August 10, 2020

WASTE EXPO 2020 HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED TO AUGUST 10-13, 2020. IT WILL STILL BE HELD AT THE ERNEST N. MORIAL CONVENTION CENTER IN NEW ORLEANS.  Due to the scheduling change, the rooms, dates, times, and other details below are subject to change. We will update them as information becomes available. Information about Waste Expo’s decision to reschedule and its implications can be found here: https://www.wasteexpo.com/en/venue-travel/HealthandWellness.html

Meet SCS Professionals, visit our booth (Booth 3101), get inspired, and find the answers to your waste & recycling challenges at WasteExpo, August 10-13 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.

Enjoy an interactive conference program, see over 600 exhibitors, and network with 14, 500 of the best and brightest in the industry. SCS professionals Michelle Leonard, Tracie Bills, Lisa Coelho, Amber Duran, Viraj deSilva, and Michelle Hoffman will be in attendance and SCS Senior Vice President Pat Sullivan at booth 3101.

WasteExpo 2020 will feature more educational sessions than ever before!  Conference sessions include SCS presentations such as these:

PFAS Super Session: What is PFAS & How Do We Treat It?
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been produced in the U.S. since the 1940s and are used in a wide variety of products and applications. PFAS are persistent in the environment and resistant to environmental degradation. The potential bioaccumulation of PFAS is a concern, and EPA considers PFAS to be emerging contaminants.

This super-session, chaired by Dr. Viraj deSilva of SCS Engineers will address all things PFAS, and is split into two parts:

• Part I – Laying the Foundation: Laying the Foundation: Part I will set the stage for PFAS, discuss background information, historical legal challenges, and sampling and analytical challenges and opportunities.
• Part II- Treatment Options : Treatment Options: Part II will focus specifically on treatment options – including underground injection, destruction, and separation.

Organics Diversion and Collection
Moderator: Tracie Onstad Bills, SCS Engineers , will moderate this discussion on the Importance of Organic Waste Diversion; whether Commercial Organics Diversion Mandates are Working in California; and Making Cents of SB 1383: CA’s 75% Organic Diversion Mandate.

Evaluation of Organics Management Options; Composting Odor Control; Equipment Maintenance
Moderator: George Savage, CalRecovery, Patrick Sullivan and Raymond Huff of SCS Engineers with a Comparison of Organic Waste Management Options in Terms of Air Quality and GHG Impacts. This session also covers how to eliminate compost facility odors and maintenance strategies.

The Effects of Organic Diversion Policies on Food Donation
Moderator: Hannah Cather, Food Recovery Network with Tracie Onstad Bills of SCS Engineers presenting on the RecycleSmart Edible Food Generator Survey for the Contra Costa County Solid Waste Authority. Also covered will be Leveraging Organic Waste Mandates, Public-Private Partnerships Support Wasted Food Diversion Efforts, and Vallarta Supermarkets Recycling, Organics, and Food Waste Donations.

Reducing Food Waste and Increasing Recovery in Municipal, Regional, and State Programs
Spotlight Session – Open to All WasteExpo Attendees
Moderator: Evan Edgar and speaker Lisa Coelho of SCS Engineers discuss the Santa Clara County Community Based Social Marketing (CBSM) of Food Waste Reduction Program and Food Recovery Efforts. Also included are presentations on Los Angeles County’s Three-Pronged Approach by Michelle Leonard of SCS Engineers, Accelerate Food Waste Reduction Through Collaboration, Eating the Food Scraps Elephant: How Madison, WI is Tackling the Problem of Food Scraps a Bite at a Time through Prevention and Diversion, with John Welch, Director Waste & Renewables, Dane County.

Panel Discussion on the Future of Organics in California
Learn about California’s SB 1383 implementation that will require 75% diversion of organic waste from landfills by 2025. Hear from industry policy leaders and composters in an interactive panel discussion regarding collection, contamination, permitting, and markets of transforming organic wastes into compost and energy products.

