I had the opportunity to sit in between the Mayor of London, Joe Fontana and Ontario’s Ministry of Energy, the Honourable Chris Bentley yesterday as I chaired the Mayor’s Sustainable Energy Council (MSEC). Mr. Bentley was there at my invitation to kick off the meeting and bring some remarks from the Province. Our group of [Read More]
Feb 252012
In advance of the upcoming Mayors Sustainable Energy Council meeting on 24 February I thought I would share this press release highlighting the recipients of the Energy Saver Outstanding Business and Community Outreach Grants. MEDIA RELEASE Date: Friday, February 24, 2012 For Immediate Release: London Energy Savers Receive Recognition From MSEC London: The [Read More]
I spent last weekend in downtown Toronto with my wife for a little get away. On Sunday morning, as we often do, we made our way down to the St Lawrence-North Building for the Antique Market (http://www.stlawrencemarket.com/). While the main market (which sells food etc. and is its own adventure) is closed on Sundays the [Read More]
Feb 072012
The Ontario Waste Management Association’s http://www.owma.org/home.asp Organics Subcommittee held a successful one day seminar on compost quality today. The seminar was attended by 40 people that represented a cross section of the composting industry including the public sector, private sector operators and consultants. the intent was to provide attendees with some detailed information on compost quality. [Read More]
Feb 032012
The Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) has recently announced a partnership with the NSF, a global certification organization to help it certify compostable plastics. If you have been involved with compostable plastics at all you will know that it has been a long road with huge doses of countervailing scientific conjecture, counterclaims and confusion. BPI and [Read More]
Through the Mayor’s Sustainable Energy Council (MSEC) (http://www.msec.london.ca/) LHBA recently received a grant for $1,000 that was used to defray costs for a display at the London Home Show. I had the opportunity to make a presentation with Mayor Joe Fontana. The text of my remarks is included below: Londoners spend an estimated one billion dollars [Read More]
Jan 202012
As discussed in my last blog post one of the highlights of the US Composting Council conference was the excellent session on Anaerobic Digestion and Integration with Composting. It is clear that there are excellent opportunities to integrate off farm activities with on farm activities. This concept is something that is growing in Canada. Currently, [Read More]
Jan 202012
Austin, Texas claims to be the live music capital of the world. Every year they host the South by Southwest music festival. This week Austin has been hosting the 20th annual US Composting Council conference at the Renaissance Hotel. The conference features about 700 delegates that include about 130 exhibitors. It is gratifying to see [Read More]
The agricultural sector is often thought of as an end market for composts produced from residential and IC&I organic wastes. However, farms may also be places where off-farm organic wastes can be processed. On farm anaerobic digestion and biogas production is starting to grow in Canada. The on-farm management of organic wastes, in this manner, [Read More]
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Paul van der Werf is President of London-Ontario-based 2cg Inc. and has been involved in the business of waste prevention and diversion for the last 20 years. A recognized organic waste and composting expert he has in recent years delved into the business of recycling and sustainability planning. A contributing editor, he writes the popular Organics Matters column for Solid Waste and Recycling Magazine.