Vol. XII No. 6
Nov / Dec 2018
Serving Soil, Mulch, Compost & Wood Pellet Producers www.SoilandMulchProducerNews.com
NEWS
Attention Readers !
Are you looking for Products, Equipment or Services for your business? If so, please check out these leading companies advertised inside: Bagging /Palletizing Equipment Amadas Industries – pg 8 Hamer-Fischbein – pg 27 Premier Tech Chronos – pg 13
Buildings & covers ClearSpan – pg 17
Compost Equipment/spreaders HCL Machine Works – pg 3
Grinders, Chippers & Screening Systems Action Conveyors – pg 28 Amadas Industries – pg 8 Apollo Equipment – pg 12 Bandit – pg 25 CBI – pg 23 Diamond Z – pg 9 Edge Innovate – pg 20 HogZilla – pg 10 Peterson – pg16 Precision Husky – pg 15 Premier Tech Chronos – pg 13 Rotochopper Inc – pg 7 Vermeer – pg 21 West Salem Machinery – pg 18
Intermediate-Scale Testing – Outdoor Setup (Ambient Sensor Locations Indicated)
Research Study Douses Claims of Mulch Spontaneous Combustion Mulch that is ... more than a few inches, can build up heat and spontaneously catch fire. — State Fire Marshal of Massachusetts
LoaD MeaSurINg SySteMS Loadscan – pg 5
Mulch used in spring landscaping projects can ignite from spontaneous combustion. — AccuWeather
Mulch Coloring Equipment/ Colorants
... Experts say the right recipe of heat, decomposition and a little bit of wind can combine to start a fire, even in two inches of mulch around a flower bed. — Memphis Commercial Appeal
AgriCoatings – pg 19 Amerimulch – pg 14 BASF – pg 2 Britton Industries – pg 6 CMC – pg 4
Trommel Brushes Duff Brush – pg 3
truck measurement & ticketing systems Walz Scale – pg 11
wear parts
ArmorHog – pg 3 Grinder Wear Parts – pg 12
Spontaneous combustion of mulch is possible. — WXIA-TV ... We can verify that it is possible for mulch to catch fire on its own. — WITZ-TV
O
By P.J. Heller
nline, in print, spread across social media and over the airwaves, stories about spontaneous combustion of mulch have spread like, well, wildfire. “It just doesn’t happen,” insisted Robert C. LaGasse, executive director of the Mulch & Soil Council. “We have never seen or experienced a true spontaneous combustion of mulch in a garden or landscape application.
There’s always a cause.” Those causes can range from discarded smoking materials to electrical garden lighting to lawn ornaments that focus sunlight like a magnifying glass or laser on the mulch. The latest scientific research throws cold water on the idea that mulch in landscape and garden applications can suddenly burst into flames on its own. Continued on page 3
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Research Study Douses Claims Continued from page 1
“. . . It is unlikely that mulch in a landscape application . . . would pose a risk of spontaneous combustion,” according to studies conducted by Southwest Research Institute‘s Fire Technology Department in San Antonio, Texas. The study, commissioned by the Mulch & Soil Research Foundation, hoped to gather factual data that could be used to refute claims, including those made by fire marshals, that small layers of mulch in landscape applications pose a risk of spontaneous combustion. “Anecdotally we’ve always known that it’s not possible but we’ve never had empirical data,” LaGasse said. “If it were possible, all of our pallets in storage (bagged mulch) would have gone up in flames years ago. And we would have burned down most of the garden centers over the years.” He noted that over the past few years, there has been a significant increase in the number of fire marshals who were making claims and putting out advisory warnings to
their citizens that spontaneous combustion of mulch in gardens and landscapes represented a threat to their homes and property. “We believe that position was taken without evidence,” he said. He suggested that fire officials were making the assumption that the physics that exist in a 30-foot high mulch pile — with the organic material breaking down and generating heat — was the same as in a 4-inch layer of mulch in a garden. Fire officials from Washington state to Virginia have cited spontaneous combustion of mulch, even in small pots, as the cause of numerous fires. “When you allow it to dry out, and it hits a certain low moisture content, it will spontaneously combust,” contended Capt. Joe Mullens of Rockingham, Va., County Fire and Rescue after fire burned a deck, vinyl siding, cooler and plastic pots at a house. Officials in Harrisonburg, Va., reported its fire department responded to more than
200 mulch fires between 2008 and 2014, although they did not indicate how many they thought were caused by spontaneous combustion. The city adopted a “mulch ordinance” in 2015 requiring mulch be removed at least 18 inches from some buildings, but the Virginia General Assembly said the city could not regulate the type landscape materials. The city subsequently rewrote and adopted the ordinance, restricting – but not requiring removal — of mulch from with 18 inches of certain buildings. Most single-family homes were exempt. The city withstood a court challenge to the measure and General Assembly bills specifically at striking down the city ordinance were passed but then vetoed by the governor. Among mulch prohibitions, the state of Massachusetts bars new application of mulch within 18 inches around combustible exteriors of most buildings. Residential units of six units or less are exempt “but all Continued on page 4
EQUIPMENT PRODUCT SHOWCASE www.SoilandMulchProducerNews.com
PUBLICATION STAFF Publisher / Editor Rick Downing Contributing Editors / Writers Joe Barnett • P.J. Heller Ken McEntee • Sandy Woodthorpe Production & Layout Barb Fontanelle • Christine Mantush
www.duffbrush.com duffbrush@gmail.com
Advertising Sales Rick Downing Subscription / Circulation Donna Downing Editorial, Circulation & Advertising Office 6075 Hopkins Road, Mentor, OH 44060 Ph: 440-257-6453 • Fax: 440-257-6459 Email: downassoc2@oh.rr.com
Subscription information, call 440-257-6453. Soil & Mulch Producer News is published bimonthly by Downing & Associates. Reproductions or transmission in whole or in part, without written permission of the publisher, is prohibited. Annual subscription rate U.S. is $19.95. Outside of the U.S. add $10.00 ($29.95). Contact our main office, or mail-in the subscription form with payment. © Copyright 2018 by Downing & Associates Printed on Post-Consumer Recycled Paper
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November / December 2018 Soil & Mulch Producer News
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Research Study Douses Claims Continued from page 3
