composting

Where most people see a pile of leftovers or yard waste, Paul Sellew sees a revenue stream, delivering energy and valuable nutrients.

Sellew is the CEO of 3-year-old Harvest Power, a company formed to take recycling to the next level. Paper, metals, and plastics account for about 60 percent of municipal solid waste. The next hill to climb is waste that originally came from the ground: wood, yard trimmings, and now food scraps, which altogether are more than 30 percent of that waste stream.

"We look at it as next-generation solar," said Sellew. "We're capturing sunlight … Read more

The trash and recycling services company Waste Management is expanding into the organic gardening business, the company announced Wednesday.

The Houston-based company has acquired Garick, which manufactures things like mulch, garden compost, and playground turf made from recycled organic materials.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed. WM only went so far as to announce that Garick's composting facilities will be used to augment WM's existing organic recycling services, and offer a line of organic garden products made from WM-collected biomass waste.

The new line of products will include organic garden compost, which is often referred to … Read more

Composting is the new recycling--it's cool, it's green, and, well, smelly. But there are companies out there who recognize the importance of making composting more palatable to consumers. First there was the countertop compost crock.

Now Blanco has gone one better with the innovative new in-counter compost solution. The Solon is designed to be inset (although it can be top-mounted for laminate counters) and located near the sink for easy collection of organic waste. An attractive lid sits flush with the countertop and keeps odors inside; when the bin is full, simply lift it out completely to empty … Read more

Trash hauler Waste Management said on Monday it has invested an undisclosed sum in Harvest Power, a Boston-area company developing techniques for turning organic waste into energy or fertilizer.

Existing investors Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers and Munich Venture Partners also increased their investment in the company.

Harvest Power already operates a facility in British Columbia that turns food and yard waste into compost. It also is developing anaerobic digester technology to produce biogas from those same wastes. The biogas can be burned in turbines to make electricity or heat. It can also be converted into compressed or liquefied natural … Read more

The idea of composting appeals to many of us. But what if you live in an apartment with a small balcony? Or what if you just aren't going to get out to the compost pile in the back yard after every meal?

Sure, you could just get a big bucket for scraps and keep it under your sink, but it might start to smell pretty quickly. And if you're like me--meaning, you have small children, but you refuse to childproof your cabinets--well, the places my imagination goes aren't pretty. Visions of children eating worm food just don'… Read more

The idea of recycling appeals to most of us, but it's not always easy to get from the idea to the reality. Set yourself up for success by making it as easy as possible to recycle things. The Twin Bin from Brabantia is a brilliant or matte stainless steel trash can that's split into two compartments: a 23-liter everyday bin, and a 10-liter area for compostable waste.

Keep your organic matter ready for easy composting without having to keep a second trash can in the kitchen with a single can that looks good enough to be on display. … Read more

I was introduced to the concept of composting only very recently, when a friend, determined to get high school students interested in the environment, set up a composting bin in her classroom. Armed with a 10-gallon bucket of dirt, a handful of earthworms, and an array of fruit and vegetables, she set out to educate youngsters about the benefits of using natural processes to grow plants.

After being inspired by the fertile soil her earthworms created and the resulting herb plants, I began to look into composting systems for my apartment. The problem was that all of them, functional as … Read more

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The Gray Lady may someday arrive at your doorstep inside a "green" plastic bag.

A company that makes delivery bags for The New York Times and other major newspapers has designed a plastic bag to biodegrade within three months.

GP Plastics' PolyGreen bags are made with fossil fuels, as are their traditional polyethylene counterparts.

However, a chemical added during manufacturing enables the plastic to be digested by microorganisms. The bags are supposed to disintegrate within a few months outdoors or three years in a landfill when exposed to oxygen and ultraviolet light, leaving behind little but water, carbon … Read more