Program turns farm plastic into fuel AMANDA F

Program turns farm plastic into fuel

AMANDA FRIES

Posted:  01/27/2013 16:54

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by AMANDA FRIES
mfries@uticaod.com
It's estimated that about 5 million pounds of dairy plastic are disposed of each year across the state, most of which ends up in landfills.
A pilot program at the Madison County Department of Solid Waste and Sanitation, however, is looking to convert agriculture plastics into fuel - and the Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Authority is beginning talks to get on board.
“We're checking out what (department Director) Jim Zecca is doing to see if it makes sense for us,” waste authority Executive Director Bill Rabbia said. “We're always looking for new markets and opportunities.”
Madison County partnered last year with JBI Inc. of Niagara Falls to convert plastics the department collects into oil, said Zecca, who also is a Democratic at-large councilman in Utica.
Zecca said the agreement doesn't currently cost the county anything and JBI takes care of transporting the material. All the facility does is clean up the plastic and bale it, he said.
“Plastic is condensed into 2,000-pound large square bales,” Zecca said. “When we have enough of those collected, we call the company up and they'll pick it up. They process and make it into fuel there.”
He said plastics take up space and don't easily break down, so this program will combat the issue.
Lois Levitan, coordinator for the Recycling Agriculture Plastics Project at Cornell University, said, historically, agriculture plastics were burned, which wreaks havoc on the environment. Since burning was banned in New York, most of the plastic goes to a landfill, she said.
While burying the plastic in a landfill doesn't present as much as a hazard as burning, Levitan said it's a waste of a high-quality resource - fossil fuels.
“It seems pretty silly to go destroy them and throw them all away,” she said.
Rabbia said even though the waste authority does have the means to create bales out of agriculture plastics, which - when there's enough - are marketed to potential buyers for different recycled products, there still are some that go into the landfill.
“We want to keep as much recoverables out of the landfill as possible,” he said.
How it works
JBI's founder and Chief of Technology John Bordynuik said the company is permitted to take up to 80 tons per day. For every 8.3 pounds of plastic, a gallon of clean diesel fuel is produced, he said.
The fuel is then sold to industries and fuel blenders that make it into road diesel or gasoline, Bordynuik said.
JBI officials did not wish to comment on the how much they sell the fuel for, but Bordynuik said it's slightly discounted from market value at the time of purchase.
In the most recent quarter from July 1 to Sept. 30, 2012, the company saw $189,634 in combined fuel and cardboard sales.
Bordynuik pointed out that much of the plastic is tainted with soil or silage, but the equipment can siphon that out.
Levitan said Madison County, acting as an intermediary, will help those farms that only produce a couple thousand pounds of plastic waste to come together to make recycling projects efficient.
“An individual farmer who may have 1,000 to 10,000 pounds of plastic … that's not nearly enough for anyone to care,” she said.
Zecca said in order to fill a tractor-trailer there must be about 20, 2,000-pound bales.
Benefitting the farmers
Right now, Steven Adams, manager for Vaill Brothers Farm on Route 26 in Vernon, said they just throw their waste plastic in the trash.
Adams said they use about 50,000 square feet of plastic each year to protect cow feed from rodents and other wildlife.
“We as a farm currently recycle everything we can,” he said. “The farmers are always looking for ways to continually support the land and keep it going. Anything that is environmentally safer for the community.”
Rick Carrier, owner of ABC Farm in Canastota, said he uses about 3,000 pounds of plastic to cover his silage each year.
With the new program, he said he can save money on tipping fees for the Dumpster since there will be more space in the Dumpster.
“It's definitely going to save us about 25 percent on the volume of trash we send out on a weekly basis,” he said.