homeowners may want to adopt these safety practices,” the state fire marshal advises. “Mulch is a combustible material that can be easily ignited by improperly discarded smoking materials,” he said. “Hundreds of small and large fires are started this way every year.” Randy Wells, assistant chief of operations for the Columbia, SC, Fire Department, told a TV station that the heat generated inside a small mulch pile could eventually reach a temperature where it ignites. Interestingly, such statements/claims by fire officials are void of evidence to support them. In fact, all of these officials fail to mention that if a spontaneous combustion fire occurs in one 4-inch mulch bed, it should be happening in mulch beds throughout the area, and this just isn’t happening, anywhere. This leads many to believe that politics are fueling such claims, because it is easier for government agencies to establish mulch ordinances (to control where mulch can be applied) than it is to control people who carelessly discard cigarettes. According to the Southwest Research Institute, it would take a temperature of 200 degrees Celsius (392 degrees Fahrenheit)
before mulch would spontaneously combust. “You cannot generate or insulate that temperature in a 4-inch layer of mulch,” LaGasse said. “It cannot be done. “If you’re at an ambient temperature of 392 degrees Fahrenheit, your mulch is the last damn thing you’re going to worry about,” he added. “Everything in the world is combusted.” The study at the Southwest Research Institute originally began with five different mulch types from different regions of the country. “We developed a test program to screen common mulch varieties for higher risk characteristics (i.e. lowest decomposition temperature, and greatest thermal insulation capacity),” explained Alexandra Joyce, senior research engineer in the fire technology department. “Based on the screening results, we selected a mulch variety to observe intermediate-scale piles for evidence of selfheating,” Although most of the screening results were similar, researchers ultimately decided on hardwood much, which slightly edged out the others for heat retention and loss of mass, according to LaGasse.
One of the tests involved placing the hardwood mulch in a 100mm cube, then putting it in an oven for 24 hours at 140 degrees C to determine how long before the so-called crossing point occurred. The crossing point is where the temperature on the outside reaches the temperature on the inside, resulting in combustion. “The crossing point could not be achieved at 140 degrees,” LaGasse reported, noting that it was not reached until the temperature reached 200 degrees C/392 degree F. Those tests were done in spring 2018; in July, additional tests were conducted for six weeks both indoors and outdoors under the intense San Antonio summer sun, where the ambient temperature hovered around 107 degrees. The hardwood mulch was put in 2x2x2foot cubes, which both Joyce and LaGasse noted were much thicker than is reasonably installed in landscape applications. In addition to the cubes, four varieties of potting soil — wood-based and peat-based, with and without fertilizer — were observed in 8-inch flower pots alongside the intermediate-scale mulch piles. “Temperatures in the control cube were Continued on page 6
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Research Study Douses Claims of Mulch Spontaneous Combustion
Continued from page 4
fairly constant, and temperature in the outdoor cube slowly rose to just above the maximum ambient temperature observed during the observation period,” Joyce reported. “This indicates that the mulch was retaining heat due to its insulating properties, but not self-heating.” The same was true for the potting soils, she said. “The temperatures of the potting soil closely followed the ambient temperatures. There was no evidence of self-heating,” she said. LaGasse said that over the six-week period, the temperature in the cube spiked at 113 degrees F. “That’s in the center of the cube that’s 12 inches deep,” he said. “Nobody ever mulches 12 inches deep. The fact is that it insulates, which is what it’s supposed to do. It’s why we sell it.” The results for both the mulch cubes and the flower pots found it was highly/extremely unlikely that either posed a risk of spontaneous combustion, he added. The study was expected to be formally released before the end of this year. Results with colored mulch were also to be included, which LaGasse expected to be similar to the findings with the hardwood mulch. The Mulch & Soil Council then hopes to have the information published in a peer-reviewed fire journal. “We won’t be done with this project until that article is published and we’ve publicly debunked the idea of mulch being able to spontaneous combust,” he said. “That way every time a fire marshal makes that call, we can turn around and say, ‘You need to read this.’ ” “We knew it couldn’t happen. We just couldn’t prove it,” LaGasse added. “Now we can prove it.”
Forest Service Opens Comment Period for Lake Christine Fire Rehab Project
B
asalt, Co – On November 29, the U.S. Forest Service began soliciting public comments on a rehabilitation plan following the Lake Christine Fire, which scorched major portions of White River National Forest, reports www.aspendailynews.com. The Basalt Mountain Salvage and Rehabilitation project focuses on salvaging burned and partially burned trees with marketable or usable value (logs and/or biomass) to local/regional industry. The majority of the proposed timber harvest treatments are located within the White River National Forest’s suitable timber base. The minor amount of timber harvest will be to remove hazard trees along system roads – those trees are not within the suitable timber base. The plan also includes monitoring and assessing about 6500 acres for reforestation and creating defensible space near homes in the Cattle Creek area. Meanwhile, a Burned Area Emergency Response Team (BAER) will continue with short-term emergency actions, such as erosion control and safety-related activities. The Lake Christine Fire, which started in early July, burned 12,600 acres and impacted just over 8,500 acres of national forest lands north of Basalt on the Aspen-Sopris Ranger District. According to the Forest Service, the wildfire burned through a variety of forest vegetation types, including gambel oak, mountain shrub, aspen, mixed conifer (Douglasfir/subalpine fir), lodgepole pine and Engelmann spruce/subalpine fir. The majority of the area occupied by mixed conifer, Engelmann spruce/ subalpine fir and lodgepole pine experienced a moderate to severe crown fire. The crown fire caused widespread mortality across most of the forest vegetation types on Basalt Mountain.
