A few weeks ago I made the prediction that the controversial Keystone XL pipeline from Alberta, through the United States, to Texas would receive Presidential approval by year-end. Now – I am not so sure; the political agenda is out of control.

Robert Rubin, the former US Treasury Secretary was quoted as saying; “Politics is as important as the policy, because if the politics don’t work, the policy, no matter whether the decisions are sensible or not, won’t be implemented.”

With the presidential election in the United States set for 2012, the sophisticated international opposition to the pipeline has pulled out all the stops in pressuring President Obama to either stop the pipeline outright, or delay any decision.

Delay is the operative word. As anyone who has faced the approval of a controversial project over a long period of time knows, the election cycle is an important part of the opposition strategy. Issues the politicians will not be concerned about in the beginning of a mandate, suddenly become sensitive during the year before an election. As we have seen, time and time again, getting elected trumps making the right decision for the economy and the environment.

I have been asked to be a panellist at the 23rd Annual Canadian Power Producers Conference (APPrO) in Toronto November 14 – 16th. The panel will be addressing the Approval Process for Renewables, and I will provide some comments on the “social challenges” involved in approving major projects.

In that regard, Mr. Rubin also made the statement: “Moving from an idea to implementation is as much a social and political process as it is a rational one – and maybe even more so.”

On Saturday (October 29th) Diane Francis of the National Post wrote an excellent column in the business section with a headline that said – American nimbyism real threat to Canada. She commented that: “This transnational phenomena is a power unto itself.”.... and ....”Environmentalists pick on anything that yields publicity.”

Look around and pick your war. Whether it be the pipeline in Alberta and the USA, the quarries in Ontario, wind-farms, gas fired power plants or, in my case, the Adams Mine landfill (which would have been the safest landfill in Canada); no project is safe from this “phenomena” as Ms. Francis calls it.

My workshop is called “WINNING THE WAR” and provides proponents with the benefit of the lessons I learned during my 14 year journey getting the Adams Mine Landfill approved. There is a fundamental fact that we are now starting to understand. More important, it is something that should be talked about openly by government officials, politicians and the companies who are investing millions in project approvals.

That is; “Do not expect the approval process to either fight, or win, the war with environmentalists. The war and the approval process are unrelated“. If we talk about it openly, maybe some rational thinking will result, maybe the political games will lessen, and the economy and environment will win.

Posted by Gordon McGuinty at 10:39 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Guelph, Ontario Mayor Karen Farbridge recently wrote an entry on her blog entitled “What went wrong?” about the composting plant; an old stinky one was recently replaced by a new high-performing one. It’s a topic that we’ve written lots about in past editions going back more than a decade.

Writes Farbridge:

“A former reporter, Magda Konieczna, in a recent Special to the Mercury [the local paper] wrote: “The opening of the new (composting) plant is a great thing. But the city needs to offer a clear explanation of what went wrong last time, and how we can be sure it won’t go wrong again. That’s the least you, the residents of Guelph, deserve. ”

Fair enough. I’ll bite. [Farbridge writes]

From my perspective, there were four areas of concern:

1. Design – This was one of the first facilities of its kind in North America and although the best materials of the day were used in the design, the structure did not hold up to the corrosive environment created by the composting process.

2. Asset Management – At that time, the City was not planning adequately for life cycle building maintenance costs.

3. Technology – The type of odour management technology available today was simply not available 20 years ago when the facility was being designed. However, the best odour management technology that was available was used.

4. Operational – One odour management practice, i.e., always keeping the doors closed when not bringing in wet waste, was not consistently followed. This was performance management issue.

What has changed to ensure these concerns won’t reoccur:

1. Design – The new facility has been designed to deal with the corrosive environment created by the composting process.

2. Asset Management – The 10-year capital budget consolidates new asset management policies and practices that shift resources to the ongoing maintenance of our buildings.

3. Technology – New odour management technologies are available today and have been incorporated into the new facility, exceeding the odour management technologies in place in other similar facilities in Canada.

4. Operational – The City has engaged a private sector operator. AIM Environmental has years of experience and expertise in managing similar composting facilities.

Although there were concerns with the facility, it was a great success in terms of achieving very high rates of waste diversion from landfill. During the peak of its performance, Guelph achieved 58% waste diversion from disposal, one of the highest rates in the Province.