This lively discussion will include questions from the audience on how to develop over 100 facilities at a cost of $2 to $3 billion. Moderator Evan Edgar with Tracie Onstad Bills of SCS Engineers and Bill Camarillo.

EREF’s Annual Charitable Auction & Silent Auction

In addition to the technical sessions, The Environmental Research & Education Foundation (EREF) will host its annual charitable auction at WasteExpo 2020. The auction supports EREF’s funding of scholarships and grants for solid waste research, as well as EREF’s educational initiatives. Since 1994, the auction has raised more than $18 million. While on the show floor, look for large red balloons indicating those exhibitors who donated to the EREF Auction.

Silent Auction: Tuesday, August 11, 10:00 am – Wednesday, August 12, 4:00 pm

Live Auction: Wednesday, August 12, 2020. Reception begins at 3:00 pm; bidding begins at 3:30 pm

Click here to visit the WasteExpo 2020 website for more details and registration information.

August 30, 2019

Even the smallest change can make a big difference.

Do you really need to use a drinking straw? With most beverages, probably not! Make this one change and help America reduce the amount of plastic going into our landfills.

Tips:

• Use a straw only when you must
• If you must, use a paper straw or a reusable metal straw
• If ordering a drink, tell your server “no straw, please”
• Encourage your family and friends to make the change too.

Click to learn more about Sustainable Materials Management.

June 26, 2018

Many schools and school districts are prioritizing a shift toward zero waste and sustainability. However, learning to manage material resources on-site in a more sustainable manner presents operational and monetary challenges. Learn the benefits and steps to plan a financially sustainable program from Tracie Bills of SCS Engineers.

Tracie creates realistic approaches which allow for flexibility while maneuvering the unique challenges that occur. She takes you step-by-step through building a successful program and refers to established efforts such as in the City of San Jose that already have established zero waste programs in their schools.

Read the article by clicking here.

May 23, 2018

Setting up a school zero waste program takes time, patience, excellent collaboration and communication, and a team that wants to achieve the same goal of zero waste. Tracie Bills recommends a realistic approach in her article. She provides examples and describes how a consulting firms, such as SCS Engineers, assist schools without materials management programs to launch zero waste programs.

Building a successful program does not happen overnight, but you can do it!

Read the article.

Tracie Onstad Bills is  SCS Engineers Northern California Director of Sustainable Materials Management. She has over 20 years of materials management experience, including working for a hauler, a county government, and a nonprofit, and over 12 years of experience with materials management consulting firms. She has provided commercial sector materials flow assessments; organics processing research and analysis; waste characterization studies; and recycling, organics, and waste management technical assistance to government agencies, schools, multi-family dwellings, and businesses. Ms. Bills has an environmental science degree from San Jose State and is an instructor for the SWANA Zero Waste certification program.

February 1, 2018

Hundreds of closed landfills in Wisconsin are required to perform groundwater monitoring and reporting. Typically, the frequency of monitoring, size of the monitoring well arrays, and the list of required parameters, was established many years ago as part of the landfill operating permit or closure plan approval. There is a potential to reduce, or terminate landfill monitoring when groundwater quality improvements are documented. WDNR guidance entitled “Reducing or Terminating Groundwater Monitoring at Solid Waste Landfills,” (PUB-WA 1013) provides instructions for requesting reductions to monitoring requirements.

Learn about new revisions to the WDNR guidance, developed with input from the WDNR’s Waste and Materials Management Study Group, which are intended to improve both the range of options for monitoring reductions and the process for requesting reductions. In addition to providing procedures for reduction in monitoring frequency, new revisions to the guidance include procedures for requesting reductions to the required number of monitoring wells and parameters. The revised guidance also provides instructions for communicating monitoring reduction requests to the WDNR review hydrogeologists.

See event details here

January 18, 2018

Marc Rogoff sees unprecedented factors in play as “The Perfect Storm”—the banning of solid waste materials and imposing an almost unreachable contamination standard on bales entering China.

Read his recent article to get started on a solution relevant in your region and return again to follow our series of articles on what you can do to continue supporting or changing your program.