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Soil & Mulch Producer News November / December 2018
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November / December 2018 Soil & Mulch Producer News
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2018/19 Peat Moss Market Update – Overall Demand Remains Strong! By Ken McEntee
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anadian peat production during the 2018 harvesting season generally met producers’ expectations, with some regions exceeding expectations and others falling slightly short of expectations, according to the Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association (CSPMA), whose members represent 92 percent of North America’s production. “The season wasn’t exceptional but it
wasn’t a disaster by any means,” said CSPMA President Paul Short. “It was a good year partially because the economy in the U.S. is strong and it represents the majority of our market. A good economy always improves the purchasing power of the consumers.” Another plus for the market - which improves the outlook for the upcoming year, Short said, is the legalization of cannabis growing in Canada.
http://www.amadas.com
“It creates brand new above-board markets,” said Short, who added that he can’t quantify how much peat demand the cannabis industry could potentially add to the market. “In addition to Canada, there are a few states in the U.S. that also are going in the same direction with the commercial production of cannabis, which certainly increases the demand picture for our industry, and I think more states are contemplating the same thing moving forward.” In November, CSPMA announced the results of its annual member survey relating to the status of their 2018 harvest as a percentage of their expected harvest on August 31: •
In New Brunswick, for both the north and south reporting areas, the industry was above its expected harvest volumes. (New Brunswick North, 110 percent, New Brunswick South, 102 percent).
•
Québec’s South Shore (107 percent) recorded the largest above-expectation harvest for all reporting areas. A mild spring and above normal summer contributed to the results.
•
In Québec’s North Shore (92 percent) the results were slightly below expectation due to less favorable weather conditions during the summer harvest.
•
The Prairie Provinces (Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta), experienced slightly-below harvest expectations (Manitoba, 97 percent; Saskatchewan, 82 percent; Alberta, 97 percent). A cooler spring and variable summer weather conditions accounted for the poorer showing. Minnesota has experienced a similarly slightly lower than expected harvest with only 93 percent achieved.
Along with expected new demand from cannabis growers, Short said demand from the agriculture and horticulture (agri-hort) industry also is expected to remain solid in the near term. “The agri-hort industry in the U.S. is showing strong demand in terms of bedding plants and continued demand in fruits and vegetables,” Short said. “We’re seeing a lot of mushroom production. All mushroom production has a peat substrate growing in it. The other market that is quite interesting is seeding production - especially for reforestation, meaning the new forest plants that are required as a result of the forest harvesting and sustainability programs. Our Continued on page 10
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www.diamondz.com November / December 2018 Soil & Mulch Producer News
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2018/19 Peat Moss Market Update – Overall Demand Remains Strong! Continued from page 8
latest information is that there are 1.9 billion seedlings per year in the U.S. and Canada, with most of those in the U.S.” In response to increasing global concern about peatland management and uses of peat, the International Peatland Society (IPS) in September held the first Global Peatland and Peat Industry Summit of top executives of companies that rely upon peatland and/or peat products for a significant part of their business. Short was among the 75 attendees of the summit, which was held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. “The global demand picture for substrate materials, such as peat moss, compost and corral, as presented at the summit, all are expected to show increased demand through 2050, and peat currently holds the highest volume of all of the substrate materials that are used in agrihort and floriculture,” Short said. “By 2050, global food demand is expected to increase by 70 percent. Peat moss until that time will be a key component in any growing media that is used for a whole variety of agri-hort outcomes. In the agri-hort industry, I think there is a place in the sun for all of these products - green compost, cattle compost, peat, bark, rice hulls and the others. There is a consistent demand in play and it will continue to go forward. “ IPS said the main objective of its Rotterdam Summit was to inform industry companies how their businesses are affected by international,
national and regional policies, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and how they are implemented at national or regional levels. The dialogue included discussion of biodiversity, “climate change”, economy, ecosystem services, food safety, growing media, international conventions, responsible peatland management and societal wellbeing. “It was concluded that there is already a high amount of evidence and recommendations giving a framework for truly sustainable peatland management,” IPS said in a statement. “To be able to adapt to this rapidly changing world there is also a need for further high-quality research and better understanding of the importance of peatlands and the role they play in maintaining and improving environmental quality.” To that end, Short said, CSPMA is continuing its long-time relationship with Laval University and McGill University through two new five-year research projects relating to post-harvest peatland restoration, “climate change” and carbon management through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) research program. “We will be spending $1.8 million over the next five years on those two programs to enhance our understanding of the carbon management issues and the greenhouse gas effect that goes on with our harvesting as well as the activities that are related to end-of-life,” Short said.
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November / December 2018 Soil & Mulch Producer News 11
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WHO SAYS GRINDING WOOD IS HARD WORK?
report: Current Carbon-Dioxide Prices Won’t Meet Temperature Target By Joe Barnett
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Arthur B. Robinson Center on Climate & Environmental Policy
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The center is named in honor of, and chaired by, Arthur B. Robinson, Ph.D., a distinguished chemist, cofounder of the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine (OISM), and editor of the influential newsletter Access to Energy.