As Magda noted in her opening line – “the opening of Guelph new composting facility is truly great news”. If it provides further assurance to our neighbours, we are no longer pioneers but can today take advantage of proven technology to reclaim our place as an environmental leader in the province.

Excerpted from What went wrong? | Mayor Karen Farbridge's Blog, 21/10/2011

http://mayorsblog.guelph.ca/2011/10/21/what-went-wrong/

Posted by Guy Crittenden at 11:31 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Well, we must give Dalton his due.

A third term, even a minority is indeed an accomplishment. Some might argue, as he does, that it is a ‘major minority’. Unfortunately, as I noted earlier, Tim Hudak did not catch fire and the discontent with the Liberals, while strong, was not enough to change the government entirely.

We now have a legislature where the Liberals hold a slim one-vote majority.

I heard a rumour that neither the NDP nor Conservative parties intend to put forth a candidate for Speaker, the individual who keeps the rules straight during the legislative sittings. In that event, the Speaker must come from the Liberal members and, as the speaker has no vote, the Liberals and the opposition would be tied in number of MPP’s, and the slim one-vote lead, held by the Liberals after the election, will be gone.

It will make for an interesting couple of years. With the NDP and Conservatives hardly on the same page, McGuinty will be using all of his ‘middle of the road’ agenda to pass any new legislative initiatives. Key will be whether he will continue his rather draconian policies and flip-flops on energy, siting of major hydro projects and quarries. All are of long-term importance to the Ontario economy and, to date, have been mismanaged, especially in the lead up to this election.

The problem will be that the opposition NDP and Conservatives will not be interested in any election in the near term, two years minimum and, while there will be a lot of noise and rhetoric, accommodations will always be made to ensure Ontario does not go to the polls immediately.

Another interesting dynamic will be the fate of McGuinty himself. If he had obtained a majority, the scenario would certainly be a show of strong leadership for a couple of years, then a graceful exit and a leadership convention with a new Liberal leader.

Now, with a minority (or tie) in place, will the same game plan take place? Pressure will come from both sides and it is not the time to show weakness in the leader but, on the other side, Ontario is tired of Dalton. We need new blood before going to the polls again. It will be interesting and should have a major impact on where this government goes in the next three years.

Personally, while I think the minority is good for Ontario right now, the fate of Dalton will be an impediment to a positive agenda. Time will tell.

However, there is one good thing for me. When I speak publicly, I have this great opening line I use regarding Dalton and I being related. Looks like it will be good to use for another two years at least.

www.trashedpoliticalgarbage.com
TRASHED! How Political Garbage Made the United States Canada’s Largest Dump

Posted by Gordon McGuinty at 2:25 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Toby Heaps the president, editor and co-founder of Corporate Knights (http://www.corporateknights.ca/) was the keynote speaker at the Recycling Council of Alberta’s annual conference today. The independent magazine launched in 2002 focuses on prompting and reinforcing sustainable development. The magazine is distributed every quarter to 100,000 subscribers of the Globe and Mail and through other venues.

An engaging speaker he spent most of his time talking creating a sustainable economy.

His talk was about the power of ideas- some understandable and some whimsical. Out of that melange he sees hope and the possibility of progress. The point he was trying to make is to find new ways to think. Out of the box is too clichéd. It is more like finding a different place far away from your current place to gain a fresh perspective.

According to him there are three key reasons impeding the development of a sustainable economy.

1.Time perspective. Politicians and decision makers typically operate on a short term time scale. This prevents the long term investment needed to develop a sustainable economy.
2. What we pay does not tell the whole story. We don’t pay the true price for many of the things we consume. That is the environmental and social costs are often not fully accounted for.
3.The human mind. We think how we think. We do what we do. We do not respond to most of the things we hear and see.

Indeed it is the human mind that can start to make the difference. The challenge lies in breaking through the “mental filter” of how we do things. Enacting the changes needed to develop a sustainable economy will require competition with the myriad of ideas that we see and hear every day. To effect these changes involves innovative and sometimes quirky initiatives.

He had five ideas that City’s could use to help facilitate these changes in how we do things.

