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Greetings!
Prepared for the third iteration of the Scratch Sheet?
Hope so because we are here to stay for an extended period. Together
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with Communications Manager - and Scratch Sheet Editor - Ron Tschida, I will work to bring relevant bioeconomy news to help keep you in-the-loop for leading edge news and reporting.
The Wisconsin Institute for Sustainable Technology at UW-Stevens Point has provided me with numerous new tools to create links between industry and academia, and we look forward to championing efforts from around the Globe to build a more sustainable business environment.
As news develops our goal is to create a link for readers with initiatives and efforts to provide the foundation to build a more sustainable community.
Sincerely,
WIST Director of Laboratory Services
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New Bedford, Mass., Company making profits where others are adding bottom-line costs
Advanced Marine Technologies (AMT) started with fish waste as a commodity to manufacture fertilizer and is now adding other organic streams to produce high-quality commodity products. According to Southcoasttoday.com, AMT is working with two Fortune 500 companies, local super markets, and eight commercial operations to collect organic waste to manufacture high quality products for the nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industries.
AMT President Lewis Spencer told South Coast Today, "We were looking at zero-waste programs and we started mining the waste stream out of what was being disposed of out of the back of the plant. Within one year we had saved $850,000 in disposal costs and made another $1.8 million in pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals that we were able to harvest out of that waste stream."Read more at southcoasttoday.com |
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Recyclable and Biodegradable Wine Bottle - can it be true?
A wine bottle made with a recyclable and compostable paper outer shell hit United Kingdom shelves recently. The concept is similar to buying wine in a box but so much cooler than a box. Martin Myerscough, whose idea it was to make a paper wine bottle, told The Drinks Report: "The best thing about GreenBottle is that consumers just 'get it'."
thedrinksreport.com...love it...reports:
The GreenBottle for wine consists of a fully recyclable or compostable paper casing. The same shape as a standard wine bottle, it contains a plastic neck piece and foiled plastic liner, comparable to those used in bag-in-box wines, a format that consumers - especially those in the Nordic countries downtown London'er "Boxed wine?! What the? - are familiar with.See thedrinksreport.com for more |
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Capitol Hill = Paper and Wood Products + Sustainable Manufacturing
The American Forest & Paper Association and the American Wood Council sent fifty industry leaders to Washington D.C. to discuss the top priorities for America's paper and wood products manufacturers. The top priorities are (highlights are my emphasis):
* carbon neutrality of biomass;
* reasonable air regulations;
* inclusion of paper and wood products in USDA's BioPreferred program;
* corporate tax reform;
* postal reform;
* truck weight increase for federal highways;
* maintaining paper options for all Americans;
* recognition of multiple credible green building rating systems; and
* support for wood in building energy codes.
From me to you: Thank you, American Forest and Paper Association and the American Wood Council for taking the lead on vital policy positions like these.
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Congratulations, NewPage!
NewPage recently stepped into the compostable marketplace with LittleFoot, a laminate for shelf-stable food applications, and was immediately recognized by the IoPP with its 2013 AmeriStar Sustainability Award.
CEO George Martin told FoodProductionDaily.com, "No matter how well we perform there will always be room for improvement. When we meet or exceed our goal, we will always set a new, more aggressive one. When you see sustainability this way, you realize we are not talking about company performance as much as human performance."
Now it's our job to bring about behavior change to use these new products in a more sustainable manner. Read more |
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Kitchen food scrap helping create fuel savings for Cairo's neediest citizens
This report written by Cam McGrath for the Inter Press Service talks about how the poorest of neighborhoods in Cairo are converting kitchen waste into fuel to heat water and cook food.
McGrath reports Solar CITIES coordinator Hanna Fathy constructed a bio-gas digester in 2009. He has since travelled extensively instructing residents of poor and off-grid communities on how to achieve energy independence through home bio-gas production. According to McGrath most families generate enough kitchen waste each day to produce enough gas to meet all their cooking needs. Read more at:
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Biopolymers Symposium 2013 Wrap-up Follow the link below to get the rundown on the most recent biopolymers program in the United States. The symposium balanced the agenda across a wide range of topics relevant to the biopolymer industry. A common theme I repeated several times from the conference via Twitter: It's the new carbon economy. We may use different terminology, but in the end we are all working in a space to reduce old carbon use - think oil & petroleum - and replace it with new carbon - renewable and sustainable biomass - to help fuel our economy. Biopolymers Symposium 2013 |
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Agendas...events...networking... |
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Wisconsin Science & Technology Symposium
At UW-Superior July 22-23. Registration deadline July 18.
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Next Steps for Campus Sustainability: Connection, Integration & Transformation
At UW-Oshkosh August 26-28. Registration deadline July 25.
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Hands-on Papermaking Registration is now open for the next Hands-on Papermaking course. October 3-4 at WIST. More information: Hands-on Papermaking |
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Looking for sustainability solutions for your business or organization? WIST laboratory services is ready to work with you.
John Baldus
WIST Director of Laboratory Services
715-346-3265
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