Innovation in Waste Management - Why Does it Matter?
What purpose does waste serve? Think about it. Waste is something that is not wanted or needed and holds no economic value, so we dispose of it. Did you know though, that companies have been doing the exact same thing only from a differing perspective? In actuality, companies have been getting rid of (really, eliminating) waste from their supply chains, manufacturing processes, and business models for decades. The difference is that now companies and consumers are beginning to adopt a similar definition of “waste” and both groups are looking for ways to not produce that waste in the first place.
What’s this common definition of waste? Well, essentially it means some action or result that doesn't contribute to bottom-line, and companies generally call this elimination exercise “lean”. On the other hand, consumers are eliminating waste but calling it the zero-waste. What’s interesting is that both groups are essentially perusing the same goal, just under different terms. Meaning that the term “waste” is now being applied to:
- Excess packaging from their products
- Scrape not ultimately sold off
- Or unneeded labeling
Some brands are even going as far as to build partnerships with other companies to provide them with feedstocks that come from their partner’s “waste”. Effectively turning one company’s scrap into their partner’s raw material. -whereby both brands profit.
In a similar fashion, consumers are beginning to remove things from their lives that can’t be reused or sold back to someone else at a similar cost-effective price. Meaning that more consumers are buying products that are rented rather than sold outright. So, in every way, shape, and form brands and consumers are becoming far more aggressive and thoughtful, not just in how they design products, and how they use products, but how they design reuse into their products to maximize the value return of everything that is in their possession.
How Does Municipal Waste Fit into Zero-Waste?
Within the last 15 years, the ideology of “zero waste” has gained traction. American’s and city officials are doing their part to reduce waste and keep garbage out of landfills.
You might be wondering what will happen to municipal waste when lean and zero-waste principals influence the amount of garbage being produced. The answer it that the waste management industry is likely going to transform into a resource management industry. Meaning waste managers will be more focused on harvesting value from municipal waste and brokering partnerships with manufactures to resell the raw materials they process.
How The BurCell® System Contributes to Sustainability
At BurCell® Technologies, we strive to reclaim value from municipal waste. We do this with our BurCell® system, which processes municipal waste into feedstocks for compost, anerobic digestion processors, and recyclers.
We love what we do because we provide another alternative for waste disposal, which just so happens to also enable our partners to produce products at a higher margin or it gives them another profit center that we’d consider future-proof.
What Happens to Waste In The BurCell® System?
Waste is first brought to our facility or a BurCell® enabled site. Our tools then separate any large and bulky items that could interrupt the process or harm the system.
After the separation takes place, the materials are then moved onto a shredder. The shredding process is intended to increase the surface area of the material and the amount the system can process in one batch. Once the material is shredded, and the capacity is bulked up, it’s then ready to load into the BurCell® System.
Once the system is full and ready to go, one of our team members adds water and heat, and draws a vacuum to begin the operating cycle. At this point, the BurCell® System will continue to rotate to break down organic waste at a quick pace.
Once the waste is broken down, the material is loaded onto another conveyer where the inorganic components, including metal, glass, and plastic, are separated from the organic biproducts for the anaerobic digestor or composter.
Are You A Good Fit to Use Our Tech?
Well it depends. Our partners are typically waste haulers or waste managers who are looking to innovate and while adding a new revenue stream to their business model. Some of them have tried recycling efforts in the past and not found it successful, but while working with our team they find that the transformation process is easy and doesn’t take a lot of time to setup. They also find that the BurCell® System’s outputs are easily resold to partners which we can help you find via our partner network. Lastly, they find that our pilots or proofs of concept (POC) are affordable and the capital needed to complete a POC is manageable.
So, while there are barriers to becoming a client and joining our partner program, we’ll have an account partner assigned to you to help ensure the journey together is smooth, productive and profitable for your business.