1. Annual Statement of Wealth. City’s should develop a report card of sorts that highlights the social, environmental and economic wealth in a community. This will serve as a benchmark and annual measureable that will allow residents and businesses to assess progress.
2. Billboards. In a more off the wall idea he thinks that 50% of all billboard space should be public and be used for civic messages. A bit Orwellian but who knows.
3.Greater use of Incentives. Cities need to use more incentive based programs to effect desired environmental changes. For instance the current waste diversion rate is 35% but if the City achieves 40% you will receive the following...
4.Move People Out of Boxes and Silos. We become very stale in our thinking and can’t break out of how we think. This leads to unimaginative and stale ideas. For instance he suggests that every City have senior staff switch positions with lower level staff (and presumably vice versa) for one day to gain a more on the ground perspective.
5. Find More Ways to Generate Revenue. Cities have different opportunities to raise revenues that can be used for environmental initiatives. Revenue is of course code for tax so this can be a delicate balance. In Vancouver they have just raised the gas tax and will use the proceeds to fund transit. So far there seems little resistance to the idea.

There are of course many more ideas but boiled down achieving a sustainable economy requires two things.

1. Finding ways to get people to make meaningful changes to their behaviour. Simply asking them is not enough. They need to be better prompted, embarrassed or otherwise incentivized.
2. Finding creative ways to raise the revenue or taxes to pay for environmental initiatives supported by the population.

Posted by Paul at 6:52 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Today is the start of the Recycling Council of Alberta’s annual conference. This year’s installation is called Recycling Means Business and has a gangster theme. Their web site (http://www.recycle.ab.ca/main) includes pictures bullets and the sound of gun shots. I will assume that this is a tongue in cheek turn to the perceived historic foundation of the waste management industry.

Today the conference included a number of tours.

I took one to the Edmonton Waste Management Centre (http://www.edmonton.ca/for_residents/garbage_recycling/edmonton-waste-management-centre.aspx). This place is a testament to what can happen when landfill capacity is dwindling and then ends The Centre is essentially a campus of waste diversion initiatives and has been adding new pieces for the last ten years. It includes a composting facility, MRF, E-Waste recycling facility and Eco Station.

The Centre’s current and most interesting initiative is its collaboration with Enerkem Alberta (http://173.201.54.243/en/home.html) to build a biofuels facility. The 80 million dollar facility will process 100,000 tonnes/year of MSW and produce about 36 million litres of biofuels annually. The facility will process wastes that now go to landfill. This includes a lot of now difficult to effectively recycle plastics. The City of Edmonton estimates that it will cost to same to send waste to this biofuels facility as it would to transfer it and tip at a third party landfill. The City does start to receive any revenues from the biofuels until the capital costs are paid. This is estimated to happen 15-20 years.

The biofuels facility is expected to be operational in 2012. It will help push the City’s waste diversion, which is now about 60% to about 90%.

This will be Enerkem’s first large scale facility.

From http://www.enerkem.com/en/facilities/innovation-centers/edmonton-alberta-canada.html

The Advanced Energy Research Facility in Edmonton is a collaborative effort between the City of Edmonton, the government of Alberta, via Alberta Innovates – Energy and Environment Solutions, and Enerkem. It is being developed by the City of Edmonton, and is using Enerkem's proprietary technology. It focuses on the conversion of various waste into biochemicals and advanced biofuels . The research facility includes laboratory equipment and a well-instrumented pilot plant, attracting top researchers from the country. Enerkem will conduct some of its advanced research at the facility, led by Dr. Esteban Chornet, Enerkem’s Chief Technology Officer. The facility held an official opening ceremony on June 23, 2011. The facility is an important component in furthering Enerkem's dedication to innovation and the development of additional biochemicals, such as polymers and higer alcohols.

Posted by Paul at 6:18 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Travels with Charley was poignant travelogue written by John Steinbeck about a 1960 road trip with his dog. The nature of his narrative over time has been questioned and it appears he took considerable liberties whilst writing this book. Nonetheless the book captures the spirit of the time when North American and other societies were on the cusp of monumental change.

I have no dog and certainly no camper van but every once in a while I get to fly away from my home for a few days and go some place different. I pile myself and my luggage into a plane and then rental car and set off to my destination.

The Rocky Mountains of Alberta have a special place in my heart. It is part grandeur and part casualness that you don’t see in many places. I have been here so often that the place has taken on a second home kind of feel. For the last couple of days I have been trundling through them visiting clients and friends and catching up on what is going on in the world of waste.

