08 Editorial
EDITORIAL le tte r
Water & Wastes Digest Business-to-business communications for more than 100 years
3030 W. Salt Creek Lane, Suite 201 Arlington Heights, IL 60005-5025 847.298.6622 • F: 847.390.0408 www.wwdmag.com
E DI TOR I A L S TA F F
Like a good neighbor, waste to energy practices are there… Borrowing from the popular State Farm jingle is not coincidental. According to advertising experts, a person is 10 times more likely to remember a message that’s sung to them. And even though I am not exactly going to start whistling a tune in this month’s editorial, I hope to add a few new verses to an old song. Cities across the country have been landfilling or incinerating biomass for decades. Wastewater treatment facilities have implemented various methods to handle sludge. Typically the dewatered sludge is transported off site for disposal, or it can be land applied or incinerated. While there are pros and cons to each of these methods, ultimately facilities need to deal with sludge in a way that permits its disposal in an environmentally Neda Simeonova, editorial director acceptable and sustainable manner. [email protected] Many municipal wastewater treatment facilities currently are facing difficult choices—a challenging economic climate, lack of funding and decades-old infrastructure that is beginning to crumble while the cost to rebuild is high. With limited federal assistance and state budgets continuing to dwindle, future infrastructure costs most likely are going to translate into rate hikes. Rate hikes, however, are never easy to pass. Payers with already pressed budgets are asking questions about municipal processes and becoming increasingly aware of the negative environmental impacts of certain practices. In other words, they expect to see that their hard-earned dollars are spent on environmentally safe and sustainable wastewater management. As a result, facilities in the U.S. are finally gaining a strong foothold in waste-to-energy practices, converting municipal solid waste into power. Solution providers also are responding quickly to this market trend by releasing technologies to address these needs. A new analysis in Frost & Sullivan’s “Key Opportunities in Waste-to-Energy Plant Market” finds that there are a number of new and emerging technologies that are able to produce energy from waste, which could be broadly classified based on the nature of conversion. According to the report, the intensifying quest for fossil fuel alternatives and the need to bridge the energy demand and supply gap has opened up new avenues for the waste-to-energy plant market. Personally, I think that if we are to continue to maximize the sustainability of our country’s water and energy resources, it is time to look at waste as a resource. It is important, however, that legislation and policies are in place to ensure not only effectiveness in waste management but in air quality as well.
Editorial Director Neda Simeonova
Managing Editor Caitlin Cunningham
Associate Editor Elizabeth Lisican
Associate Editor Kate Cline
Associate Editor Leslie Streicher
Designer Robin Hicks
adv ertisi ng & S A L E S 7150 E. Camelback, Suite 325 • Scottsdale, AZ 85251 tel: 480.941.0510 • fax: 480.423.1443 Integrated Media Consultant David Rairigh [email protected] (phone x25) Integrated Media Consultant Fred Ferris [email protected] (Arlington Heights office, 847.391.1003) Integrated Media Consultant John Rogier [email protected] (Arlington Heights office, 847.391.1053) Integrated Media Consultant Celeste Scarfi [email protected] (phone x12) Classified Sales Manager Donna Aly [email protected] (phone x13) Reprint Coordinator Adrienne Miller [email protected] (Arlington Heights office, 847.391.1036) List Rental Contact John Ganis 914.368.1024 Advertising Coordinator Erica Rivera [email protected] (Arlington Heights office, 847.391.1049)
MA N A G E ME N T Vice President/Group Publisher Dennis Martyka [email protected] Associate Publisher Greg Tres [email protected]
VP Custom Publishing Diane Vojcanin & Creative Services
VP Events Harry Urban
VP Information Technology Joel Hughes
Director of Doug Riemer Audience Development
Director of Creative Services Sandi Stevenson & Promotions
C OR P OR AT E
Chairperson K.S. Gillette
President/CEO E.S. Gillette
Sr. Vice President A. O’Neill
Sr. Vice President, CFO Dave Shreiner
Chairman Emeritus H.S. Gillette (1922-2003)
E DI TOR I A L A DV I S ORY B OA R D
Dr. YuJung Chang HDR Engineering Inc. Paul Rice Siemens Water Technologies Dawn C. Kristof Champney WWEMA
Tom Mills Severn Trent Services
Dr. Larry W. Moore University of Memphis
Andy Richardson Greeley & Hansen LLC
Chuck Reading REACO Associates LLC
Scranton Gillette Communications’ Infrastructure Team
COMING UP NEXT MONTH... 2012 R efer en ce Gui d e • State of the Industry Report • WWD Top Water & Wastewater Projects
• Application Articles • 2012 Industry Events Calendar