Next Steps? The BurCell® System
If you found this article or it’s ideas interesting, or would like to learn more about our partner program or how you can get involved, be sure to contact us via the contact form on our site or reach out to us on LinkedIn. We’ll be happy to answer your questions, visit your facility to help you plan for the inevitability of lean and zero-waste, and help you design a proof of concept to use the BurCell® System.
It’s time we put our waste to a greater use.
Again, to learn more about our system and how it works, or to schedule a demo, check out our latest blogs or contact our team today! Together we can make a difference.
Organic Recycling: Turning Food Waste Into Energy
What if I told you it was possible that a portion of the world’s food waste could avoid ending up in landfills and instead be converted into energy to provide electricity to our homes? Nearly one-third of all food, both raw and prepared, is thrown away and turns into waste. However, most food waste can be converted into a valuable resource used to generate energy.
If we took just a small portion of the world’s waste and turned it into energy, we could free up large amounts of space in landfills while generating fuel for cars and energy for homes. Converting the waste also reduces the number of harmful gases being released into the atmosphere and makes the world a healthier place overall.
How Energy Has Become A Limited Resource
With the rapid population growth across the globe, limited amounts of fossil fuels have quickly begun to diminish, and it has become challenging to provide the amount of energy demanded by the world using only fossil fuels to create energy.
Energy is also a fundamental resource. Without energy, the world would be left without necessities like power in our homes which provides light, heating, and air conditioning, cooking resources, and hot water. Today, much of the world relies on fossil fuels for energy. However, several ways exist to convert organics into energy without fossil fuels. That’s what we’re here today to discuss.
How Waste Could Be Turned Into Energy
How much organic waste is there today? In fact, nearly 133 billion pounds of food each year go to waste in the United States alone, and this material could be reused if properly recycled through a process sometimes called a waste-to-energy system.
Waste-to-energy systems, enabled by the BurCell® System technology, leverage a process called anaerobic digestion, which is where microorganisms are used to break down and convert organic waste into a fuel such as biogas, biodiesel, or ethanol. The final product is then used for generating electricity or fuel for vehicles.
The great thing about using biogases, and other fuels that come from anaerobic digestion, is that it's largely carbon-neutral because the materials that created the fuels weren't pulled out of long-term carbon sequestration like what we see in the use of natural gas or coal. They were instead pulled out of the carbon cycle after just a few months or years because the raw materials came from plants or other food waste. So, while anaerobic digestion does produce methane, which is a greenhouse gas, the same carbon in the methane came from carbon dioxide in the atmosphere a only few months prior.
Introducing The BurCell® Unit
The BurCell® System is a vacuum aided thermal decomposition process that reuses food, paper, and many other types of organic waste products at scale.
It offers a disruptive industrial process for the separation, value extraction, and value enhancement of organic source material created through numerous industrial, commercial, and agricultural activities.
The BurCell® System and How it Works in the Anaerobic Digestion Process
First, waste is brought to our facility. Our tools then separate any large and bulky items that might interrupt the process or damage the system.
After the separation in our facility, the materials are diverted to a shredder. The shredding process helps increase the volume of the material and the amount we can process in a single batch. Once the material is shredded and the capacity is significantly increased, it is then ready for loading into the BurCell® system.
Note: The BurCell® System has the capacity to process nearly 10 tons of waste per cycle.
After loading, a team member adds water, heat, and draws a vacuum to start the operating cycle. During this stage, the BurCell® system will use a continuously rotating drum to break down the organic waste much faster than otherwise possible.
Once broken down, the waste material is loaded onto a conveyer where the inorganic components (like metal, glass, and plastic) and organic components are separated and the organic byproducts are readied for the anaerobic digestor.
How Anaerobic Digestion Works
Anaerobic digestion is the process of using microorganisms to break down biodegradable waste without oxygen. The types of organic waste which can be used in anaerobic digestion can be found throughout our economy, but some examples of high producers include; coffee shops, restaurants, and other places where food scraps or waste are present.
