Bruno Manser Fund investigation in the Bakun dam’s exclusion zone shows increased poverty due to Malaysia’s disaster dam – Displaced indigenous communities forced to live in floating homes on Bakun impoundment

BASEL, SWITZERLAND, February 22, 2012 –/WORLD-WIRE/–The Swiss Bruno Manser Fund (BMF) has today disclosed a series of shocking pictures from the Bakun dam exclusion zone showing disturbing poverty and environmental destruction in the Malaysian state of Sarawak on Borneo. A BMF research team has managed to overcome the tight security measures preventing journalists or NGOs to travel behind the recently filled Bakun dam wall, Asia’s largest dam outside China and the world’s second-tallest concrete-faced rockfill dam.

People displaced by Bakun dam - hundreds are living in so-called floating homes © Bruno Manser Fund

The only recently completed 2,400 MW hydropower dam was meant to bring development and progress to the people of Sarawak. Pictures now disclosed to the public, however, show its real consequences: displaced indigenous communities forced to live in floating homes and the destruction of a unique rainforest habitat that counts among the most biodiverse in the world.

“The extent of suffering by the displaced communities is shocking”, said BMF campaigner Anna Meier, who had visited the dam site. “Hundreds of displaced people are living in floating homes on the Bakun impoundment. Malaysia’s showcase development project has turned into a disaster dam.”

A displaced Ukit community living on Bakun impoundment © Bruno Manser Fund

An indigenous Ukit community now living in floating homes was forcibly displaced while their village and graveyards were flooded. “Our aim is to build a new longhouse onshore near our former village”, the headman of the Ukit community said. “But we lack the funds and the government refuses to support us. They have not even paid us compensation for our submerged land because we refused to move to the resettlement site of the government.” As their traditional farmlands have been flooded, the Ukits live from fishing, hunting and harvesting some of the trees flooded by Bakun dam.

The Bakun dam construction submerged 695 km2 of rainforest, an area the size of Singapore, and with it parts of one of the worlds’ biodiversity hotspots. The visitor can now watch a unique world drowning in the waters of Bakun impoundment: trees change their colour from green over brown to grey until they will finally disappear in the rising water for ever.

Sarawak’s 2,400 MW Bakun dam – Asia’s largest dam outside of China © Bruno Manser Fund

Close to 10,000 Sarawak natives have been forcibly displaced but some refused to move to the resettlement site and returned to what is left of their former lands.

The Bruno Manser Fund calls on the Sarawak state government to immediately lift all travel restrictions to the Bakun dam site and to the Murum dam construction site in order to allow independent journalists and the public to take notice of what is really going on with these mega-projects.

Malaysia is also asked to assist the Ukits and other indigenous communities in the Bakun region to return to their unflooded traditional lands and to pay the full compensation for their submerged lands and houses.

Sign the online petition against more disaster dams in Sarawak: www.stop-corruption-dams.org

Please consult us for further information:

Bruno Manser Fund, Socinstrasse 37, CH-4051 Basel / Switzerland
www.bmf.ch, www.stop-corruption-dams.org
Tel. +41 61 261 94 74. Follow us on twitter: @bmfonds

Representatives from affected communities in Sarawak, Malaysia gathered to kick off their campaign against 12 planned dams in Sarawak with a demand for consultation and a public referendum.

MIRI, SARAWAK, MALAYSIA, February 21, 2012 –/WORLD-WIRE/– For the first time in Sarawak’s history, 150 indigenous representatives from areas already affected or to be affected by dam projects came together to share their experiences at a conference organized by the newly founded ‘SAVE Rivers Network’.

The conclusion to be drawn from the conference, which took place from 16th to 18th February 2012, is clear-cut: Sarawak’s previous construction of dams has violated international human rights and environmental standards such as the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as well as basic rights guaranteed under the Malaysian constitution such as the right to property.

