While working out of our Raleigh office yesterday yesterday I had lunch with Vance Moore of the engineering firm, Garrett & Moore.  Vance is one of the many outstanding environmental engineers I’ve had the privilege of working with on matters related to landfills and solid waste.

One of Vance’s expertises is conducting financial projections of the future cost of waste disposal and storage.  These projections require deep understandings of the mechanics of waste handling, the regulatory maze overlay, and financial accounting.   How much shall a company or city set aside now to maintain permanently a landfill that is capped and has no more income to cover the costs of monitoring wells, leachate removal, etc.?

But the most interesting part of our discussion concerned the many ideas and technologies and startups now moving into the solid waste industry where everybody is looking for a silver bullet that will solve, once and for all, some aspect of the many-headed hydra created by consumption and waste generation.

One of the companies Vance told me about was Arrowbio.  Arrowbio takes municipal solid waste into a facility with a small footprint where it separates the waste into three streams using gravity and water.  Plastics float to the top, metals, glass and textiles sink to the bottom, and organics float in the middle.

According to the company’s claims, 90% of all recoverable waste is removed, diverting up to 9,000 trucks from landfill disposal in one community’s calculations.  The organic waste is recycled for soil enrichment, farming, etc.

I know nothing about this company other than what Vance told me and what I found on its website.  I use it as yet one more example of technology stepping in to create solutions when we have the financial resources and broader community commitment.

 

 

Print:
Email this postTweet this postLike this postShare this post on LinkedIn
Tom Terrell

Terrell_TomMr. Terrell is widely regarded as one of North Carolina’s leading land use attorneys, representing both private and governmental entities in matters related to real estate development. His practice “footprint” covers the state from the mountain counties to the coast and occasionally includes…

Terrell_TomMr. Terrell is widely regarded as one of North Carolina’s leading land use attorneys, representing both private and governmental entities in matters related to real estate development. His practice “footprint” covers the state from the mountain counties to the coast and occasionally includes parts of Virginia and South Carolina. His many clients are involved in commercial and residential real estate, solid waste hauling and disposal, telecommunications, quarries/asphalt and miscellaneous litigation related to permit denials, vested rights and rezonings.

He has published numerous articles and speaks regularly to legal, governmental and business groups on a variety of issues related to land use and zoning.

Mr. Terrell has served as a leader in numerous civic and legal endeavors, including Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the N.C. State Health Plan, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Winston-Salem State University, and service on the Board of Directors of the UNC-CH General Alumni Association, Board of Directors of the High Point Chamber of Commerce, Board of Visitors of Guilford College and Board of Center Associates of the Center for Creative Leadership, and as a founding member of the N.C. Bar Association Zoning, Planning and Land Use Section.

More information can be found at https://www.foxrothschild.com/thomas-e-terrell-jr/.

Mr. Terrell can be contacted at mailto:tterrell@foxrothschild.com.