Here is the process:
Step 1: The food waste, biosolids, and manure are collected from various sources and gathered together for processing.
Step 2: The organic waste is then deposited into the organic waste handling system where it stores and pretreats the material prior to further processing by heating it to around 160 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 hour to kill any harmful pathogens.
Step 3: The organic waste then travels into the anaerobic digester - a system that allows anaerobic digestion to occur and captures the biogases as they’re made. This system will typically have an agitator and will work to evenly distribute microorganisms throughout the tank.
Step 4: The digestion process can take between 20-30 days to complete and once done the biogas (comprised of 60% methane) is burned to produce electricity.
Step 5: The organic waste is then processed further to convert the remaining material into several co-products that can either be solid (compost, soil, fertilizer) or liquid coproducts (fertilizer, flush waster, concentrated fertilizer).
The BurCell® System: Keeping Organic Waste Out of Landfills
The BurCell® System was created with the intent of keeping all organic waste out of landfills, preventing the release of harmful gasses into our environment, putting organic waste to greater use, and helping create an alternative source to fuel our lives.
Organic waste is a valuable resource oftentimes overlooked and can become a missed opportunity. So with the use of The BurCell® System, we’re changing the world for the better.
To learn more about our system and how it works, check out our latest blogs or contact our team today!
How Anaerobic Digestion and the BurCell® System Work Together
Anaerobic digestion. Despite its futuristic-sounding name, it’s an alternative waste conversion process with its basic science having been around for centuries. The first recorded usage dates back to England in 1895. Now, as businesses continue to seek ways of reducing their carbon footprints and contributing to the goal of clean energy, anaerobic digestion is continuing to advance into the spotlight as a potential solution to waste management.
What Is Anaerobic Digestion?
Anaerobic digestion is a natural biological process where microorganisms, or bacteria, break down biodegradable organic matter like sewage sludge, food scraps, and manure. The digestion of the waste takes place in an airtight container without the presence of oxygen. The name anaerobic means “without air.” As the bacteria get to work, it produces a methane and carbon dioxide-rich gas called biogas. The physical byproduct of this bacteria buffet is a wet mixture called digestate that gets separated into solid and liquid. Although humans are responsible for creating this chemical reaction, it’s a process that happens naturally in the environment. Examples of natural occurrences of anaerobic digestion include swamps and in the stomach.
Both byproducts are something to get excited about. In its purest form, the biogas produced can be used for cooking, powering engines, and heating furnaces, as a chemical feedstock, or to generate electricity. When it’s treated and compressed, biogas can be upgraded to renewable natural gas, used as a renewable fuel source for vehicles. As for digestate, it can be used as an industrial co-product, as a nutrient-rich fertilizer, compost, animal bedding, and soil amendment.
Many believe it’s one of the many ways that we can reduce our carbon footprints, combat climate change, and find replacement energy sources to the dwindling resources we currently have.
How Does Anaerobic Digestion Work?
The process begins when waste, also referred to as feedstock, is loaded into an airtight container called an anaerobic digester. Once inside, the feedstock undergoes four different stages of being broken down through chemical reaction before reaching its final form as raw material that’s able to be used in many ways.
The first stage is called Hydrolysis. Here, complex matter like carbohydrates and proteins gets broken down into sugars and amino acids. Next up is the acidogenesis stage. Bacteria break down sugars and amino acids even further, reducing them into ethanol and fatty acids, as well as creating the byproducts like ammonia, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide. When the feedstock reaches acetogenesis, the third stage, the ethanol, and fatty acids are converted into hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and acetic acid. And in the final stage of anaerobic digestion, called methanogenesis, the bacteria convert the leftover hydrogen and acetic acid into the methane and carbon dioxide-rich biogas.