“The Heartland Institute has published the work of many excellent scientists ... [and] has taken the fight right to the enemy with aggressive and highly effective campaigns aimed at elected officials and civic and business leaders.” Arthur B. Robinson, Ph.D. April 2017
t the Arthur B. Robinson Center on Climate and Environmental Policy at The Heartland Institute, we are producing the research and conducting the effective advocacy needed to help restore sound science and common sense to efforts to protect the environment. The Center promotes pro-energy, proenvironment, and pro-jobs policies based on sound science and economics, not alarmism or ideology. Through events, publications, social media, and government relations programs we have changed public opinion on climate change and other environmental topics. We have changed public policy not only in the United States but in other countries as well. In 2017 and onward, we are focusing on winning the global warming war and repealing bad legislation and regulations adopted during the height of the global warming scare. With your help, we can win the global warming war. Please contact us at 312/377-4000 or www.think@.heartland.org think@heartland.org, or visit our website at www.heartland.org/Center-Climate-Environment heartland.org/Center-Climate-Environment.
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FREEDOM RISING
/ December 2018 12 Soil & Mulch Producer News November FREEDOM RISING
Far Below Projected Need
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he average carbon price across the Group of 20 (G20), the world’s largest economies, is the equivalent of $16 per metric ton of carbon dioxide. That’s far short of the reduction needed to meet the Paris climate agreement targets, which require a global-economy-wide carbon price of between $40 per metric ton and $80 per metric ton by 2020, the report states. Even at the current prices governments are imposing on carbon dioxide emissions, developed economies adopting carbon restrictions are hurting themselves while doing little to affect climate change, says Myron Ebell, director of the Center for Energy and Environment at the Competitive Enterprise Institute and a policy advisor to The Heartland Institute, which publishes Environment & Climate News. “The European Union (EU) and some other developed countries are hurting their economies with energy-rationing policies such as carbon taxes and cap-and-trade programs,” Ebell said. “While making fossil energy more expensive is reducing emissions somewhat in these countries, it isn’t doing much to reduce global emissions. “Carbon taxes are transferring emissions produced by energyintensive heavy industries in European Union countries to China or to developing countries,” said Ebell. “This is a good way to impoverish people in the EU and enrich people in China, but it will do very little to lower global greenhouse gas emissions, since China’s emissions are now about the same as total U.S. and EU emissions combined.” Joe Barnett (joepaulbarnett@att.net) writes from Arlington, Texas. This article was reprinted with permission from heartland.org, a product of The Heartland Institute (https://www.heartland.org/news-opinion/news/ report-current-carbon-dioxide-prices-wont-meet-temperature-target).
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FREEDOM RISING
he price governments in developed countries impose on carbon dioxide emissions in order to meet their commitments under the 2015 Paris climate agreement are far too low to achieve the stated temperature target, a new report says. Almost every country in the world is party to the Paris climate agreement, the central goal of which is to limit any rise in the average global temperature, keeping it below 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. The target reflects the assumption human greenhouse gas emissions are causing the average global temperature to rise and is based on climate models projecting a temperature rise of more than 2 degrees or possibly even 1.5 degrees Celsius would make the Earth’s climate more dangerous and unpredictable and cause an increase in weather extremes. Many countries have instituted taxes on carbon dioxide or carbon cap-and-trade schemes to meet their Paris agreement targets by discouraging the use of fossil fuels and forcing adoption of renewable energy sources. The price attached to carbon dioxide emissions under these policies, however, is far too low to achieve the reductions necessary to meet temperature targets in the Paris climate agreement, states a new report by IHS Markit, a commercial, global information provider. “Carbon-pricing mechanisms, including carbon taxes and emissiontrading systems, are falling well short of the levels needed to achieve low-emission targets,” IHS Markit wrote in its September 24 report.
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www.ptchronos.com November / December 2018 Soil & Mulch Producer News 13
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Fire Risk and People Living Next to Nature
A
www.paysonroundup.com editorial looks at the dramatic increase in the number of homes built in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) and increase in wildfires in those areas. The documented steady rise in average temperatures and the increased severity of drought are just two of the factors responsible for megafires. Logging decline plays a large role, too. Environmental restrictions, lawsuits, loss of domestic forestry infrastructure and global competition all have contributed to slowed or, in some cases, altogether lost timber industry in the fire-prone Western United States. This has contributed to a dramatic increase in tree densities and brush cover in many areas of the recent decades. A bigger problem, though, is humans living in fire-prone areas. The vulnerability of their homes and communities results in increased costs to life and property. Residential construction in WUIs has continued to follow existing building codes, not new ones that take fire risk and mitigation into consideration, the Payson Roundup article says. According to a 2018 study by Villanova University researchers, seven million California homes now sit in the area most prone to wildfires, a roughly 1,000 percent increase since 1940. Some two million homes sit in “high risk” areas — similar to the heavily forested areas surrounding every community in Arizona’s Rim Country. Another
five million in “moderate risk” areas are vulnerable. All told, about 25 percent of the state’s homes sit in WUI areas. Regardless of the impact of climate change, building flammable houses in the WUI zone will undoubtedly drive a rise in property damage and death, the Payson Roundup article says. In Arizona, the 2013 Yarnell Hill Fire claimed the lives of 19 firefighters and incinerated almost every home where the owners had not cleared the brush and trees on the ground. Significantly, well-prepared homes were left standing. Some cities have been reluctant or slow to adopt WUI building codes, which would make it possible for people to ride out a wildfire. The Yarnell fire spared buildings with metal roofs, which protected them from the rain of embers as the blaze approached. Also, ordinances banning the clearing of native trees or brush prevent developers from creating effective fire buffer zones, such as the types promoted by National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) Firewise standards. Initial estimates put the cost of the recent California wildfires at $19 billion — nearly 10 times the U.S. Forest Service’s annual firefighting budget. Last year, wildfire damage in California exceeded $16 billion, according to the Payson Roundup article.