Mistakes made during the construction of the recently completed Bakun dam are being repeated in new dam projects such as at Murum and Baram where affected communities complain about a lack of information and lack of participation.

The Sarawak state government, along with Chinese investors, plans to construct 12 more dams to provide 28,000 MW of electricity to create an industrial complex in Sarawak’s remote jungles.

Delegates to the SAVE Rivers Network conference in Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia

The representatives at the conference issued a joint statement demanding an immediate stop to all dam projects, respect for the right to consultation and a public discussion around these large-scale projects, which should be nurtured by a referendum to be held on the issue.

Peter Kallang, chairperson of the SAVE Rivers Network, said that this conference is just the beginning of a long struggle in order to get their demands through and announces next steps to be taken: “There is a need for further awareness raising in society as such, but especially in the affected regions. Therefore, we are planning a road show in Baram where we will visit all affected communities. The goal is to create committees in all affected areas which in turn will become the organizational base for collective action against these mega-dams.”

The indigenous representatives came from Batang Ai, Bakun, Bengoh, Murum, Baram, Balleh, Limbang, Lawas, Pelagus and Tutoh plus individuals from Miri, Bintulu and Kuching.
An international NGO coalition consisting of the Bruno Manser Fund (CH), International Rivers (US), Borneo Project (US) and the Rainforest Foundation Norway has expressed their support for the indigenous leaders’ call to respect human rights and comply with international standards.

Kirk Herbertson of International Rivers, who observed the conference, states: “What I have heard from the participants at the conference is worrying. Denial of the people’s rights to information and consultation, as well as the lack of a proper evaluation of alternatives to dams in a public discussion contravenes international standards such as the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as well as Malaysian law.”

Indigenous leaders gathering in Miri, Malaysia - We say NO to the government's dam plans. © SAVE Rivers Network

Mr. Kallang further explained, “Affected people from areas where dams are currently under construction or being planned have demonstrated that the government is repeating its mistakes.”

Statements made during the two and a half day conference indeed indicate the government’s lack of capacity to realize its dam projects in a responsible manner. People representing the areas where dams have already been built, namely Batang Ai, Bakun and Bengoh, describe how the Sarawak government and project companies denied their rights to information and consultation, and how involuntary resettlement left them more impoverished than before. One participant from Bakun described, “The government made so many promises to us concerning free houses, free electricity, and free water. All these are just empty promises. We are still waiting for their implementation.”

A representative from Upper Baram revealed, “We have never been informed or consulted by the government of its plan to build Baram dam.”

From the perspective of the organizer, the SAVE Rivers Network, the conference was a big success as it presented a unique chance for exchange of views between communities who have no meaningful voice in their government, and as it allowed for building up the necessary synergies for a successful struggle against the maledict dams.

Support the local demand to immediately top the envisioned dam projects and the non-compliance with international standards by signing the protest letter: www.stop-corruption-dams.org

Media contacts for further information:

• Peter Kallang, Save Sarawak Rivers Network, Miri/Sarawak, +60-13-833-1104, peterkallang@yahoo.com
• Annina Aeberli, Bruno Manser Fund, Basel/Switzerland, +41-61-261-94-74, info@bmf.ch
• Kirk Herbertson, International Rivers, Bangkok/Thailand, +66-86-786-3182, kherbertson@internationalrivers.org
• Brihannala Morgan, The Borneo Project, Oakland/US, +1-415-341-7051, brihannala@borneoproject.org
• Lars Løvold, Rainforest Foundation Norway, Oslo, Norway, +47-481-88-148, lars@rainforest.no

Malaysian government to displace 20,000 Borneo natives for the proposed Baram dam – 26 villages and 412 square kilometres of tropical rainforest to be flooded

BASEL, SWITZERLAND, February 16, 2012 –/WORLD-WIRE/– The Bruno Manser Fund has today disclosed an exclusive map showing the extent of the proposed Baram mega dam whose realization is bound to cause a social and environmental disaster in Malaysian Borneo. The proposed 1000 MW Baram dam is one of twelve dams authorities in the Malaysian state of Sarawak are planning to build following the completion of the 2400 MW Bakun dam.

