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Report from New York Citizens Budget Commission: Another blue ribbon report documenting the great need for NYC to move to waste-to-energy. But any time Mayor Bloomberg starts to deal with this need, he is soon cowered by a vociferous small minority that lives in the past.
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March 26, 2013
Projection of 2013 new WTE capacity of value of $7.4 billion would mean an addition of about 10 million tons to the global capacity, i.e. an unprecedented 5% annual growth.
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March 8, 2013
The WTE Section (editor Prof. N.J. Themelis) of the newly published Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology was selected by Springer to be included in the newly published book titled "Renewable Energy Systems."
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March 4, 2013
The changing nature of energy from waste in the UK
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February 27, 2013
Check out Covanta Energy's new virtual tour video of complete Waste-to-Energy process!
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February 22, 2013
Comments by Prof. Themelis on "zero waste" discussion in D-Waste blog of Linked In:

On the basis of all human experience, across all nations and times, I am sorry to say that there is no such a thing as "zero waste" nor will ever be, since transformation of all materials involves the use of energy (which has its own attendant residues/wastes) and the generation of some residues. For example, recycling of mixed paper has a 15% residue that has to be landfilled or combusted with energy recovery. Maybe, by "zero waste"proponents mean "zero landfilling", that has been achieved by several nations (see "Ladder" of sustainable waste management of Earth Engineering Center (EEC)).

"Zero waste" is devoutly to be wished, same as "zero disease" but it helps to have doctors, drugs, and hospitals. Nature is brought up usually as an example of a "zero waste" system but every human generates over 0.1 ton of human waste per year. At the end of our days, we are transformed into residues that are either landfilled or incinerated.
-Nickolas Themelis, Director, EEC
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February 21, 2013
The Earth Engineering Center (EEC) of Columbia University in collaboration with WTERT-Greece/SYNERGIA and Tamiz Shahar OJSC, are organizing an interdisciplinary event/intensive course, that will focus on state of the art technologies for sustainable waste management, entitled "Waste to Energy as an Integral Part of Sustainable Waste Management Worldwide. The case of Baku city/ Azerbaijan", to be held 17-21 June 2013, at Baku city, Republic of Azerbaijan. Details available HERE.
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February 13, 2013
Observations from India's Crisis - written by Ranjith Annepu, Global WTERT Council Coordinator of WTERT-India.
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February 4th, 2013
Presentation available here on new WTE plant for Baku Azerbaijan. Please note that the next intensive waste management and WTE course, co-sponsored by the Earth Engineering Center, will be held in Baku the week of June 17.
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January 25th, 2013

See video on "EVOLV" hydrometallurgical process of ATMI company for recovering valuable metals from electronic waste (subject of MS thesis of Ms. Jennifer Namias of EEC).
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January 16th, 2013

The Earth Engineering Center (EEC) of Columbia University in collaboration with WTERT-Greece/SYNERGIA and Tamiz Shahar are organizing a workshop that will focus on state of the art technologies for sustainable waste management, entitled "Waste to Energy as an Integral Part of Sustainable Waste Management Worldwide. The case of Baku city/ Azerbaijan."
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January 16th, 2013

Copenhagen's ski-slope topped waste to energy plant is going ahead. Click here to read more.
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January 14th, 2013

Prof. Nickolas Themelis, EEC Director, is editor of the Waste-to-Energy section (420 pages) of the newly published 18-volume Encyclopedia of Sustainability of Science and Technology" (Springer Publishing , 12,555 pages).