The article covers association actions, regional impacts, funding, and more.

Read it here.

November 30, 2017

National Waste and Recycling Association is sponsoring a FREE 90-minute webinar on December 6 at 3:00 pm ET. The webinar is highlighting the programs, strategies, and best practices of their six 2017 Recycling Award Winners.

The recipients will describe their unique blend of technologies, outreach, and program management that made a difference in their communities. The audience will have a chance to ask questions and find out how to implement these innovative ideas into their own operations and businesses.

Agenda:

• Sustainability Partnership Game Changer Award: SCS Engineers & Dane County Solid Waste Division
• Recycling Facility of the Year Award: FCC Environmental Services (Dallas, TX)
• Innovator of the Year Award: Amp Robotics
• Best Recycling Public Education Program Award: City of Northport, FL
• Best Recycling Public Education Program Award: Recology
• Organics Recycler of the Year Award: Cedar Grove

REGISTER HERE

More Solid Waste Management resources and success stories here.

October 24, 2017

The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) has awarded UNH the STARS Platinum rating in recognition of its sustainability achievements. STARS, the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System, measures and encourages sustainability in all aspects of higher education. The Platinum STAR is the highest possible rating and held by only a handful of higher education institutions in the world.

Some highlights of UNH’s sustainability achievements:

• The main campus is powered 100 percent by renewable energy
• 85 percent of campus energy comes from recycled landfill gas
• Home to the first organic dairy research farm in the nation
• Composts 25,000 pounds of dining hall food waste per month
• Ranked second in North America for the study of ecology

“UNH committed to use renewable energy and move toward a sustainable energy economy early,” said Steve Hamilton, Sr. Vice President of SCS Engineers – Energy Division. “The decision to convert landfill gases to renewable energy kick-started a very successful program which is paying off for the University and in the surrounding community.”

Benefits include:

• Reduction in Green House Gases (GHG)
• Energy savings
• Saving natural resources
• Operational efficiencies

June 23, 2017

Everyone knows about recycling, especially if you work at SCS.  Many times, there are different ways that you can reuse those items for something else before, or instead of, getting rid of them.  Today, we are sharing easy zero waste tips to repurpose items you have around your house, rather than just tossing them in the recycle bin:

• Magazines
  Roll up a couple of these and stick one into each of your calf- or knee-high boots so the footwear will keep its shape and save room in your closet.
• Empty Paper Towel Rolls
  Flatten it, and use it to sheathe a knife kept in a drawer. Bonus health and safety points!
• Small Glass Food Jars
  These make perfect see-through storage vessels for nails, screws, bolts, safety pins, paper clips, change… even small earrings or spare buttons.
• Old Shower Curtains
  Stash one in your car’s trunk to line it when carrying potentially messy paints, plants, or picnic and beach gear during the summer.
• Used Coffee Grounds
  Spread them over flower beds of acid-craving plants like azaleas or rhododendrons in your garden.
• Plastic Tubs
  Keep the containers from your favorite yogurt, margarine, peanut butter, etc. so they can be rinsed and reused as a travel dish for pets, craft supply storage, or for storing leftovers and bringing your lunch to the office, instead of purchasing additional plastic storage containers.
• Gallon Milk Jugs
  Cut off the top with a utility knife just above the handle and use as a scoop for kitty litter, bird seed, potting soil, etc.
• Foam Packing Peanuts
  Put some in the bases of potted plants to help drainage.
• Plastic Mesh Produce Bags
  Turn it into a no-scratch scrubber for a gunky pot or pan. Ball up the bag, scour, then throw the whole mess away.
• Silica Gel Packets
  These can be used to keep moisture away from so many things. Put them in your car’s storage compartments to avoid mildew, in your toolbox to prevent tools from rusting, on windowsills in the kitchen to banish condensation, inside the drawer with your silver or jewelry box to slow down tarnishing, tuck a few into your luggage, boxes of holiday decorations, or in the box with your family photos to protect them from humidity and mildew.

