Here’s some additional information about the meetings we have in the works for Fall 2021.
BEYOND THE CURB – The Management of Solid Waste and Recyclables in Westchester County – Louis Vetrone
It was held as a remote/virtual (Zoom) meeting on October 7, 2021 at 7PM.
For most residents, placing trash and recycling curbside two or three times each week is the extent of their involvement with the County’s waste stream. But where do these items go after they’re picked up by the sanitation department and what happens to them afterward? And what happens to the many other recyclable items and specialty wastes we encounter each day, such as electronic waste, textiles, shredded paper and unused medications. This presentation will answer these questions and more by providing an overview of Westchester County’s solid waste and recycling system administered by the Department of Environmental Facilities.
Louis Vetrone has served as Deputy Commissioner of the Westchester County Department of Environmental Facilities since 2009, where his responsibilities include overseeing the administration and operations of the Refuse Disposal District. Upon graduating from Fordham Law School, Lou served as an Assistant District Attorney in Nassau County. He later served in the General Counsel’s Office of the New York City Council and was appointed Counsel to the City legislature’s Committee on Fire and Criminal Justice Services. Prior to his current position, he was the Deputy Director of the County’s Solid Waste Commission. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Solid Waste Association of North America’s New York Chapter. Lou lives in Scarsdale, NY, with his wife, Christine, and teenage children, Abbie and Alex, where he is active in the local community, serving on the Village’s Advisory Council on Parks & Recreation, and on the Board of Directors for the Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps, where he volunteers as an EMT.
Treatment Challenges and Strategies for High-Tech Industrial Wastewaters – Brandon Yallaly, P.E., Nathan Zaugg, P.E., Carollo Engineers, Inc.
It was held as a remote/virtual (Zoom) meeting on Nov. 11, 2021.
High-tech industries, such as semiconductor manufacturing and data centers, produce waste streams that are both high in volume and complex in composition. These facilities either rely on publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) to receive and process their wastewater or it is treated onsite prior to discharge. However, unless proactively master planned with these complex wastewaters in mind, these POTWs are often designed to manage more traditional domestic and commercial waste streams, leaving them vulnerable to the impacts of the unique constituents present in high-tech industrial wastewater.
This presentation will discuss state-of-the-art strategies for high-tech industrial wastewater treatment, including biological treatment, dissolved inorganic and organic carbon removal using reverse osmosis (RO), and brine treatment, including zero liquid discharge systems.
COVID-19 – Chemical Engineering, Public Health and Covid-19 – Dr. Bob Tota
It was held as a remote/virtual (Zoom) meeting on Dec. 9, 2021.
This talk will present a qualitative overview of some relationships between applications of chemical engineering and aspects of dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. Basic concepts in public health will be briefly presented with respect to Covid-19 epidemiology, human and SARS-CoV-2 biology, and Covid-19 disease transmission, testing and treatment. Principles in chemical engineering in these domains will be discussed as will the chemical engineer’s role in future pandemic prevention and management.
Dr. Bob Tota, Physician and Public Health Advocate, Quinnipiac University