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Pacific Bioenergy Receives Go-Ahead to Turn Slash into Pellets
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ancouver, British Columbia – Prince George-based Pacific BioEnergy (PacBio) is launching a project to incorporate cedar into pellet fuel, which it will sell to power utilities and heating utilities in Europe and Asia. Giant piles of logging residue (slash) stand ready for conversion into pellets, leftover after sawmills began shuttering after the pine bark beetle infestation ended in the province. A PacBio company spokesperson says about 20,000 cubic meters of slash is targeted for the pellet-making project. The slash piles could not be destroyed by incineration because of a burn ban the government issued in 2017. The same year, hundreds of forest fires had erupted in the region. In 2016, an estimated five million metric tons of slash were burned across the province, prompting complaints and concern about air pollution. Slash burns must be approved by the BC Ministry of Forestry. With funding from the Forest Enhancement Society of British Columbia to help with hauling costs and new processing equipment, PacBio is ready to turn the slash into cash. Much of the material is composed of mixed species, not the typical spruce, pine and fir found in Prince George. To figure out how to blend and mix cedar in its product, PacBio is working with University of British Columbia’s chemical engineering biomass faculty. The first volumes of slash will be sourced from the McBride Community Forest Corporation. The plant has significantly helped improve air quality in Prince George by taking material formerly burned in beehive burners and in
the forests using the material to produce renewable wood pellets for use in power plants in Europe and Asia. In addition to Prince George, PacBio also has facilities in Chetwynd and Fort St. John and a wood waste partnership in Quesnel. According to the company’s website, the 350,000-metric tons per year pellet plant in Prince George, B.C. consumes up to 1,200 metric tons of fiber a day. The material is sourced from sawmill and forest residuals as well as low-quality whole logs. A new multi-million-dollar installation allows the industrial pellet plant to significantly reduce machine wear and access additional fiber sources. The installation, called a ClassiCleaner, uses a combination of roller screening and air separation units to filter out contaminants before fiber enters the hammer mills. It’s the first installation in North America, the company says. Sumitomo Corporation, which owns 48 percent of the Pacific BioEnergy Corporation (PBEC), has several power generation plants in Japan and has been importing wood pellets for power generation since 2008. Japanese utilities have been increasing their use of renewable biomass fuel at their power plants. The PBEC acquisition provides Japan with access to a stable supply of renewable biomass fuel for the long term. Since PBEC was founded in 1994, the company has exported approximately 3.5 million metric tons of wood pellets to markets in Europe and Asia. The volume accounts for more than $600 million in sales.
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Montreal Officials Scrutinize Investment in Compost Recycling Projects
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t-Laurent, Montreal – Officials here are looking into why the projected cost for five new organic waste treatment plants has more than doubled since first proposed in 2013, reports an article on www.montrealgazette.com. Budgeted at $237.5 million five years ago, estimates for the plants totals $589 million. One of Montreal’s executive committee members involved in putting together the 2019-2021 budget told the Gazette that the skyrocketing costs were the result of high bids on contracts for the first three proposed plants. Only one company bid on two of the projects after a second pulled out due to logistics. Only two companies bid on the third plant. The plans are for two composting centers in St-Laurent and Rivière-des-Prairies—Pointe-aux-Trembles, two biomethanation plants in Montreal-East and LaSalle and a pre-treatment plant in MontrealEast. In 2013, the city had passed a loan bylaw to borrow $170 million to cover the cost of four of the five centers at a total price of $237.5 million. The estimate was supposed to include the cost of acquiring land for the composting centers and decontamination. La compagnie de recyclage de papiers MD and SUEZ Canada Waste Services were each the sole bidder on, respectively, the composting plant in Rivière-des-Prairies—Pointe-aux-Trembles borough and the biomethanation plant in the suburb of Montreal-East. The two companies were the only competitors for a composting center in StLaurent borough. Last summer, the Montreal Gazette reported that the bids on the three contracts had come in at least 50 percent above the city’s estimates. In response, the Montreal finance administration decided to
start with the St-Laurent and Montreal-East plants, but wait at least two years before moving ahead with the rest. The city cancelled the call for tenders for the R.D.P.-Pointe-aux-Trembles plant in August and awarded contracts for the St-Laurent and Montreal-East plants despite the high prices. The last target date for most of the centers to start operating was 2020, but now that has been pushed back to 2021 and 2025. Meanwhile, rising land, design, construction and maintenance costs account for some of the projected increase, according to one official interviewed by the Gazette. Here is the breakdown for differences between the 2019-2021 capital works program and the 2018-2020 program: • St-Laurent composting plant: cost goes from $65.3 million in previous program to $131.9 million in new program. Delayed from December 2020 to August 2021. • Montreal-East biomethanation plant: goes from $72.8 million to $126.4 million in new program. Delayed from December 2020 to August 2021. • R.D.P.–Pointe-aux-Trembles composting plant: goes from $46.9 million in previous program to $90.7 million in new program. Delayed from December 2020 to June 2024. • LaSalle biomethanation plant: goes from $89.1 million in previous program to $143 million in new program. Delayed from June 2024 to June 2025. • Montreal-East pre-treatment plant: goes from $22.2 million to $31.1 million in new program. Delayed from December 2021 to September 2024.