Prof. Themelis was also appointed by the International Panel for CLimate Change as author of the Waste-to-Energy (WTE), composting and landfill gas utilization section of the forthcoming (2014) Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of IPCC.
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January 14th, 2013

New book on "Renewable Energy Systems" published by Elsevier is co-edited by Prof. Nickolas Themelis. A large section of this book is dedicated to waste-to-energy. Click here to read more.
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January 14th, 2013

The 2nd International Brainstorming Workshop on Short and Long-Term Solutions for Municipal Solid Waste Management Problems in Indian Cities will be held on February 21 to 22, 2013, New Delhi, India. Click here to see the brochure.
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December 4th, 2012
Comments by Prof. Themelis in D-Waste page on Linked-In, regarding reduction of MSW generated. Link here to see.
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December 3rd, 2012
The D-Waste organization that is co-sponsored by EEC has a lively discussion in Linked-In web on various facets of waste management. A recent query, from Canad, asked for information on handling of C&D waste. Link here to see Prof. Themelis's response.
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December 3rd, 2012
Wood chips from Hurricane Sandy--USACE seeking additional contractors for processing! Click for details
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November 30th, 2012
Trash: New York City's $2 Billion Problem: Joint lecture by Kate Ascher, Columbia University GSAPP, Marcia Bystryn, President, New York League of Conservation Voters; Venetia Lannon, Regional Director, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; Samantha MacBride, Assistant Professor, Public Affairs, Baruch College

What does one do with 15,000 tons of garbage a day? If you're New York City, you take it away by truck and throw it out—most of it in big holes in the ground in places as far away as Virginia and Ohio. What you don't do is source separate it, recycle it, or make energy from it, despite the fact that technologies to use garbage for beneficial purposes are established around the world. This panel of experts explains why New York's City's waste disposal system is stuck in neutral, and how to change it.