According to the map based on intelligence and calculations by the Bruno Manser Fund, the 162 meter high Baram dam would flood a rainforest area of 412 km2 (41’200 hectares) and at least 26 indigenous villages, causing the displacement of up to 20,000 Sarawak natives.

The proposed dam is being planned by the Sarawak state government and Sarawak Energy, the implementing agency, in violation of international transparency standards. While the Sarawak government has started legal procedures to extinguish native rights for an access road to the dam site, the affected communities are deliberately being kept in the dark over the extent of the dam plans.

The proposed dam would cause havoc for the Kenyah, Kayan and Penan culture in the upper reaches of the Baram river, one of Borneo’s great rainforest streams. Many of their villages would be submerged and would literally cease to exist. Traditional longhouse communities in the dam’s downstream areas would also have to face drastic changes and pollution of the riverine ecosystem, affecting river transport, fishery, irrigation and access to drinking water.

According to information obtained by the Bruno Manser Fund, the following villages and longhouse communities would cease to exist upon construction of the dam:

Downstream villages and longhouses that are to be negatively affected by the dam plans include the regional centers of Marudi and Long Lama as well as the villages and longhouse of Long Keseh, Long Pila, Long Laput, Kejaman, Long Pelutan, Uma Bawang and others.

The Bruno Manser Fund calls on the Sarawak state government and on Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) as implementing agency to halt all further works on the controversial project and immediately release all official studies on the planned Baram dam.

Help us stop the Sarawak dam disaster by sending a protest letter to Sarawak Energy and the respective authorities in Malaysia and Sarawak under www.stop-corruption-dams.org

Please consult us for further information:

Bruno Manser Fund, Socinstrasse 37, CH-4051 Basel / Switzerland
www.bmf.ch, www.stop-corruption-dams.org
Tel. +41 61 261 94 74. Follow us on twitter: @bmfonds

HONOLULU, HI, February 16, 2012 –/WORLD-WIRE/–  On behalf of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs (AOHCC), President Soulee Stroud this Tuesday in Honolulu petitioned the Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior to classify the Hawaiian green sea turtle, or honu, as a discrete population segment (DPS) and then remove it from the Endangered Species Act (ESA) list.

The green sea turtle has been on the ESA list since 1978. The species has been considered threatened throughout its range, except for Florida and the Pacific coast of Mexico, where breeding populations are listed as endangered.

A DPS is the smallest division of a species permitted to be protected under the ESA. All Hawaiian green sea turtles nest in the Hawaii archipelago, the majority in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Tagging studies show that the adults remain near the Hawaiian Islands.

The most recent green turtle review by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) recommended an analysis be conducted to determine the application of the DPS policy to the green turtle. If the population is determined to be a DPS and then delisted, the species can be managed by the State of Hawaii rather than the federal government.

“This would be wonderful,” said Stroud, “to bring the management of this important cultural animal back to the people of Hawaii.” The AOHCC has discussed the future management of the Hawaiian green sea turtle at its annual conferences since 2007. In November of last year, the AOHCC passed a resolution to pursue the DPS status and delisting.

The nesting population of the Hawaiian green turtle has been increasing steadily at a rate of 5.7 percent per year since the 1970s, and the Hawaiian green turtle population is estimated to be over 80 percent of pre-exploitation levels in the early 1940s.

“We should celebrate the recovery of this species, one of only about 20 ESA success stories,” noted Kitty Simonds, president of the Maunalua Hawaiian Civic Club. Among other delisted species are the bald eagle, brown pelican, American alligator, grey whale, Virginia northern flying squirrel and peregrine falcon.