www.westsalem.com 18 Soil & Mulch Producer News November / December 2018
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November / December 2018 Soil & Mulch Producer News 19
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Bend Recyclers Launch Food Waste Recycling Program
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end, OR – A six-month pilot food waste program has begun in Bend, Oregon, according a www.BendBulletin.com report. Two recyclers, Bend Garbage & Recycling and Cascade Disposal began curbside food waste collection for 300 randomly selected households in November. Two-gallon collection pails were distributed to 300 randomly selected customers who already use the city-contracted services for yard waste collection. The two companies have been collecting food waste from restaurants and other commercial businesses around the Bend area since 2010. Commercial customers have been able to recycle meat, dairy products and grains with food waste since then, while residential customers were limited to fruits, vegetables and yard debris. The pilot program allows residents to recycle more kitchen scraps, including dairy, meat and eggs. A marketing spokesperson for the companies said that if the program is successful, it could be expanded to more Bend customers. According to the Solid Waste Department website, 35,000 tons of yard debris and food waste were composted in 2016. Food waste is taken to the Knott Landfill Recycling Facility, where compost is produced from yard debris waste by Deschutes Recycling. The recycling center has the compost tested every three months by a US Composting Council approved lab to ensure quality and reliability. State regulations require each county in Oregon to reduce waste disposal in landfills. According to study figures reported on its website, Deschutes County’s food waste recovery rate is currently 33 percent. The county’s goal is to increase that rate to 45 percent by 2025. The expanded composting and recycling services are part of Deschutes County’s solid waste management plan. The Solid Waste Department plans
to close the Knott Landfill before 2029, when the facility is projected to run out of space. In the meantime, improvements made in 2018 include excavation of almost 400,000 cubic yards of soil and rock, the installation of 5.5 acres of containment liners and the installation of landfill gas and leachate collection systems. The county’s composting facility, Deschutes Recycling, turns the organic waste into compost and sells the products as SoilBuilder®, BioFine® and ReGrow®. ReGrow contains a combination of food- and yard-waste based compost. All compost products are tested by a U.S. Composting Council-approved laboratory and carry the Seal of Testing Assurance. The facility also rents compost spreaders. Earlier this year, over 200 households in Central Oregon took the Rethink Food Waste Challenge. They weighed their wasted food each week, and received helpful resources, tips and ideas on how to reduce what ends up in the trash. Throughout the course of the Challenge, participants’ food waste dropped by 59 percent. In 2012, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) released a materials management plan and vision for the future that included food waste recycling. In 2017, DEQ worked with Portland State University’s Community Environmental Services to conduct a five-part study on wasted food generation in the state. The main research objectives included “understanding the informational, psychological, socio-economic, and structural drivers that contribute to the generation of preventable wasted food; collecting reliable data on wasted edible food, including loss reasons and reporting biases; and providing the state, cities, counties, and consumer-facing businesses, such as grocery retailers and restaurants, with basic methods of establishing their own wasted food baselines and assessing shifts in waste prevention behaviors or levels of awareness.”
info@edgeinnovate.com www.edgeinnovate.com 20 Soil & Mulch Producer News November / December 2018
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November / December 2018 Soil & Mulch Producer News 21
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Southern Timber Owners and Industry Hit Hard by Hurricane
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urricane Michael, which roared through Florida, Alabama and Georgia on October 10, hit timberland owners and timber markets hard. John Alter and his wife Elizabeth manage more than 1,000 acres in Malone, Florida, including 18 Tree Farm stands. The Alters were honored as Florida’s Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year in 2015. “This is a true disaster,” said Alter. “My immediate focus is on determining what to do with what’s left of my timber, and I do not have access to everything right now.” The monetary estimate of timber damage in Florida alone is well over $1 billion. The hurricane also caused extensive damage in Georgia and Alabama. Research shows that damage from individual storms and other forest threats, such as insects, fire, and disease, can create widespread wealth redistribution among timber land owners. The entire supply chain is impacted – from landowners to loggers to the mills and beyond. Southern Research Station Forest Economics and Policy researchers Thomas Holmes and Jeff Prestemon’s studies show that growers with damaged stands lose wealth. “Prices fall during the salvage period due to the spike in volume and quality degradation,” said Holmes. “Plus, not all damaged timber can be salvaged.” Timber growers with damaged stands and timber consumers – mills – tend to lose out, he explained. However, timber producers with
undamaged stands benefit because wood is still needed, and prices can rise to make up for the lack of high-quality wood available after salvage operations. He predicts that, based on a timber market welfare analysis, the aggregate losses to timber producers and consumers in Florida from Hurricane Michael may exceed the current $1 billion estimate. In the past, state governments have taken steps to assist timber managers with salvage operations. Some examples include relaxing weight limits on roads; allowing logging trucks to carry heavier loads; permitting larger than normal log storage volumes at mills; and assisting private landowners and nongovernmental organizations with salvage planning. “It would take 2.4 million logging trucks to remove all of the dead trees that we have in Florida as a result of this hurricane,” said Florida Forest Service State Forester/Director Jim Karels. The Forest Service is supporting restoration efforts by working closely with state foresters in Florida and Georgia to increase timber sale and salvage operations. At the states’ request, agency specialists will also provide technical assistance to help private landowners write plans for treatments and get their timber to market. The Forest Service will also provide funding to state forestry agencies to administer landowner reforestation programs. “Active cooperation between state and federal agencies will be the key to recovery,” said Rob Doudrick, SRS Director. “Our research will provide the sound science for making decisions.”
We are looking for news releases on new equipment, as well as bagged (soil & mulch) products. Please email to rickdowning@oh.rr.com.
