Celebrating America's WTE Efforts with a New Magazine

Americans are extremely proud of our accomplishments and contributions to the international community since becoming our own country in 1776. But our contributions to the environmental problem as one of the largest producers of waste have left a black mark on our record.  The vast size of our country has allowed us to put off dealing with our trash problem for decades, preferring to watch as Western European countries toil and take the lead in the renewable energy industry.

As our American brethren prepare to celebrate the 236^th anniversary of our independence from England with fireworks and frankfurters, we’d like to give you something else to celebrate.  Yankee Doodle dandies in the waste-to-energy and biomass industries will enjoy browsing the pages of the first issue of Renewable Energy From Waste, a magazine serving fuel and energy producers in America.

While the magazine isn’t exclusively for those that sing the Star Spangled Banner, it does appear to be targeted towards an American audience.  Highlights from the quarterly-publication’s first issue include:

A Working Model – an article about Greenwood Energy producing market-friendly fuel pellets from waste in America’s heartland

Tools For the Job – an article on maximizing RDF systems

Healthy Support – an article on financial sources for WTE

The subject of our Jan. 29^th blog, Harvey Gershman, even wrote a column on The Growing Role of WTE (see: Industry Influence Spotlight: Harvey Gershman).

Renewable Energy from Waste certainly isn’t the first American publication focused on renewable energy but we are excited to find an outlet that celebrates the efforts and advancements people from the good ol’ U.S.A. are making to solve our own waste problems.

We love our friends across the pond and have received valuable insight from the UK about what an incredible opportunity we have to derive energy from waste. Differences in infrastructure, economy, and environmental regulations, however, prevent us from implementing the same strategies and yielding the exact same results. Americans pride themselves on independence and just as they wanted to be in charge of their own fate in the late 1700s, we would like to solve our own waste problem today.

And we promise not to throw any tea overboard this time.

Click Here for a Digital Version of the Spring 2012 issue

Industry Influence Spotlight: Harvey Gershman

Photo Credit: GBB, Inc. 

Harvey W. Gershman has been a staple in the waste industry for almost 40 years. The president of Gershman, Brickner & Bratton, an international management consulting firm based in Fairfax, Va., has seen firsthand the change in the way our nation views and deals with waste as well as on continuing efforts to convert one man’s trash into another man’s treasure. And he has tracked it all in order to advise his clients on the best way to handle their waste management needs.

Gershman has the ear of some of the most important policymakers in Washington, advising organizations such as the National Center for Resource Recovery, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Energy and the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA). He has served on several boards and was awarded SWANA’s Professional Achievement Award in 1993.

The Northeastern University graduate most recently presented at the Waste Conversion Congress – West Coast in San Jose, Calif. on Dec. 6-7. His presentation, entitled “Different Technologies under the Commercial Microscope.” served as a sort of State of the Union for the waste conversion industry. Gershman tracks developments in the field with regards to trends on America’s MSW disposal, the number and type of waste-to-energy plants operating and emerging waste-to-energy companies and technologies. By presenting this material in a concise and readable format, Gershman helps us understand where we are and where we need to go.

Although the majority of GBB Inc.’s clients are municipalities that have tended towards more conservative solutions, Gershman stays on top of advancements in the waste conversion field in order to present all possibilities to clients. His philosophy is that the best solution is a 50-50 partnership between waste management systems with significant recycling and waste-to-energy projects. 

For more on Harvey Gershman and his consulting firm visit www. gbbinc.com.

Download his latest presentation "Different Technologies under the Commercial Microscope." Special thanks to Mr. Gershman for his permission to share this PowerPoint presentation.