The AOHCC petition reviews the biology, ecology, natural history and status of the Hawaiian green turtle population. Results from over 38 years of intensive research indicate that this stock satisfies criteria to be designated a DPS. The petition addresses the factors for delisting a species and describes the best available science and most current information to show that the Hawaiian population, once designated as a DPS, should be delisted under the ESA. The petition can be downloaded at www.aohcc.org.

Founded by Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana`ole in 1918, the AOHCC is a confederation of 60 Hawaiian Civic Clubs located in Hawai`i and the continental United States.

For more information, contact:

Soulee Stroud / Tamar Hoapili
Pelekikena AOHCC / Community Relations Chair
Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs
Telephone: (801) 739-4979 / (702) 994-0538
Email:  president@aohcc.org / president@lvhcc.org

Web site: www.aohcc.org

Bakun dam engineers confirm only one of three turbines is working –Massive power excess cannot be exported as undersea cable to peninsular Malaysia failed to materialize

DOHA, QATAR, February 15, 2012 –/WORLD-WIRE/– An investigative report by the Doha-based global news broadcaster Al Jazeera broadcast this morning confirms that the Malaysian state of Sarawak is facing a massive power glut following the completion of the Bakun dam, Asia’s largest hydropower dam outside China. Al Jazeera reporter Harry Fawcett who visited the dam site found that only one out of three turbines is working and that Sarawak engineers could not explain how the massive amount of power produced at Bakun could be used in a sensible way.

The Bakun dam’s construction started in the mid-1990s and has recently been completed. The dam has been labelled a ”monument of corruption” by Transparency International due to massive profits made by companies close to the family of Sarawak Chief Minister Abndul Taib Mahmud. While the dam has an installed capacitiy of 2,400 MW, Sarawak peak electricity demand amounts to less than 1,000 MW. According to official figures, the dam construction costed 2.4 billion US dollars, funded mainly through loans from the Malaysian citizens’ pension funds.

In a live Al Jazeera interview, Bruno Manser Fund director Lukas Straumann slammed the Sarawak authorities for causing an environmental, social and economic disaster with the Bakun and its further dam plans. “Neither the promised industrialization of Sarawak nor an undersea cable to West Malaysia have materialized. The only rationale behind the further dam plans is corruption”

Even before the completion of Bakun, secret construction works for the 900 MW Murum dam have started. The construction site of Murum, which is being built by Chinese contractors, has been completely sealed off and the funding of the dam remains a state secret. It has to be feared that the Sarawak dams will endebt the state for generations to come and that Malaysian employees will have to pay with lower rents for the lack of economic viability of the Mega-dams.

The Bruno Manser Fund calls for an immediate halt to further dam planning and construction works in Sarawak and for all official documents related to the dams to be released for public examination.

Watch the (unedited) Al Jazeera live interview with BMF director Lukas Straumann now online under:

http://www.stop-corruption-dams.org/resources/interview_alzazeera.mpg (33 MB)

We expect Al Jazeera to put its full report online by tomorrow under:

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific

Please contact us for further information:

Bruno Manser Fund, Socinstrasse 37, 4051 Basel, Switzerland
Tel. +41 61 261 94 74

www.bmf.ch 
www.stop-corruption-dams.org

Follow us on twitter: @bmfonds

SEDONA, AZ, February 14, 2012 –/WORLD-WIRE/– The International Dark-Sky Association has been asked to clarify its position regarding the impact that the proposed Sedona, Arizona 89a highway lighting project would have in regard to the International Dark Sky Places (IDSP) certification process.

In reviewing the history of the project, we are struck with the general lack of concern by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) for providing a solution that will address the traffic safety concerns in an environmentally responsible manner. The report by CivTech, dated December 2010, appears to offer reasonable options that could address the safety concerns of the community without the installation of continuous roadway lighting (CRL).

In addition, this report clearly identifies that the volume of traffic at night does not warrant CRL by current IES RP-8 standards. However, ADOT has apparently chosen to ignore these recommendations and install CRL that will significantly degrade the night sky, waste energy, increase greenhouse gases and saddle the community with substantial ongoing operating costs.