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WHOLE TREES • STORM DEBRIS • SLASH • STUMPS • REGRIND • Produces more than 200 tons an hour • CAT C27; 1050hp or optional CAT C32 1200hp engines • Hog box raises for fast and easy screen and tip changes • 40” diameter by 60” wide forged, high-strength rotor core • Large capacity feed hopper easily handles full-length trees • Metal Detection System protects machine from tramp metal
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ADVERTISER & Association NEWS Meco Miami, Inc. Now Authorized Bandit Dealer
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iami-based Meco Miami, Inc., has joined Bandit’s ever-expanding network of authorized Bandit dealers, offering its customers in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties Bandit’s complete lineup of hand-fed chippers, stump grinders and skid-steer loader attachments. “Just like Bandit, the team at Meco Miami is committed to providing the best service to their customers,” said Bandit Sales Manager Jason Morey. “Their enthusiasm for equipment makes them the perfect company to offer Bandit machines, parts and service.
IECA Region One Welcomes New Executive Director
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enver, CO – The International Erosion Control Association (IECA) Region One board of directors recently announced Samantha Roe, IOM, as the new executive director of the association. “We’re excited to announce Samantha as the new executive director to take our association in a new direction,” stated Tom Schneider, CPESC, IECA president. “IECA is looking to expand our value to our membership, develop an initiative to attract a younger audience and continue to expand our importance in both the local and international markets. We were impressed with Samantha’s experience in developing chapter strategies to deliver enhanced member value on a regional scale. Samantha has the experience to lead IECA to reach our goal of better serving current and future members.” Roe brings a variety of chapter management, membership development and international experience to IECA. From restructuring, redesigning and implementing strategic programs for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C. to overseeing chapter relations and their service to local members of the Financial Planning Association’s 93 chapters, Roe brings a depth of experience that brings value to IECA. In her most recent position with the Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, Roe enhanced member onboarding and retention; restructured committees to tackle initiatives that affect the mining industry; and increased international membership.
CBI Names Jasen Stock 2018 Community Impact Award Winner
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ontinental Biomass Industries (CBI) recently recognized Jasen Stock, Executive Director of the New Hampshire Timberland Owners Association (NHTOA), with the 2018 “Golden Grizzly” Community Impact Award. The award ceremony was held at CBI’s Factory Forum dinner reception on the night of October 3rd at the Portsmouth Sheraton Harborside Hotel. Stock was instrumental in overriding the veto of Senate Bill 365, which supports biomass energy in the Granite State, and thus the market for woodchips, which landowners and loggers depend on to practice sustainable forestry. Following a veto of the bill earlier this year, NHTOA was the catalyst for a grassroots campaign that engaged stakeholders across New Hampshire’s logging industry, including a community dialogue at CBI to demonstrate the economic impact to suppliers who manufacture logging equipment. “Jasen Stock and everyone at the New Hampshire Timberland Owners Association stood up for hundreds of forestry professionals in the state whose jobs hung in the balance of this legislation,” said Art Murphy, Director of Sales and Marketing at CBI Terex.
Bandit Celebrates 35th Anniversary
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ore than 350 dealers, customers and special guests descended on Bandit Industries’ world headquarters in Mid-Michigan on Sept. 12 to celebrate 35 years of continued success, and to check out what’s in store for the coming years. That celebration included tours of Bandit’s facilities, a behind-the-scenes look at the process of building the most powerful wood processing equipment in the industry, and capped off with a demonstration of more than two dozen machines – including brand new, never before seen machines. “We couldn’t properly celebrate 35 years without our dealers who are committed to providing the best support and our amazing customers who have stood with us over the years,” said Bandit Sales Manager Jason Morey. “But Bandit Industries is a success because of the hardworking men and women who show up every day to build these machines.” After the special Bandit guests had gone home, Bandit opened its doors to the midMichigan community for an open house on Sept. 15. Nearly 800 guests dropped by for machine demonstrations, plant tours, food and fun. Bandit Industries has had an amazing 35 years, with new and exciting opportunities for the future. With the recent announcement of the company going employee-owned, excitement is at an all-time high for Bandit employees and the community.
Rotochopper Hosts 8th Annual Demo Day
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otochopper hosted customers and prospects from around the world at their 8th annual Demo Day. Approximately 200 guests from four countries attended the event with the theme “Mission Possible”. The day began with tours of the state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, providing attendees with the opportunity to see Rotochopper grinders in every stage of manufacturing, from cutting to final inspection and testing. The facility tours also provided guests the opportunity to meet the various on-site teams who design, build, and support their Rotochopper equipment. President/CEO Art de St. Aubin welcomed attendees with remarks focused on the partnership Rotochopper forms with its customers saying, “It is your partnership that we strive for; your success is our success! Our platform and mission today is, it is possible and your continuous dialouge will always be our main conduit to success.” The demonstrations kicked off with excitement as the new B-66 L-Series track and dolly grinder was unveiled. The B-66L and FP-66, both equipped with the Generation II Colorizer, did a head to head grind off showing each of their production capabilities. The B-66, FP-66, and MC-266 demonstrated the process of converting raw materials into finished products throughout the day for attendees. Mini sessions throughout the afternoon demonstrated a variety of use cases and applications of Rotochopper equipment. Included in the demos was the MP-2, producing colored mulch, the CP-118 chip processor, Erosion Sock attachment for the GB-250, RotoLink monitoring system & preventative maintenance program, Rotochopper’s patented screen installation system and replaceable mount rotor. The EC-266 electric grinder ground pallets & sorted C&D debris directly into the RMT hammermill showcasing Rotochopper’s knowledge in multi-stage fine grinding systems. The day ended with the B-66 L-series grinder, devouring logs and whole trees, demonstrating its enhanced features designed to improve input capabilities and increase overall production.