Wednesday 6.30 PM, Wood Auditorium, Avery Hall, School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Morningside Campus, Columbia University (116 & B'way)
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November 2th, 2012
WTERT-China and academic research activities on sustainable waste management in China. Click here to see.
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November 21st, 2012
Battle to build or not to build an Indiana landfill is going on for over thirty years, click here to see the details.
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November 19th, 2012
Prof. Frank Zeman of Royal Canadian Military College (Kingston, Ont.) and EEC Research Associate is Editor of Metropolitan Sustainability (Woodhead Publishing, 2012) that includes chapter by Prof. N.J. Themelis ("Role of waste-to-energy in urban infrastructure", Ch. 21, p. 501-519).
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November 14th, 2012
Springer Publishers has just published the monumental (12,500 pages) Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology (ed. Robert Meyers). Prof. Nickolas Themelis is Editor of the Waste-to-Energy volume that includes eighteen essays by foremost researchers and engineers in this field: click here to see the contributors. For a description of the Encyclopedia, please click here.
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November 12th, 2012
The proceedings for WTERT 2012 Bi-Annual Conference are now online. Click for presentation slides, posters, and other conference highlights.
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October 26th, 2012
The Global Waste-to-Energy Research and Technology Council (WTERT) and D-WASTE, announced their cooperation in oredr to map Solid Waste Management facilities worldwide using the web and mobile application D-WASTE Atlas www.atlas.d-waste.com . See the news http://www.d-waste.com/d-waste-news/item/109-d-waste-and-global-wtert-council-join-forces-for-mapping-waste-to-energy-facilities.html
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October 22nd, 2012
Our Polish associate, Ms. Olga Babenko, has translated to Polish and published an article on recycling that originally appeared in our EEC web. For Polish version please link to http://www.autoteiledirekt.de/science/dlaczego-recykling
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October 7th, 2012
Tom, Bob, Mary and all others involved in the MER summer 2012 newsletter: The best and most effective ever! See http://files.asme.org/Divisions/MER/33243.pdf
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October 2nd, 2012
Thesis by EEC Jr. Research Associate Claudine Ellyin, Small Scale Waste-To-Energy Technologies
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September 27th, 2012
According to EEC past studies, the actual ratio of bio-carbon to fossil-carbon in U.S. MSW is 65%-35%. See EIA article http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=8010
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September 23rd, 2012
The authorities of the Accra Compost & Recycling Plant (ACARP) are considering the possibility of building a waster-to-energy plant at its Adjen-Kotoku (Ghana) premises that would generate about ten megawatts of electricity to supply to its surrounding communities. See more details on http://ghanaian-chronicle.com/acarp-to-build-10-megawatt-waste-to-energy-plant/
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September 22nd, 2012
A planned new waste-to-energy plant for Metro Vancouver might burn not just regular garbage but also special wastes that are now shipped out of British Columbia. See more details on http://www.theprogress.com/news/169784326.html?mobile=true
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September 22nd, 2012
New book published on "Metropolitan sustainability: Understanding and improving the urban environment", Woodhead Publishing; Editor Frank Zeman (EEC Research Associate and Assistant Prof. RMC, Canada). Chapter on "Sustainable Waste Management for Cities" by Prof. Nickolas Themelis. For more details, go to http://www.woodheadpublishing.com/en/book.aspx?bookID=2329
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September 18th, 2012
Article by Dr. Clara Piccirillo on keynote presentation of Prof. Themelis at WasteEng 2012 (Porto, Portugal) See http://decodedscience.com/sustainable-waste-management-and-waste-to-energy-technology/18103
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September 16th, 2012
Information and misinformation about Detroit WTE plant, See Part I, Part II, Part III
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September 16th, 2012
Keppel Seghers Belgium NV, a wholly-owned unit of Keppel Integrated Engineering Ltd (KIE), is part of a consortium that has been awarded a contract for a waste-to-energy combined heat and power (WTE CHP) project in Bialystok, Poland. see more
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September 7th, 2012
The Asian Development Bank has partnered with Procter & Gamble Co. to explore the possibility of building waste-to-energy plants in the Philippines. see more
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September 7th, 2012
Response of Prof. Themelis to question on proper handling of medical wastes from Russian state company, see more
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September 7th, 2012
Earth Engineering Center: The inaugural meeting and workshop of EEC sister organization WTERT-India on "Sustainable Waste Management in India", was held in Mumbai, August 24-25, 2011 and was attended by 230 registrants from academia, industry, and government (www.wtert.in). WTERT-India was co-founded by the National Energy and Environment Research Institute of India (NEERI) and the Earth Engineering Center at Columbia University.