The timeline for digestion depends on factors such as how much waste is loaded into the digester, if more than one kind of matter is present (this process is called co-digestion), and the temperature inside of the digester. With all these factors considered, complete digestion can take between 14 to 40 days. And after its total breakdown, the biogas is collected, treated, and sent off to be used as renewable energy.
What Are the Benefits of Using Anaerobic Digestion?
Using anaerobic digestion as an alternative waste management approach features a whole host of benefits to the environment as well as human health. It’s a much-needed solution in countries like the U.S. where, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), more than 40.7 million tons of organic waste were produced in 2017. Another staggering fact is that only 2.6 million tons of the food waste generated that year was said to have been composted, or 6.3%.
One of the many benefits of employing anaerobic digestion is the reduction of the amount of waste we send to landfills. The EPA further states that 86-90% of food waste is highly biodegradable and can even help break down tougher materials like livestock waste. And by collecting the biogas and converting it for better use instead of releasing it into the atmosphere, we cut down on harmful greenhouse emissions. Other benefits include reducing our dependency on fossil fuels and replacing it with biomethane gas and protecting water sources from runoff and contaminants that may harm water supplies, animals, and plant life.
Despite anaerobic digestion being such an effective and highly regarded waste management alternative, it’s still a significantly underused resource. Currently, there are more than 2,000 sites in the U.S. that use anaerobic digestion, mainly found in agricultural, wastewater, and urban settings. It’s believed that there is room for up to 13,500 more sites for anaerobic digesters to be built in the U.S.
Where BurCell® Technologies Comes In
The world’s population continues to rise, and so does the number of countries that are searching for better recycling and waste management options. BurCell® Technologies is here to provide a solution. We are dedicated to the goal of clean energy and a better world and we have found a cost-efficient, environmentally friendly way of ensuring less trash goes to waste. Our state of the art BurCell® System uses a vacuum aided thermal decomposition process that breaks down food, paper, and other organic wastes, creating a highly digestible feedstock that has demonstrated an increase of some 30% more biogas from those organic feedstocks when used for anaerobic digestion.
Utilizing our proprietary BurCell® System, designed material recovery facility provides clean, energy-rich feedstocks that can become a source of reliable renewable energy from anaerobic digestion while recovering valuable non-organic materials that can be reused. Our projects will recover and reuse as much as 75% of the materials we process, a much-needed improvement on current waste management methods.
For more information about The BurCell® System and how it works, contact our team today!
How the BurCell® System Makes the World a Better Place
What happens to a product once it is used? Many times, it’s tossed in the trash and carried away. In the U.S., we operate on a linear model where resources are extracted, manufactured, consumed and thrown out after use. A linear model is unsustainable. As piles of garbage continue to increase across the world, and significant amounts of plastic are dumped into the ocean, it is more important now than ever to consider an alternative and the BurCell® System is just what we need.
An Alternative For Waste Management- A Circular Economy
New waste management models have gained some traction in other parts of the world. One model, in particular, is gaining traction and emphasizes sustainable development. This model is known as a circular economy.
With the linear model that is primarily used in the U.S., we make, use, and dispose of a product ultimately creating excessive pollution. With a circular economy, however, a product is made, used, reused, remade, recycled and then goes through the entire process all over again.
In a circular economy, products are no longer just thrown away. Everything is reused and serves a new purpose. Ultimately, waste would disappear, and we would have more resources.
How a Circular Economy Works
The circular economy is based on three goals:
- Eliminate waste and pollution
- Keep products and materials in use
- Restore natural systems
This concept is achievable for everyone, including small business owners, large corporations, individuals, and other organizations.
Now, we know what you are thinking. Could waste really be eliminated?
Once this cycle is adapted and being used consistently it will be possible to have zero waste. This sustainable model was designed so that products and materials remain in use by prolonging their lifespan as long as possible. Products in this system are created for durability. Durable products can be reused by others and there is less demand to create new products.
In this new model of a circular economy, materials are separated into two categories: Biological materials and technical materials.