IDA recommends that outdoor lighting be used only when necessary, in only the quantity necessary and directed to the area needed with proper shielding of the fixtures. The proposed plan by ADOT only addresses the last criterion. We would only recommend lighting the intersection outlined in the CivTech analysis plus the adoption of the non-lighting recommendations. If CRL is used, it should be used at the minimum illumination level necessary for the time of night and traffic load, and turned off when the traffic load indicates that it is no longer necessary to provide lighting. Using current IES recommended practices the switch off could easily occur by 9 PM. Programmable timers could be installed to accomplish this for very little cost and would result in vast savings in energy, costs, and greenhouse gases.

In any project of this size, cost and impact on the community, remediation methods should be phased in and an analysis of their effectiveness should be made before additional measures are installed. Under no circumstances should CRL be considered as the first option.

This brings us to the crux of the issue related to the IDSP certification question.

“The IDSC designees must adhere to stringent standards that protect the natural night sky through outdoor lighting plans and ensure the continuation of this protection through planning and zoning directives. The following is the official definition of an International Dark Sky Community: a town, city, municipality, or other legally organized community that has shown exceptional dedication to the preservation of the night sky through the implementation and enforcement of quality lighting codes, dark sky education, and citizen support of dark skies.”

The fact that the City of Sedona appears to be unable or unwilling to take the necessary measures to protect the night sky from future degradation would most likely cause the IDSP committee to reject an application for International Dark Sky Community (IDSC) status. IDSC status signifies a strong cooperation among all the parties responsible for the protection of the night sky. It would appear that this cooperation does not currently extend to ADOT, as they appear willing to install unwarranted lighting. This clearly impairs the community’s ability to work collaboratively to preserve the quality of the night sky.

To further clarify the criteria of the IDSC, the use of fully shielded lighting fixtures alone does not qualify lighting as dark sky friendly. When and how much lighting is used is also vitally important.

In closing, I sincerely hope that the City of Sedona can reach some accommodation with ADOT to mediate what appears to be a contentious issue. The IDSC certification can bring significant economic benefit to a community along with justifiable pride and prestige. However, this prestige is often earned by the substantial effort required to obtain the support of all the parties that must agree that dark skies are worth protecting.

Sincerely,

Bob Parks
Executive Director
International Dark-Sky Association

Video link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn5k46nlCgU&feature=plcp&context=C3b0526cUDOEgsToPDskKtmU3KLee_3KQQFyRnoxGg

For more information visit: www.sedona.biz

Note to Editors:

For additional information, please contact Steve DeVol at email: steve@sedona.biz or tel: (928) 821-0505

International NGO coalition condemns Malaysian dam plans

Sarawak natives gather in Miri to kickstart protests against the construction of twelve hydroelectric dams in Malaysian Borneo.

MIRI, SARAWAK/MALAYSIA, February 14, 2012 –/WORLD-WIRE/– An international NGO coalition that includes organizations from the US, Norway and Switzerland is showing its solidarity with Malaysian groups who are protesting against the construction of twelve hydroelectric dams in the Malaysian state of Sarawak on Borneo. The NGO coalition supports the Malaysian groups’ demand for an immediate halt to the realization of these dams, which threaten to displace tens of thousands of Sarawak natives and flood hundreds of square miles of Sarawak’s precious tropical rainforests.

The Bruno Manser Fund, International Rivers (US), Borneo Project (US), Rainforest Action Network (US) and the Rainforest Foundation Norway are emphasizing the adverse social and ecological consequences of the planned dams and question their economic viability. Just a handful of companies connected to Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud and his family are likely to benefit from these projects, due to their involvement in the construction business, while the Sarawak public would have to cover the costs in form of long-term state debts.