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September 7th, 2012
1600 jobs to be created during construction of Frederick County, Maryland WTE plant. A work shop took place in Frederick County, MD this week where county officials estimated that approximately 1,600 private-sector jobs would be created in the county during construction the proposed waste-to-energy facility. Click for more details.
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August 25th, 2012
Wheelabrator one of two named bidders for North Wales WTE. Wheelabrator and SITA UK have been named as the two bidders left in the running for a major waste treatment contract for five North Wales councils. Click for more details.
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August 25th, 2012
Anaerobic waste-to-energy plant for Newport News, Virginia. A WTE plant that would generate power from food and yard waste is another step closer to being built in Newport News, VA. Click for more details.
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August 25th, 2012
WTE facility planned for Jamaica. UK-based waste-to-energy firm, Naanovo, has entered into a partnership with a Jamaica company to establish a power plant that will convert waste into electricity. Click for more details.
August 25th, 2012
Agenda of Inaugural Meeting of WTERT-India in Mumbai, August 24-25, organized by NEERI. More information see WTERT-India
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August 24th, 2012
Prof. Nickolas J. Themelis was invited speaker at international conference on waste management, organized by WasteMET ASIA and the ISWA-Beacon Conference (July 3-4, 2012). This conference was part of CleanEnviro Summit Singapore (1st-5th of July), 2012. Also, Prof. Themelis co-signed, on behalf of the Earth Engineering Center, with Nanyang Technical University (NTU) of Singapore an agreement for the formation of WTERT-Singapore, to be headed by Prof. Wang, director of the R3C Center of NTU. For more information link to:
WTERT Participation in international waste management conference in Singapore (July 3-4, 2012)
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August 19th, 2012
Forthcoming International Recycling and Recovery Congress in Berlin, 10-11th, September, 2012. More details please see: Press release and Program
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August 17th, 2012
Comment by Prof. Themelis on discussion on waste management in Linked-In web page of the D-Waste organization. Click to see
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August 17th, 2012
A Waste-to-Energy Study Tour by ISWA and visits of 10 WTE plants co-organized by Mr. Franz Neubacher in Austria will be held on September 24-28. See introduction and registration.
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July 22nd, 2012
The EEC-Presentation of Mr. Franz P. Neubacher (Austria Advantage; EEC Research Associate), on "Waste-to-energy" in Austria. Click to see.
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July 22nd, 2012
Voice from Capitol Hill: Recent research from Columbia University's Earth Engineering Center was cited as having determined that if all the municipal solid waste produced in the U.S. were diverted from landfill into waste-to-energy facilities, it could produce enough energy to power 16.2 million households every year. Meanwhile, American Chemistry Council's President Cal Dooley said "Energy recovery should be a key component of our nation's comprehensive energy strategy". He added "We cannot afford to continue to bury this important part of America's energy future in landfills".
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June 29th, 2012
The EEC-AIT-SYNERGIA one-week intensive course on sustainable waste management was attended by 67 people from Greece and various other nations, including Abu Dabi and Azebaijan. Prof. Nickolas Themelis introduced the course. Click to see the introduction.
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June 29th, 2012
Please notice the upcoming energy recovery event on Capitol Hill: http://chemistrytoenergy.com/SavetheDate.pdf
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June 8th, 2012
The global waste-to-energy industry received some mainstream media attention in The Economist magazine this week (May, both online and the print edition. Economist discussed the advantages in waste-to-energy performance and technology over the years, yet acknowledge "image problems" when siting a facility. It also compares waste-to-energy favorably to landfilling. The conclusion reached in the article about waste-to-energy is that "the result is a remarkably clean and efficient process for disposing of rubbish.
http://www.economist.com/node/21556095
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June 8th, 2012
Article on Isseane, the 2008 WTE plant in the heart of Paris, France.
Click here
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June 8th, 2012
See Dr. Ella Stengler, President of CEWEP discussing WTE in Europe (Waste Management World).
Click here
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June 8th, 2012
The 2012 WTERT Meeting will be held at Columbia University on October 18-19. Papers to be presented are by special invitation and will cover major developments in waste management technologies since 2010. An important event will be the gala 2012 Awards Dinner in the Skyline Room and terrace of Columbia's Faculty House, with a magnificent view of Morningside Park and Manhattan. The dinner is sponsored by the Materials and Energy Recovery (MER) Division of ASME International. MER will also sponsor a WTE bus tour on Wednesday, October 17. Registration will be available on the web as of mid August.
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June 8th, 2012
