REW conference

Speakers discuss election implications

During the 2016 Renewable Energy from Waste (REW) Conference, Nov. 14-16, in Long Beach, California, speakers shared their views on the market for waste conversion at the national, state and local levels.

Moderator and speaker Harvey Gershman, president, Gershman, Brickner & Bratton (GBB), Fairfax Virginia, emphasized the importance of keeping waste local to create a circular economy. “You build a green gate so you don’t have to jump over a green fence,” he told attendees.

On the heels of the election, Ted Michaels, president of the Energy Recovery Council (ERC), Arlington, Virginia, gave some insights and predictions on how the election results will impact waste-to-energy.

Michaels predicted among the changes will include executive orders being rescinded, halting of any midnight regulations and unwinding the Clean Power Plan.

Michaels said infrastructure is the one area that is in the purview of the federal government. “We are going to jump on the train and pitch ourselves as infrastructure,” he said of the industry.

Johannes Escudero, founder and CEO of the Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas (RNG), Sacramento, California, pointed out the renewable fuel standard was actually extended under President George W. Bush, and said many red states are where most of the ethanol coming out of the country are produced.

Clark Ajwani, of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works (LACDPW) provided an update on the conversion technology (CT) market in that California county.

To help officials understand conversion technologies, he said LACDPW developed a white paper on the environmental benefits of CTs, which showed facilities operating overseas integrated with a materials recovery facility.