July 2021 • Volume 17 • Issue 7
TECHNOLOGY
BUILDING BACK GREENER: WASTE TO RESOURCE
BY MYRON ALEXANDER
The COVID-19 global pandemic has clearly revealed the inner-connectedness of our essential and fundamental economies as related to our health and well-being. It showed the need to restore integrity to our natural resources and ecosystems to ensure a healthy future. How we manage our natural resources - energy, food, water and waste - will determine our ability to achieve sustained economic growth. We must envision a more equitable future and find a balance for people and the planet. During this pandemic, the efficiency of our food production, supply and delivery systems has been particularly challenged. It is a call to action that confirms our nation’s need to invest in the sustainable, local management of food resources in a manner that involves and supports people. Community-based gardening and public space landscaping can provide opportunities for education, participation, and create viable green economies. It can create jobs for individuals, students and
Myron Alexander is co-founder of OWARECO (Organic Waste Reduction & Conversion), which provide provides on-site, net-zero food and organic waste decomposition technologies. Learn more at owareco.com.
businesses, while helping to restore healthy environments and public spaces. As our nation emerges from this global pandemic, individuals, communities and businesses are eager to resume life as it was. However, it is unlikely that there will or should be a return to life “as it was.” In New York City, bustling food and entertainment industries are pillars of our local economy. We witnessed closed venues, barren avenues and deafening silence, while some businesses demonstrated resilience by reinventing their services, introducing creative and innovative ways to serve patrons and sustain operations. The experience of managing this crisis has affected nearly every aspect of our lives and continues to play out in different ways throughout the world. President Joseph Biden identified several national priorities in his State of the Union address. Among them are infrastructure, clean job creation, energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, inherent in our efforts to “Build Back Better,” we must “Build Back Greener.” Over the past decade, science, technology and research has developed new methods and practices for producing food, food delivery, recovery, recycling and regenerative end-use applications. Materials management and recycling has emerged as a new frontier. No longer can businesses and communities afford to view excess food and organic materials as simply scraps or waste. What we have historically labelled as “waste” is proving to be a multi-faceted, environmentally sustainable “resource” that can be upcycled to create new green jobs and potentially provide viable economic profit centers. Many cities are demonstrating the social, environmental and economic benefits of recycling. Increasingly, we are seeing U.S. cities and states declare new goals to reduce and recycle waste, avoid
greenhouse gas emissions and reduce the consumption of fossil fuels. The deployment of innovative waste decomposition technologies that can rapidly reduce and stabilize food waste and address the critical factors of volume, time, costs, labor, space and emissions
is here. The high volume of waste generated, specifically food and organic waste, how waste is managed, and the environmental affects thereof is a global priority. Sustainable waste management is a shift that will require innovation, collaborative and inclusive action.
CONSTRUCTION MISMANAGEMENT CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7 The next nightmare was that the contractor had not properly secured enough quotes for the project, and did not realize that plans and drawings must be submitted to the Building Department prior to any work. We vetted the engineer and architect, and their quote came in at $32,000, but that did not take into consideration, expediting, permits, or fees for inspections. Already the contractor and his partners were $25,000 over budget,
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