Technical materials on the other hand cannot safely re-enter the environment. These materials include metals, plastics, and synthetic chemicals. With the current linear model, these items get tossed away, serving no purpose, or even worse, they end up polluting the earth. These materials however can be separated and reused in a circular economy. That way their value can be captured and recaptured. Eventually, there will be little to no demand for new plastics, metals, and other technical materials.
Resale sites are a prime example of the success of reusing technical products. You can visit resale sites such as eBay and find used products that can be redistributed to new users.
There are several benefits to a circular economy but most importantly, it protects and improves the environment. In a circular economy, there is no demand for earth's non-renewable resources, and it enhances the renewable ones. With this model, biological materials return back to the earth to support regeneration or using renewable energy rather than relying on fossil fuels.
The goal behind all of this is products are designed for durability, reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling products so that durable materials continue to circulate through the economy.
Creating a Better Economy With The BurCell® System
Not only does a circular economy improve the environment, but it also improves the economy, too. As new circular activities are created, we would experience economic growth and there would be lower costs of production for new products. As products are recreated, we would save money on materials, resulting in lower total costs. According to the Ellen Macarthur Foundation, fast-moving consumer goods have a material cost-saving potential of up to $700 billion worldwide.
A circular economy will also create new jobs. As we eliminate the demand for new product manufacturing, we bring on new jobs that are labor-intensive in recycling activities and new jobs in re-manufacturing. We can also expect to see more entrepreneurship as businesses begin selling reusable, recycled products.
The BurCell® System: Enabling a Circular Economy
As the model of a circular economy gains traction, BurCell® Technologies has created a system to put municipal waste to greater use. The BurCell® system gives the ability to reuse, recycle and remanufacture waste.
How is all of this possible? Our System offers the benefit of macro separation. When waste is first brought to our facility, our tools separate large and bulky items, such as metal or large plastics, from the waste that would damage the system.
Once the waste is separated, it is put through a shredder that increases the volume of the waste so that it can be loaded into our BurCell® system. The 50 cubic yard vessel that can process up to 10 tons of waste per cycle.
An operator from our team then adds water and heat and uses a vacuum that starts the operating cycle. The BurCell® system is constantly rotating to breakdown the waste.
Once the system has processed the waste, the vessel is unloaded onto a conveyor where the waste is compiled together to create an organic product that can easily be separated from the non-organic material.
The organic waste is then filtered out and you’re left with anaerobic digestion. Once the non- organic products are separated, it is transferred to a recycling center.
By the end of a cycle, organic waste can be used as feedstock for gasification or as the primary ingredient for compost.
Bi-Products of The BurCell® System
The BurCell® System creates bi-products that can be resold:
- Organic waste
- Metal, plastic and glass
- Inorganic waste
By the end of the process, the waste that was first brought to our facility is now turned into byproducts available for recycled items that can also be resold.
Together, we can make the shift towards a circular economy to make the world a better place. To learn more about our system and how it works, or to schedule a demo, check out our latest blogs, or contact our team today!
Are We in a Trash Crisis?
The short answer is yes. We are in a trash crisis. The world is drowning in its waste production. It’s a phenomenon that many in the world are either highly aware of or choose to turn a blind eye to. And little has been done to fight this ever-growing problem. The British Broadcasting Corporation reports that every year, the world produces 2 billion tons of municipal solid waste, which is enough to fill more than 800,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools, and the numbers don’t stop there. The World Bank warns that, if serious action isn’t taken at the current rate, global waste will increase by up to 70 percent by 2050.
In this crisis, which is also referred to as the global waste crisis, America plays a significant role. How do we do our part to ensure less waste ends up at the landfill, impairing our environment? The answer requires an examination of our habits.
What’s Our Waste Problem?