At a press conference in Miri yesterday, the recently founded ‘Save Sarawak’s Rivers’ network, under the lead of its chairperson Peter Kallang, announced the start of the local protests against the planned twelve dams in the Sarawak rainforest: ‘The construction of the dams will not bring development to the people directly affected but it does bring severe and permanent damages to the whole environment and to the community at large. Development for the people must be for the immediate and above all, long term good of all the people and not just a few, who own shares in power generation and big corporations.’

The Save Sarawak Rivers Network was formed in October 2011 by people affected by the planned or already realized dams together with concerned individuals and local NGOS in order to fight the construction of mega-dams and protect the rivers of Sarawak – the lifeline of its peoples. A first conference will be held in Miri, Sarawak, from 16 to 18 February 2012. Native communities affected by the dam projects will gather to share information, raise awareness and coordinate their state-wide struggle against the twelve planned dams. The conference will voice the disagreement of the Sarawakians, and especially that of the affected communities, with their government’s policy of building the proposed dams without giving them a chance to express their opinion on these projects.

With the completion of the largest dam in Asia outside of China, the Bakun dam, with its capacity of 2,400 Megawatts and the additional 900-Megawatt Murum dam, which is currently under construction, Sarawak will be producing massive amounts of surplus power. The state’s current electricity consumption only rises to 972 Megawatts during periods of peak demand.

Experience with the recently-completed Bakun dam has shown the unwillingness of the Sarawak state government to comply with international human rights and environmental standards such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Close to ten thousand natives of the Bakun river system were displaced without having been properly consulted and compensated. Transparency International even labeled the highly controversial Bakun dam a “Monument of Corruption”.

Help us stop the Sarawak dam disaster by signing our online petition: www.stop-corruption-dams.org

Media contacts for further information:

Peter Kallang, Save Sarawak Rivers Network, Miri/Sarawak, +60-13-833-1104, peterkallang@yahoo.com

Annina Aeberli, Bruno Manser Fund, Basel/Switzerland, +41-61-261-94-74, info@bmf.ch, www.bmf.ch

Kirk Herbertson, International Rivers, Bangkok/Thailand, +66-86-786-3182, kherbertson@internationalrivers.org

Brihannala Morgan, The Borneo Project, Oakland/US, +1-415-341-7051, brihannala@borneoproject.org

Laurel Sutherlin, Rainforest Action Network, San Francisco/US, +1-415-246-0161, Laurel@ran.org

Lars Løvold, Rainforest Foundation Norway, Oslo, Norway, +47-481-88-148, lars@rainforest.no

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“What we do is collect reports on all the good and bad things written or said about the country and send them back to Malaysia“, the diplomat said about his work in the UK. „Issues range from politics to petty issues like animals in zoos and the Penans in Sarawak“, the Borneo Post writes in today’s online edition. The diplomat complained about NGO reports on the Malaysian government’s malpractices and singled out the Bruno Manser Fund (BMF) as „one of such NGOs actively involved in discrediting the Sarawak government in the UK“.

The Bruno Manser Fund is shocked by the racist tone of the Malaysian High Commissioner’s remarks. „How can this man claim to be representing Malaysia in the United Kingdom if he compares his own people to zoo animals?“, the Bruno Manser Fund wrote. „We are calling on the Malaysian Foreign Minister to replace Zakaria Sulong with immediate effect as he is obviously unfit for the post of High Commissioner to the UK.“

For three decades, the Penan, until recently South East Asia’s last nomadic hunter-gatherers, have peacefully struggled for their native rights and protested against the rampant destruction of the tropical forests of Malaysian Borneo. The Sarawak government under long-term Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud have consistently refused to grant them any rights over their traditional lands. Even well-documented reports about wide-spread sexual abuse of Penan girls and women by loggers failed to have any legal consequences whatsoever.

Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud has systematically abused kickbacks from logging for his own personal benefit. Research by the Bruno Manser Fund has shown that the Taib family is holding stakes in more than 400 companies in 25 countries and offhsore destinations, worth several billion US dollars. In a letter to the Malaysian Attorney-General, BMF had called for Malaysian authorities to arrest and prosecute Taib for corruption, abuse of public office and other charges.

