So the Greensboro City Council is considering shipping Greensboro's leaves to Japan.
According to the National Gardening Association, in 2007, American "Consumers spent an average of $428 per household on do-it-yourself lawn and garden activities in 2007..." yet according to Steve Niu of Triangle Accounting, Japanese households spend an average of $3,500 a year.
So you're telling me the Japanese spend on average, $3000 more per year per household on lawn and garden supplies than Americans spend? Living in those tiny houses on those tiny lots? Seriously?
Then there's the shipping. Mr Niu says Hua Cheng Zhu of Super Granger Group will ship 25 tons (50,000 pounds) of leaves per container to Japan. Getting 50,000 pounds of leaves onto a shipping container is going to require that the leaves be reduced in volume. The easiest and most cost effective way to reduce their volume is to convert the leaves to pellets as I suggested in Economic Development At The White Street Landfill: Part 7 What to do With Greensboro's Leaves. Is Mr Niu going to buy a pellet machine and operate it at the White Street Landfill? The very same thing I suggested the City of Greensboro do for themselves. Is Super Granger Group Ltd planning to sell Greensboro's leaves for mulch or more valuable fuel pellets which are in very short supply in China and other Asian markets. And how can we know the difference between mulch pellets and fuel pellets when both look alike, are made on the same machines and made of the same materials? He could be selling it for animal feed for all we know-- they all look alike.
Why would Hua Cheng Zhu ship leaves to Japan when pellets bring a higher price and are more easily shipped? You've raked leaves, they are very hard to move around. But when compressed into very tiny pellets they are easily shipped.
As for the moisture and nitrogen content of Greensboro's leaves meeting Japanese product specifications? Bullshit! That's a matter of timing and humidity. After the leaves rot and their carbon has already been released back into the environment they can't be turned into clean burning fuel pellets. Any gardener knows rotted leaves are perfectly acceptable for growing plants. Niu and Zhu want the leaves before mold sets it and they can no longer be used for fuel.
What about the real estate-- are we going to charge Mr Niu for the use of the acres of real estate his operation will require? The parking of trucks and trailers requires lots of room. Plus he'll need room for equipment.
And what about increased truck traffic on White Street? Are we finally going to see the 1300' extension of East Cone Blvd into the White Street Landfill? The extension that should have been done years ago.
The cost of shipping? It costs about $8,000 to move a loaded container from Asia to the USA but getting them back to Asia is much cheaper as most go back empty so the $3,000 figure quoted in the Rhino may be accurate. But I wonder if that quote is from Atlantic or Pacific ports. If the quote is from Pacific ports it will cost over $3,000 to move the container from Greensboro to California.
Then there's the math, according to Dale Wyrick the City of Greensboro currently has 70,000 tons of leaves and Mr Zhu claims he will ship 100 containers holding 25 tons each or 2,500 tons the first year and triple that amount each year But he's only pulling leaves off the top of the pile, Greensboro is still stuck with 67,500 tons of rotting leaves from the bottom of the pile. What about those leaves, Mr Zhu?
As for removing seeds from the leaves? The Japanese Enforcement Ordinance of the Plant Protection Law It's simply not necessary.
Hua Cheng Zhu wants $50,000 from the City of Greensboro. I'm guessing he's broke and needs that money for a down payment on his Chinese made pellet machines.
And finally, Greensboro taxpayers will still be spending a $Million Dollars a year or more to collect Greensboro's leaves and haul them to the White Street Landfill so that Mr Hua Cheng Zhu can turn a profit at taxpayers' expense. If we look at leaves as an asset then it becomes apparent that Greensboro and not Hua Cheng Zhu should be reaping any benefit these leaves might bring. Tell Hua Cheng Zhu to come back when he has a fleet of leaf collection trucks and crews to man them.
In the meantime, Greensboro has 500 acres of never before used property going to waste at the White Street Landfill. Time to put it to work.