Mr. Antonis Mavropoulos, a prominent waste management engineer in Europe and Vice President of ISWA maintains an interesting blog on waste management developments worldwide. Mavropoulos has recently started the web organization "D-waste (waste management for everyone)". Currently, D-waste is offering registration and hotel expense at ISWA 2012 International Congress to qualified persons from developing nations.
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May 27th, 2012
D-Waste is a new organization founded by Mr. Antonis Mavropoulos (VP of ISWA) that promotes sustainable waste management, essentially in the developing world.
See: http://www.d-waste.com/index.php/page_viewer/view_page/14
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May 16th, 2012
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sent a letter this week to Energy Answers (a WTERT sponsor) saying that the $500 million waste-to-energy plant to be built in Arecibo, Puerto Rico has been granted a preliminary air permit. Click to see more details.
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May 11th, 2012
WTERT sponsor Covanta Energy Corporation has been named among the top 11 U.S. companies in the Maplecroft Climate Innovation Indexes (CIIs), the single most exhaustive study of how U.S.-based multinational corporations manage and adapt to climate change, with a special focus on innovation. Click for more details.
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May 11th, 2012
Read this interview, by Yale Environment, with CEO of Cape Wind and substitute "wind power" by "Waste-to-Energy" to understand why renewable energy sources are opposed to by some influential people despite their varied benefits to humanity. See the article.
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May 3rd, 2012
See WTERT-US people in NAWTEC20, Portland, Maine.
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May 3rd, 2012
Prof. Nickolas Themelis gives comment on an article in The Economist: Difference engine: Talking trash.
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May 3rd, 2012
New book "Garbology" acknowleges that the Earth Engineering Center numbers of U.S. waste generation are credible and EPA's Facts and Figures are not. See the Wall Street Journal.
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April 20th, 2012
Critics Trash City's Waste-to-Energy Plan
Profs. Marco Castaldi and Nickolas Themelis comments to press on NYC's recent RFP for a WTE plant.
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April 19th, 2012
Visit of Chinese delegation from CQUST (Chongqing University of Science and Technology) PR China and Covantaenergy to EEC. For more details see
http://www.seas.columbia.edu/earth/wtert/sofos/CQUST_visit_apr_13.pdf
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April 17th, 2012
Earth Engineering Center (EEC) received a visit from Guangzhou City, China delegation led by the mayor, Chen Jianhua. For more details, see
http://www.seas.columbia.edu/earth/wtert/sofos/Guangzhou_visit_april_12.pdf
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April 17th, 2012
Waste-to-Trash: Step Backward or Forward?
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April 17th, 2012
A new blog by Prof. Nickolas J. Themelis.
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April 16th, 2012
First International Brainstorming Workshop on Waste-to-Energy, Mumbai, India
Date: August 24-25, 2012
Here is the brochure.
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April 13th, 2012
Webinar on Waste-to-Energy and Conversion Technologies Status Report, organized by GBB, a WTERT sponsor, Thursday May 10th. See
http://www.gbbinc.com/email/WTE-CT-Webinar-Infocast-May2012.htm
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April 13th, 2012
Company plans to install AD capacity for U.S. food wastes. See
http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2012/04/12/seeing-value-in-trash-harvest-power-raises-110m/
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April 9th, 2012
Ljupka Arsova, EEC Research Associate and WTERT Fellow, has joined the engineering consulting firm, GBB, one of the WTERT sponsors. See GBB news:
http://www.gbbinc.com/press_releases/arsova.htm
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April 9th, 2012
WTERT sponsor, Covanta, wants a piece of the e-waste stream. See
http://www.wasterecyclingnews.com/arcshow.html?id=11103100301
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April 8th, 2012
Detractors aside, Frederick County officials say to just look at Baltimore and Montgomery counties to see the success of waste-to-energy incinerator plants. The Frederick News-Post recently toured both plants to see up close the similarities and differences between those two sites and the one planned in Frederick to handle trash disposal for Frederick and Carroll counties. The facilities are similar in size, with Montgomery handling 1,800 tons of trash a day, compared with the 1,500 tons per day planned in Frederick. The company brought in to run the operation will be different, however, with Wheelabrator operating the Frederick site and Covanta Energy in place in Montgomery. Covanta Energy's site came online 18 years ago and is owned by the NMWDA on behalf of the county. The authority, which works on behalf of several counties in handling trash disposal, will have the same agreement with Frederick. Frederick County's site will be modeled after the Montgomery plan, said Christopher Skaggs, the authority's executive director. "I think they show a very stable technology, which is a cornerstone of a well-run, integrated solid waste management system," Skaggs said. "It's not only a good way to dispose of trash, but it brings stability to the cost for citizens." The Baltimore plant, which is also operated by Wheelabrator, has been operational for nearly 27 years and is on track to process its 2 billionth ton of trash in May, plant manager David Jones said during a recent tour of the facility. A much larger facility, handling 2,250 tons per day, the Baltimore location is independently owned and operated by Wheelabrator. The article has much more information, and can be read in its entirety at: http://tinyurl.com/bs52duh. The News-Post ran another interesting article describing the ability of personal opinion to change with respect to a proposed waste-to-energy facility: http://tinyurl.com/c5h2tre. (FrederickNewsPost.com 3/25/12)