Author: Jennifer Mancini

Zero Waste Services

June 7, 2017

The SCS Sustainability Committee has been monitoring processes within our offices to encourage recycling and sustainable behavior, seeking to reduce the company’s carbon footprint and align our company’s operations with our values.

Recently, the committee has been discussing ways that we can reach even further in our efforts and we thought we could use our blog to reach out to all of you and offer tips to encourage more sustainable practices you can use at home.  I would like to introduce you to a new section of our SCS Blog we are calling the Sustainability Corner!

We begin with Spring Cleaning!

Swap Household Cleaners – Switching to green cleaners reduces air pollution both indoors and out, minimizing exposure to asthma and allergy triggers, as well as chemicals that can be harmful to your health and have a lasting effect on the environment. Bonus wellness points!  Look for plant-based products from companies that have a complete list of ingredients on their labels.

Here is a list of commercially available products that you can easily find at stores like Target or Home Depot: http://www.thegoodtrade.com/features/natural-eco-friendly-cleaning-products-for-the-conscious-home

Make Your Own Cleaners – With just a few inexpensive ingredients, you can easily make your own natural cleaning products that will be safer for your children and pets:

• All-Purpose Natural Household Cleaner
  In a spray bottle, mix 9 parts water and 1 part white vinegar. You can add a few drops of dish soap, as well. Add essential oils if you’d like to minimize the strong smell of the vinegar. Melaleuca oil or lavender can be used as a cleansing, deodorizing, and purifying agent.
• Glass and Mirrors
  The windows in your home can be effectively cleaned with 4 tablespoons lemon juice mixed with a half-gallon of water. Other effective cleaners for glass and mirrors are rubbing alcohol and witch hazel.
• Bare Floors
  Mix one cup vinegar with one gallon of warm water and use it to mop ceramic tile, linoleum, vinyl, or wood floors. There is no need to rinse afterward either, which saves time and water.  If it looks dull after cleaning, simply mop over it with club soda!
• Bug Spray and Pesticide
  Prevention is your best bet to control pests. Keeping your kitchen crumb-free and sealing any holes in the walls or cracks in the foundation means you won’t have to use harmful chemicals in your home.  If you do require pest control, a solution of peppermint oil and warm water is a deterrent to mice, roaches, flies and fleas.
• Microwave
  Fill a bowl with water and place it in the microwave for 5 minutes on high. The steam from the water will loosen any food particles. Spray with the all-purpose cleaner recipe above and wipe down. For deodorizing, mix 1/4 cup of baking soda in a bottle of water, shake well until dissolved, and spray the entire surface allowing it to sit for several minutes before wiping clean.
• Stove and Oven
  Sprinkle baking soda over charred food and scrub with a wet rag. For stubborn areas, spray the all-purpose natural household cleaner above over the baking soda and allow it to sit for several minutes before resuming scouring.
• Toilets
  The seat and outside of the toilet can be cleaned with the all-purpose spray recipe. Pour a half cup of baking soda in the toilet bowl, allow it to sit for 20-30 minutes, then spray with the all-purpose vinegar solution above and scrub with a toilet brush. For really dirty toilets, use up to 100% white vinegar.
• Vinyl
  Dipping a cloth in lemon juice and rubbing it onto the stained area can remove stains on vinyl items such as recliners or tile flooring.
• Furniture Polishing
  Mix two parts olive oil with one part lemon juice and apply it to your furniture using a soft cloth. When a hot serving dish or glass of water has marred the surface of a wood table, you can get rid of the mark by making a thin paste of salad oil or lemon oil and salt.  Wipe the paste on, and then lightly buff the area as you wipe it off with a soft cloth.
• Metal Work
  Restore shine to tarnished copper or brass without any damage by making a paste of equal parts salt, vinegar, and flour. Rub the paste onto the brass or copper item with a soft cloth, let it dry, and wipe off the paste with a clean, soft cloth.

Author: Jennifer Mancini

Sustainability Services at SCS