Read the Borneo Post article here:

http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/02/10/embassy-wary-of-ngos-out-to-discredit-country/#ixzz1lyFlL3Ff

Please contact us for more information:

Bruno Manser Fund
Socinstrasse 37
CH-4051 Basel

http://www.bmf.ch, info@bmf.ch

Tel. +41 61 261 94 74

RONKONKOMA, NY, February 8, 2012 –/WORLD-WIRE/– For the 20th year practitioners and supporters of commercial-scale composting came together for the world’s largest conference and trade show dedicated to the recycling of organic matter. The 800 attendees came from 44 states or territories plus 13 countries representing Asia, Africa, Europe, North and South America. The conference, held at the Renaissance Hotel in Austin Texas, provided attendees with an array of technical sessions, receptions, an extensive trade show, the annual awards dinner and live demonstrations of some of the newest and biggest equipment on the market.

After a strong keynote from Whole Foods Global Vice President Lee Matecko, attendees chose among the twenty-one technical sessions that were organized into seven tracks over two days and covered nearly every aspect of the industry. Talks ranged from increasing the collection of organic discards from restaurants and households through improved processing efficiency and safety, to developing and expanding new products and markets. A full day track was devoted to “compostable plastics”, where representatives of all parts of the “value chain” could share recent advances and work together to overcome challenges in this emerging field.

When the machines shut down the attendees at the 2012 Demo Day got to "kick the tires" on these grinders (photo credit: A Rattie)

The trade show featured 110 exhibitors represented the diversity of the compost manufacturing industry. There were manufactures of giant grinders, churners, screeners and other equipment that help transform organic materials into finished product; vendors of integrated composting systems that can control airflow and temperature and reduce odors; haulers who collect the raw materials, suppliers of compostable plastic bags, utensils and other products; educators, consultants, laboratories, media, and allied organizations.

The conference also served as the annual meeting of the USCC. This year, in addition to the usual financial and committee reports and plans, the members had the opportunity to meet the new USCC Executive Director, Michael Virga. Mr. Virga is bringing new enthusiasm and a fresh perspective on the challenges and potential to the industry.

The conference is never complete without the presentation of the annual awards, in such areas as research, grass roots organizing, and water protection. This year’s coveted Composter of the Year went to McGill Compost Systems, which operate facilities in North Carolina and Virginia.

Demonstration day, the unique close to the conference, allowed 22 manufacturers to show off 30 pieces of equipment. Hosted by Texas Disposal Systems, several hundred attendees, all sporting white hard hats and yellow safety vests, watched from a safe distance as powerful machines turned whole trees into chips, mixed huge piles of compost to speed decomposition, and screened out larger pieces of wood from mature compost, preparing it for market.

Texas Disposal Systems was also the “Green Event” organizer, providing recycling and composting collection throughout the conference. Specially designed receptacles were places throughout the hotel, and the cadre of volunteers would periodically check to make sure things were sorted correctly. In the end, only 2% of the collected garbage had to the disposed, while 31% (640 lbs) were composted and 67% (1340 lbs) were recycled. The Zero Waste International Alliance defines a “zero waste event” as one sending less than 10% of the collected waste to disposal.

“This was my first USCC Annual Conference, and I could not be more impressed with the passion and energy of the attendees,” exclaimed Mr. Virga. “The excitement here is palpable, and the opportunities enormous. I am already looking forward to next year when we’ll be in Orlando, Florida”.

Established in 1990, the USCC is a professional and trade association dedicated to the development, expansion and promotion of the composting industry in the United States.  For more information go to www.compostingcouncil.org.

Contact:

Michael Virga, Executive Director
US Composting Council
202-250-9028 (mobile)

michaelvirga@compostingcouncil.or