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April 2nd, 2012
"In the evening of March 22nd, the Earth Engineering Center presented the film "Beijing Besieged by Landfill" at Columbia University. This one-hour documentary masterfully describes the devastating effect of waste disposal on land and the environment. Prof. Nickolas Themelis introduced the film by noting that China is doing more than any other developing nation, and much more than the U.S. government, in trying to reduce landfilling by providing financial incentives for waste-to-energy (WTE). In an epilogue after the film, Ling Qiu of EEC showed that the number of WTE plants in China increased from 36 to 104 during the first decade of the 21st century.
An interview with the creator of this superb documentary, Wang Jiuling is attached to this notice.
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March 23rd, 2012
Sierra Club Two interesting white papers by WTERT sponsor, GBB about Solid Waste Authority. See
http://www.swa.org/pdf/SWAPBC_White_Paper_9-2-09.pdf
http://www.swa.org/pdf/SWAPBC_GBB_Final_Report_050311_w-Atchs.pdf
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March 20th, 2012
"The tragic story of Beijing besieged by landfills (Director: Wang Jiuliang)". An extraordinary film that took two years in making is presented by the Earth Engineering Center at 6 PM Thursday March 22nd in the Davis Auditorium of Schapiro Engineering Research Center ( North of Business School). See the poster:
http://www.seas.columbia.edu/earth/wtert/sofos/March_22_conference_Beijing_Besieged_by_
Waste.pdf
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March 18th, 2012
Sierra Club publishes article recognizing that Columbia/BioCycle national survey (SOG) accurately reports amount of MSW landfilled in U.S., in contrast to EPA "Facts".
http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/201203/grapple-trash-bible-126.aspx
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March 18th, 2012
Wondering what dioxin/furan actually is and how to control them? Prof. Nickolas Themelis gives the answer: http://www.seas.columbia.edu/earth/wtert/sofos/dioxin_Furans_and_APC.pdf
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March 1st, 2012
Prof. Nickolas Themelis and Mr. Ted Michaels (President, Energy Recovery Council) testified in Hartford, CT this week on a bill to elevate waste-to-energy from a Class II renewable resource to a Class I renewable resource under the Connecticut RPS. House bill 5188 was subject to a hearing today in the Connecticut legislature before the Committee on Environment. Also testifying in support of the legislation were the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority and representative from several towns that rely upon Connecticut's six waste-to-energy facilities. Nickolas Themelis of WTERT/Columbia University also sumbitted testimony. This legislation is the first step in a long legislative process. While this bill is not expected to pass with the same expediency as the bill in Maryland last year, today's hearing was an excellent opportunity to raise an extremely important topic in the another legislative forum. The Themelis and Michaels testimonies are shown here.
http://www.seas.columbia.edu/earth/wtert/sofos/Connecticut_Testimony_Themelis.pdf
http://www.seas.columbia.edu/earth/wtert/sofos/120302_Michaels_CT_RPS_testimony.pdf
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March 3rd, 2012
THE BURNING QUESTION--See how is the public perception of waste to energy improving through an article from Waste Management World: http://www.waste-management-world.com/index/display/article-display/3502753943/articles/waste-management-world/volume-12/issue-4/features/the-burning-question-how-is-the-public-perception-of-waste-to-energy-improving.html
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March 1st, 2012
Dr. Makoto Katagiri of Taiheiyo Cement, the largest cement company in Japan, visited the Earth Engineering Center on February 23rd to discuss their Eco-Coment process, operating in Tokyo since 2006. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has a 1500-ton/day WTE that produces 300t/d of WTE ash. The ash is mixed (39%) with limestone (52%) and WWTP sludge (8%) to produce 430t/d of Eco-Cement.
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February 27th, 2012
The America Chemistry Council launched a new energy advocacy and awareness campaign this week to focus attention on the benefits shale gas production, waste-to-energy, and energy efficiency to the chemical industry. For more details regarding to their waste-to-energy work, please visit: http://chemistrytoenergy.com/energy-recovery .
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February 10th, 2012
Artical in Waste Management World on MS Thesis of Ranjith Annepu, EEC Research Associate and WTERT-India Co-ordinator of Global WTERT Council (GWC). Waste to Energy for Integrated Waste Management in India.
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January 20th, 2012
Testimony of Rick Brandes, EEC Research Associate, at U.S. Virgin Islands Senate on importance of WTE for islands.
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January 14th, 2012

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