[Top Story] EPA Clarifies ASTM D6866 Use in Mandatory GHG Reporting Proposed Revisions

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is amending certain provisions of its Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Rule (MRR) to address issues raised after the MRR was first published in October 2009. Revisions will affect, among others, facilities combusting municipal solid waste or tires as fuels. These facilities no longer need to have continuous emission monitoring [...]

Ohio Enacts Law for Biobased Products

Ohio became the first state in the U.S. to establish a law requiring state agencies and state-supported colleges and universities to buy biobased products. Senate Bill 131, introduced in June 2009 by Ohio Senator Karen Gillmor (R-Tiffin), became effective May 31, 2010. Under Ohio’s biobased product preference program, state agencies and institutions of higher learning [...]

[Top Story] US EPA Amended Renewable Fuel Standard Requires ASTM D6866 Testing for MSW-Derived Biofuels

The US EPA’s amended Renewable Fuel Standard, also called RFS2, requires ASTM D6866 testing to determine the biogenic fraction of transportation fuels derived from municipal solid waste (MSW), where the renewable portion of the fuel cannot be determined based on the relative energy content of the renewable biomass and fossil feedstock. ASTM D6866 can also [...]

USDA Proposes to Add 9 More Product Categories to BioPreferred Program

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is proposing to add another nine product categories that can be afforded federal procurement preference under its BioPreferred Program. The nine items are disposable tableware, expanded polystyrene foam recycling products, heat transfer fluids, ink removers and cleaners, mulch and compost materials, multipurpose lubricants, office paper, topical pain relief products, and [...]

Ontario GHG Regulation Identifies ASTM D6866 as Emissions Quantification Method

The Ministry of the Environment of Ontario, Canada, has published Ontario Regulation 452/09, which focuses on greenhouse gas emissions reporting. The guideline accompanying the regulation outlined the standard methods to be used for emissions quantification. ASTM D6866 is the standard identified for the quantification of biomass CO2 emissions from the combustion of fuels with both [...]

USDA Adds Nine Product Categories to BioPreferred Program

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s BioPreferred Program now has 42 item designations and approximately 5,600 biobased products. The first four rounds of item designation established 33 product categories and added 4,500 products in the USDA BioPreferred Catalog. Round 5 has added 9 item designations and more than 1,000 biobased products. Beginning October 27, 2010, federal [...]

Hand Sanitizers Need Biobased Testing to Get an EcoLogo

Canada’s EcoLogo Program requires makers of hand sanitizers applying for its eco-label to comply with CCD-170, the program’s environmental standard for instant hand antiseptic products. Under the standard, instant hand antiseptic products must be at least 73% biobased excluding the packaging. The 73% value is based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s BioPreferred Program, which [...]

EPA Says Use ASTM D6866 to Measure Biogenic CO2 in Combustion Emissions

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) final greenhouse gas mandatory reporting rule allows owners and operators of general stationary units combusting a mix of biomass-derived and fossil fuels to use ASTM D6866 in determining the exact percentage of biogenic CO2. The reporting rule applies to all companies with facilities that produce a minimum of 25,000 [...]