24 Soil & Mulch Producer News November / December 2018
S D L I U B T I D BMOARNE THAN MACHINES. GET THE BEST WITH THE BEAST®. COMPLETE LINE OF HORIZONTAL GRINDERS. THE BEAST® 2460XP 24” Capacity Horizontal Grinder
Bandit Builds The Beast® Model 2460XP to be the go-to horizontal grinder for high-production tree care companies, outperforming all other grinders in its class. The 2460XP is equipped with a 60” wide by 30” diameter cuttermill, a 60” wide by 24” mill opening and uses a 30-tooth cuttermill running Bandit’s patented saw-tooth style cutterbodies that regulate the size of the tooth’s bite. This means most of the material is sized in the initial cut, so material exits the large screening area quicker. Take trees and limbs and convert them to a beautiful and uniform mulch that commands top dollar. Test the Model 2460XP today. Contact your nearest authorized Bandit dealer to arrange for a demo.
6750 Millbrook Rd. • Remus, MI 49340 1-800-952-0178 FIND US ONLINE WWW.BANDITCHIPPERS.COM www.banditchippers.com
CALL YOUR NEAREST AUTHORIZED BANDIT DEALER TO SCHEDULE A DEMO TODAY! LEARN MORE AT WWW.BANDITCHIPPERS.COM. www.banditchippers.com November / December 2018 Soil & Mulch Producer News 25
Product/Equipment Profiles
Bandit Offers Remote Controlled Kesla Loaders on Larger Hand-Fed Chippers
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andit now offers extending Kesla loaders with radio remote controls on its Intimidator™ 21XP hand-fed chippers, giving land-clearing professionals, tree care companies and right-of-way contractors a powerful all-in-one tool to dispose of limbs and even whole trees. “Rated as a 21” capacity chipper, the 21XP is the largest hand-fed chipper in Bandit’s fleet, so it’s built to chip heavy, large-diameter trees. Those can be difficult to quickly get to the chipper, even with a winch,” said Bandit Sales Manager Jason Morey. “The Kesla loader option increases the productivity of this machine in virtually any application.” The Kesla loader can extend to 21 feet and grab large bundles of limbs, large individual limbs, and even downed whole trees. Using intuitive controls, the operator can guide the material quickly into the chipper to be processed in a fraction of the time it would take operators to winch. “This option can eliminate the need for additional workers on the ground, or additional equipment brought to the jobsite,” Morey said. When not in use, the Kelsa loader folds up on the front of the chipper where it’s out of the way, never impeding the discharge chute, or limiting access to common maintenance items. Learn more about Bandit Industries by visiting www.banditchippers.com or by calling 1-800-952-0178.
Solesbee’s Excavator Stump Puller Features Replaceable Wear Tips
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olesbee’s, a manufacturer of equipment and attachments, now offers its excavator Stump Puller attachment with high-strength alloy steel and replaceable wear tips for extended service life. The attachment, known as the “Stumper,” fits 15- to 40-ton excavators and can increase production by as much as 30 percent compared to other land-clearing methods, such as bucket attachments, bulldozing and forestry mowing. This speed allows contractors to complete jobs in less time and generate fast ROI. “The Stump Puller is an extremely versatile and efficient piece of equipment for clearing land,” said David Jenkins, president of Solesbee’s Equipment & Attachments LLC. “It allows contractors to extract stumps of all sizes in a fraction of the time it would take using other methods and with minimal soil disruption, so backfill and leveling take less time as well.” The attachment’s two shanks easily cut through roots so operators can remove stumps without displacing a large amount of dirt. The shank’s curved design significantly increases breakout force for slicing through tough surfaces when extracting forestry material. Additionally, the shank’s replaceable wear tips extend the attachment’s service life by allowing operators to simply change out the tips as opposed to purchasing a new stump puller. For more information, contact Solesbee’s at 800-419-8090 or visit www.solesbees.com.
Loadscan Launches New Product
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oadscan recently announced the launch of its conveyor volume scanner (CVS) – a reliable tool to tell you how much material is moving across a conveyor belt. Like the successful load volume scanner before it, the newly released Loadscan CVS system is set apart by its uniquely clever software and friendly web-based user interface. Unlike other optical belt scales, which provide some data but don’t integrate easily, the Loadscan CVS has been designed to provide users with hassle-free, insightful reporting. The CVS is an above belt lidar laser measurement system making it perfect for production management to understand inventory production rates in volume and tonnes, in real time or for the accurate measurement of contract crushing quantities. The CVS has loads of functionality, with an onboard API that enables setting up a list of jobs from your dispatch system to deliver the specified job quantities which can be reported directly to the Loader operators cab, allowing the starting of a job run to be initiated by the loader operator. With the correct size frame, the CVS can run on any belt from 400mm to 2000mm wide and can be custom mount for larger belts including deep belts to measure even greater quantity of product. For more information about conveyor volume scanning (CVS) and load volume scanning (LVS) systems, visit www.loadscan.com.
26 Soil & Mulch Producer News November / December 2018
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November / December 2018 Soil & Mulch Producer News 27
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VOL. XII NO. 6
U.S. Postage
PAID
NOV / DEC 2018
Inside This Issue Research Study Douses Claims of Mulch Spontaneous Combustion PAGE 1
2018/19 Peat Moss Market Update – Overall Demand Remains Strong! PAGE 8 Report: Current Carbon-Dioxide Prices Won’t Meet Temperature Target PAGE 12 Pacific Bioenergy Receives Go-Ahead to Turn Slash into Pellets PAGE 17 Bend Recyclers Launch Food Waste Recycling Program PAGE 20 Southern Timber Owners and Industry Hit Hard by Hurricane PAGE 22
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