The Towns of Banff and Jasper are beautiful places to visit and you get to capture the spirit of the mountains when you are in them. Because of their closeness to the environment managing their own environment is much more pronounced than you would see in other smaller towns of a similar size.

Banff (http://www.banff.ca/locals-residents/environment.htm) has embarked on a utility based waste management program for the commercial sector that aims to shift through user pay the amount of garbage sent to landfill while increasing diversion. Early results appear promising but the final results won’t be known for some years. This program builds on a number of programs for residents, businesses and tourists alike.

For instance there is a growing food waste diversion program that captures both commercial and some residential waste. While they have composted their biosolids and now food wastes for close to ten years they are shifting away from composting and moving to lime stabilization. The challenge has been finding markets for the compost product. This has partly to do with the dynamic of trying to change how things are done in a national park, the fact that most of the compost is derived from biosolids and the fact that municipalities are never really properly set up to market products (that is really private sector domain). Their compost, for the record, is excellent and very usable.

The Town had a waste diversion rate of 71% in 2010.

I imagine Steinbeck’s pace was leisurely and that he would stop and take in the places. In 2011 the pace of life is different and fast. I am a fairly motivated driver to say the least. With cell phone in hand and foot on pedal I proceeded from Banff on my way to Jasper. Before long I saw the lights behind me and had that sinking feeling you get when you are about to talk to the police. The officers cheerful parting words (after my parting of dollars) to me were “I hope you have a better day”.

The Town of Jasper (http://jasper-alberta.com/default.aspx?pageid=363) has a more laid back feel than Banff mostly because there are less people. The Town has a number of waste diversion programs including recycling (including at local campgrounds) and composting. They have a waste diversion rate of close to 40%.

They have a fairly aggressive food waste composting program that collects wastes from both the residential and commercial sector. Annually they divert about 400 tonnes of food waste. The Town has not one but two windrow composting facilities: one for food waste and the other for biosolids. Both are open windrow. While a recent consultants report recommended an in-vessel composting facility it seems to me that this is an excellent example where relatively small amounts of waste can be capably composted using a simple and low cost technology. They sell all of their food waste compost. They have some challenges marketing their biosolids compost. By all accounts the quality is good. It’s just that there is a small population base and not a lot of commercial markets for this compost.

While not without challenges these small mountain communities work hard to demonstrate to their visitors that the environment is a key consideration for them.

Now I find myself in Edmonton for the upcoming Recycling Council of Alberta conference. More on that later

Posted by Paul at 7:05 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Those of you who are interested in product stewardship and such things as deposit-refund systems for used beverage containers should follow developments in BC where Zero Waste Vancouver is launching a campaign to support what it calls “Real Recycling” (see the news release below about the kick-off meeting on Monday, October 3).

The campaign may be about many things but appears to be centered on getting milk containers in the province included in the deposit system and also to raise deposit levels to match those in Alberta. The suggestion is to not accept a government proposal to collect all packaging in a mixed stream.

Here’s the release and I’ll post further detail as it becomes available.

Campaign launch Monday (October 3rd) in Vancouver

WHAT:

On October 3rd a group of citizens will launch a web-based campaign to show public support for Real Recycling – recycling that delivers the best possible environmental, economic and social benefits to society. The first objective is to get milk containers included in the deposit system and raise deposit levels on all containers to match those in Alberta.

WHO:

This province-wide campaign is being guided by Zero Waste Vancouver, a registered non-profit organization that has been operating in the Lower Mainland since 2007. It will involve people in communities across the province who support the economic, environmental and social benefits of real recycling.

WHEN:

Monday, October 3rd, 10:30 am

WHERE:

Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House, 800 East Broadway, Vancouver BC (West Hall room).

WHY:

This month the provincial government will begin public consultation on a proposal to collect all different kinds of packaging mixed together – from milk jugs to toothpaste tubes and cigarette wrappers. This will downgrade the truly recyclable materials like milk jugs and create the false illusion that non-recyclable packaging is being recycled. It would also ignore decades of success in British Columbia with a beverage industry recycling program that is delivering outstanding environmental, social and economic benefits in community across the province. The Campaign for Real Recycling wants to give the milk industry a chance to provide further proof that deposits – especially higher deposits -- get good returns.

HOW:

For additional information, please contact Helen Spiegelman: 604-731-8464 spiegelmanhelen@gmail.com

Posted by Guy Crittenden at 5:37 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)