The U.S., along with China, Brazil, Japan, and Germany, is on the shortlist of serial waste generators — countries that produce the highest amounts of solid waste. And we’re the top contributors, producing 3 times the global average in trash containing plastic, waste, and food. Yet, we recycle the least, only reusing approximately 35 percent of the solid waste we produce.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that in 2017, our nation produced 267.8 million tons of municipal solid waste, or 4.51 pounds a day per person. Of that waste, only 67.2 million tons of it got recycled, 27 million tons composted, and 139.6 million tons ended up in a landfill. It’s believed that because we don’t see the landfills piling up with waste, we don’t think that there’s an issue. This speaks to why so little movement gets made toward plans to tackle our landfills, where the waste mountains grow taller every day.
Our crisis with trash lies not just in how much waste we produce, but also how we go about disposing of our waste. Previously, the U.S., like other countries, relied on China for the disposal of its municipal waste. But after China banned importing waste in 2018, it left countries looking for alternatives for managing their waste. In some cases, this leads to openly burning the waste, which has harsh, adverse effects on our environment.
But within the tons of trash we dump into landfills, we also lose countless resources. When introduced to processes like anaerobic digestion, these materials result in a co-product used for cooking, generate energy, power engines, or used in nutrient-rich fertilizer, compost, and animal bedding.
Recent events are contributing to the trash crisis as well. The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked an uptick in needs for single-use products and extra packaging to prevent further spread of the highly infectious virus. And because of stay at home orders, people produce more residential waste from to-go containers and packaging from online purchases. States like Virginia, Idaho and Michigan have halted the intake of materials at landfills and donation sites to avoid the virus and give workers the chance to work through the steady rising heaps of waste. These developments add to the world’s already staggering waste production number and are sure to affect the environment in a way we haven’t yet begun to experience.
The Consequences
The consequences of our waste come full circle and affect our overall health. The trash we improperly dispose of has a way of finding its way back into our bodies. As garbage decomposes, it releases toxins and harmful chemicals, impairing public health, and threatening the environment. These pollutants seep into the ground, affecting the plants, the fauna who eat them, and our groundwater. Those same toxins — often methane and carbon dioxide — are expelled into the air as toxic greenhouse gases when the waste is burned at landfills. It ends up in our drinking water and in the ocean water, killing and infecting the wildlife. Exposure to the toxins can lead to respiratory issues related to breathing in methane gases. Other complications include diarrhea, increased allergies, and cancer.
Environmental and health threats aren’t the only consequences of improper waste management. It has social and financial implications as well. Public waste systems struggle with being able to keep up with the staggering number of pounds of trash amassed daily. Historically, America spends more on trash collection than its disposal of it. Cities allocate between 20 and 50 percent of their budgets to dealing with waste and its management. Because of the steady increase in garbage, cities will likely have to allocate more money to manage the waste, taking those funds away from other departments and projects in need.
What’s the Solution to the Trash Crisis?
There are no quick fixes to the trash crisis. Reducing our waste output is a long process, but we can take small yet powerful steps to increase our recycling percentage and reduce the amount of waste that makes it was to the landfill annually. Measures include no longer purchasing or using plastic water bottles, reducing food waste, repurposing items and donating items instead of throwing them away.
Some experts say that making people pay for the solid waste they dispose of can reduce the amount of careless waste disposal. Similar to water and electric bills, residents pay for what they use. Such a program can encourage mindfulness about what we throw away and increase recycling habits in households.
Another solution to the trash crisis is with the services of BurCell® Technologies. We are dedicated to clean energy and a better world, and have a found a cost-efficient, environmentally friendly way of ensuring less trash goes to waste. Our state-of-the-art BurCell® System, a Synergy BurCell-designed material recovery facility, provides clean, energy-rich feedstocks that can be used in anaerobic digestion to produce reliable renewable energy. Our projects recover and reuse as much as 75 percent of the materials we process and prove to be a much-needed solution in the global trash crisis.
For more information about the BurCell® system and how it works, contact our team today!