by jboullion | Aug 25, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a story by Jonalee Merkel on WSAW-TV, Wausau:
If you have ever wondered how much waste you actually produce, you probably don’t want to know.
“Wisconsin put over 10 million tons of garbage in landfills in 2008,” said Meleesa Johnson, the Marathon County Solid Waste Department director. “With 10 million tons of garbage in Wisconsin for just one year, if every family does one thing different, makes on different choice, we can reduce the amount of waste going into landfills.”
And the changes we all can make to help are fairly simple, like just changing the way we shop.
“When you go to the grocery store, you’re always so enticed to buy that little convenient package,” Johnson said. “Let’s say the juice boxes. Juice boxes are great if you’re on the go, but when you’re at home, probably not the best choice. Why not have a big half gallon of juice you can pour it into a regular cup? [The] cup can be washed and reduce the amount of waste you have.”
And when it comes to those things you no longer use, you should consider if your potential trash could be someone else’s treasure. Johnson says she sees a number of items, ranging from toys to clothing, that come into the landfill in great shape and could really be taken to a resale shop.
“Don’t throw them in the landfill because there’s much better uses for these things,” she said.
But until we all start cutting down on our waste, rest assured the Marathon County Solid Waste Department has found a good use for all our garbage.
“We extract the gases that are accumulating and we take those gases and burn those off to produce electricity,” Johnson said. “That’s a very positive thing. We have something that we don’t like, garbage, but we’re actually finding a very beneficial way to use the waste.”
by jboullion | Aug 24, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an announcement distributed by Southwest Badger RC & D Council:
September 3, 2009
1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
1291 Rawson Lane, Platteville, Wisconsin
Southwest Badger Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Council is in the second year of a project to determine the best management practices for maximizing switchgrass yields in Southwest Wisconsin. The field day will provide a tour of demonstration plots planted in 2008 at the Jim and Terry Schaefer farm. NRCS and Southwest Badger staff will provide an overview of the project and discuss the various field trials being conducted. Researchers from UW Madison will provide information on weed pressure resulting from the various herbicide treatments and how that corresponds to yield. Fertility trials implemented in 2009 will be viewed and discussed. A side-by-side comparison of pure switchgrass plantings and a nine species prairie mix will be observed. A representative of Alliant Energy will discuss their plans to perform a test burn of switchgrass at the Cassville plant this fall.
by jboullion | Aug 14, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a story on WQOW-TV:
Menomonie (WQOW) – One local business got some green Wednesday for going green.
Governor Doyle is giving out $600,000 under his emerging industries skills partnership initiative for businesses in green industries. . . .
Specialty Pallet and Crate is one local company that will be receiving some of this grant money. The Menomonie business recycles old pallets and turns them into new products.
“Our business takes a wood pallet that is damaged, repairs it, if it can’t be repaired, the wood is cut off, and that wood is used to make custom or fix other pallets. And then if it can’t be used for anything else, it comes out here and is ground into either animal bedding or landscape mulch and then colored, and sold locally to landscapers around the Menomonie area and Dunn County and Eau Claire County,” says Wendell Noble, vice-president of Specialty Pallet and Crate.
They will be receiving some of the money, in part, because of a new business they created called Bioensertech. That company will make biofuel beginning this winter.
Says Noble, “The biofuel, that is going to be a wood pellet, about that size, and hopefully it will replace coal. It burns 95 percent cleaner than coal and the waste can be used for fertilizer instead of trying to sell it to somebody to discard it. This is made from wood waste, all wood waste, so it’s all 100 percent recyclable material.”
With this new product, Bioensertech hopes to work with the department of workforce development to train current employees and gain new ones.
by jboullion | Jul 30, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture:
WASHINGTON, July 29, 2009 – USDA Farm Service Agency Administrator Jonathan Coppess today announced that biomass conversion facilities can begin signing up to participate in the Biomass Crop Assistance Program, which will help increase production of renewable energy. The program, authorized in the 2008 Farm Bill, provides financial assistance to producers who deliver eligible material to biomass conversion facilities and FSA will provide financial assistance to collect, harvest, store and transport eligible materials.
“This program will benefit producers, the developing biomass industry, the general public and the environment as we continue working to expand production and availability of renewable energy,” said Coppess. “Owners of eligible material can receive financial assistance for delivering qualified biomass to conversion facilities that use biomass for heat, power, bio-based products or advanced biofuels.”
Biomass conversion facilities and material owners or producers should contact their FSA state offices or visit www.fsa.usda.gov for more information. FSA will begin accepting applications from biomass facilities interested in participating in the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP).
by jboullion | Jul 29, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture:
WASHINGTON, July 29, 2009 – USDA Farm Service Agency Administrator Jonathan Coppess today announced that biomass conversion facilities can begin signing up to participate in the Biomass Crop Assistance Program, which will help increase production of renewable energy. The program, authorized in the 2008 Farm Bill, provides financial assistance to producers who deliver eligible material to biomass conversion facilities and FSA will provide financial assistance to collect, harvest, store and transport eligible materials.
“This program will benefit producers, the developing biomass industry, the general public and the environment as we continue working to expand production and availability of renewable energy,” said Coppess. “Owners of eligible material can receive financial assistance for delivering qualified biomass to conversion facilities that use biomass for heat, power, bio-based products or advanced biofuels.”
Biomass conversion facilities and material owners or producers should contact their FSA state offices or visit www.fsa.usda.gov for more information. FSA will begin accepting applications from biomass facilities interested in participating in the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP).
