

SO much for the lazy, hazy days of summer. Before you sit down to relax and enjoy a tall drink, there are a few actions you need to consider.
First and foremost is to turn to page 6 of this issue and read the BioCycle World item titled, “Climate Bill Potentially Limits Carbon Offsets For Composters, Digesters.” The American Clean Energy and Security Act passed recently by the U.S. House of Representatives could set back organics recycling initiatives. How? By essentially relying on landfills to stop emitting methane.
While we are all for a reduction in landfill methane emissions, the reality is that a chunk of the methane is already emitted before landfill gas capture takes effect. This was clearly explained in last month’s cover story, “Compost Generates Cash For Greenhouse Gas Benefits.” The most effective tool to avoid landfill methane emissions is to not dispose organic wastes there in the first place. The Senate will be taking up the ACES Act when it returns from its summer recess in August. We strongly encourage you to read the news item, download the discussion paper at www.cool2012.org, and call or write your Senators to encourage them to remove the landfill gas collection requirement, and add composting and municipal anaerobic digestion to the list of eligible offset projects.
Okay, now that you’ve done that, is it time to chill? Nope. The next item on your to-do list is to make sure your composting facility is in BioCycle‘s database, www.findacomposter.com. This month’s cover story, “Compostable Products Go Mainstream,” highlights the need for composting facilities in North America to stand up and be counted. Major corporations are committing to compostable packaging with the intention of those products ending up at composting facilities. There is a perceived lack of composting infrastructure, and what better way to dispel that notion than to be listed in www.findacomposter.com. BioCycle just updated the website, vastly improving the search capabilities. There is no fee to be listed, nor a fee to do a search.
Made it through those two tasks? There is just one more. If you are a member of the National Recycling Coalition (NRC), you need to cast your vote for whether the organization should become part of Keep America Beautiful (KAB). There is healthy skepticism among many that KAB may not be the right organization to advance national recycling initiatives. A group, Save the NRC, has formed to encourage the Coalition’s member to vote “No” on the merger. To learn more about the issues at stake, read our news item on page 10.
That’s it! Thanks for taking action, and enjoy the lazy, hazy days ahead.