Water & Wastes Digest Business-to-business communications for more than 100 years
3030 W. Salt Creek Lane, Suite 201 Arlington Heights, IL 60005-5025 847.298.6622 • F: 847.390.0408 www.wwdmag.com
E DI TOR I A L S TA F F
Like a good neighbor, waste to energy practices are there… Borrowing from the popular State Farm jingle is not coincidental. According to advertising experts, a person is 10 times more likely to remember a message that’s sung to them. And even though I am not exactly going to start whistling a tune in this month’s editorial, I hope to add a few new verses to an old song. Cities across the country have been landfilling or incinerating biomass for decades. Wastewater treatment facilities have implemented various methods to handle sludge. Typically the dewatered sludge is transported off site for disposal, or it can be land applied or incinerated. While there are pros and cons to each of these methods, ultimately facilities need to deal with sludge in a way that permits its disposal in an environmentally Neda Simeonova, editorial director acceptable and sustainable manner. [email protected] Many municipal wastewater treatment facilities currently are facing difficult choices—a challenging economic climate, lack of funding and decades-old infrastructure that is beginning to crumble while the cost to rebuild is high. With limited federal assistance and state budgets continuing to dwindle, future infrastructure costs most likely are going to translate into rate hikes. Rate hikes, however, are never easy to pass. Payers with already pressed budgets are asking questions about municipal processes and becoming increasingly aware of the negative environmental impacts of certain practices. In other words, they expect to see that their hard-earned dollars are spent on environmentally safe and sustainable wastewater management. As a result, facilities in the U.S. are finally gaining a strong foothold in waste-to-energy practices, converting municipal solid waste into power. Solution providers also are responding quickly to this market trend by releasing technologies to address these needs. A new analysis in Frost & Sullivan’s “Key Opportunities in Waste-to-Energy Plant Market” finds that there are a number of new and emerging technologies that are able to produce energy from waste, which could be broadly classified based on the nature of conversion. According to the report, the intensifying quest for fossil fuel alternatives and the need to bridge the energy demand and supply gap has opened up new avenues for the waste-to-energy plant market. Personally, I think that if we are to continue to maximize the sustainability of our country’s water and energy resources, it is time to look at waste as a resource. It is important, however, that legislation and policies are in place to ensure not only effectiveness in waste management but in air quality as well.
Editorial Director Neda Simeonova
Managing Editor Caitlin Cunningham
Associate Editor Elizabeth Lisican
Associate Editor Kate Cline
Associate Editor Leslie Streicher
Designer Robin Hicks
adv ertisi ng & S A L E S 7150 E. Camelback, Suite 325 • Scottsdale, AZ 85251 tel: 480.941.0510 • fax: 480.423.1443 Integrated Media Consultant David Rairigh [email protected] (phone x25) Integrated Media Consultant Fred Ferris [email protected] (Arlington Heights office, 847.391.1003) Integrated Media Consultant John Rogier [email protected] (Arlington Heights office, 847.391.1053) Integrated Media Consultant Celeste Scarfi [email protected] (phone x12) Classified Sales Manager Donna Aly [email protected] (phone x13) Reprint Coordinator Adrienne Miller [email protected] (Arlington Heights office, 847.391.1036) List Rental Contact John Ganis 914.368.1024 Advertising Coordinator Erica Rivera [email protected] (Arlington Heights office, 847.391.1049)
MA N A G E ME N T Vice President/Group Publisher Dennis Martyka [email protected] Associate Publisher Greg Tres [email protected]
VP Custom Publishing Diane Vojcanin & Creative Services
VP Events Harry Urban
VP Information Technology Joel Hughes
Director of Doug Riemer Audience Development
Director of Creative Services Sandi Stevenson & Promotions
C OR P OR AT E
Chairperson K.S. Gillette
President/CEO E.S. Gillette
Sr. Vice President A. O’Neill
Sr. Vice President, CFO Dave Shreiner
Chairman Emeritus H.S. Gillette (1922-2003)
E DI TOR I A L A DV I S ORY B OA R D
Dr. YuJung Chang HDR Engineering Inc. Paul Rice Siemens Water Technologies Dawn C. Kristof Champney WWEMA
Tom Mills Severn Trent Services
Dr. Larry W. Moore University of Memphis
Andy Richardson Greeley & Hansen LLC
Chuck Reading REACO Associates LLC
Scranton Gillette Communications’ Infrastructure Team
COMING UP NEXT MONTH... 2012 R efer en ce Gui d e • State of the Industry Report • WWD Top Water & Wastewater Projects
• Application Articles • 2012 Industry Events Calendar
