Two Army Reserve-funded installations have been selected to participate in piloting innovative solid waste technologies to more efficiently and effectively divert waste from landfills throughout the Army. The pilots are spearheaded by the Army’s Deputy Chief of Staff, G-9 Installations and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s Engineer Research and Development Center (specifically the Construction Engineer Research Lab). Devens Reserve Forces Training Area (RFTA), Massachusetts will implement composting and dumpster sensors, while Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico will implement composting and a Waste-to-Energy (WTE) system.
“It’s our job to identify and support new and creative opportunities to enhance the Army Reserve Solid Waste Program,” said Laura Pirtle, Chief of the Installation Services and Programs Branch, Army Reserve Installation Management Directorate. “The Army Reserve is known as tester and early adopter of new technologies. Couple that with our pursuit for resiliency and efficiency, our installations serve as the perfect locations to pilot and demo solutions with other Army organizations.”
Tyrone Cook, the Army Reserve Solid Waste Program Coordinator, shared the benefits of composting, dumpster sensors, and WTE systems. “Composting is a great way of taking organic waste such as discarded food scraps, letting it decompose, and receiving an end product that can be reused to enrich soil. Dumpster sensors monitor fill levels and reduce the number of pickups from local haulers by 30-55%, which reduces our contract costs by only having the waste picked up when the dumpster is full. And in lieu of more traditional municipal solid waste disposal like landfilling, open burn pits or incineration, a containerized, deployable WTE system will enable the Army to strive toward net zero waste goals. Fort Buchanan will serve as a testing platform for the WTE pilot project to test different waste profiles including standard mix, paper and sludge, plastic, and food.”