Special Series

European Patent 1 216 145 was granted to W.L. Gore and Associates GmbH, K.P. Hochrein, and A. Bauer for a cover for the contained aerobic treatment of biodegradable matter, especially for box composting of organic wastes. The cover is a laminate of a porous polymeric layer adhered to a woven or knit or nonwoven fabric, in which the laminate has a specific air permeability and resistance to water vapour transmission.

Ferrari has a new fluorinated surface-treated composite membrane, Fluotop® T2, that combines fluoropolymer polyvinyldine fluoride (PVdF) with hardening agents. Allowing sunlight to show through the roof structure, Ferrari says the product not only affords longer life, higher mechanical resistance, and a more aesthetically pleasing look, but the fluor/carbon combination makes it highly resistant against ultraviolet radiation and atmospheric pollution.

Basell USA will be showcasing their new polyolefin technology at NPE 2003. New materials for the compounding market and metallocene polypropylene resins are some of the product innovations to be featured. Basell says their Oxypolyolefins (a new family of PP and PE products for the masterbatch and compounding markets) provide improved dispersion and distribution mixing, color opacity, and enhanced wet-out on polar organic and inorganic surfaces.

Firstly, Layfield has started manufacturing a variety of 20,30, and 40 mil thin-film geomembranes, up to 10' in width. Layfield Plastics' second announcement is that they have added a new member to their research and technology department. Chang Park is a soils control and reinforcement Engineer and the 3rd member of the department headed by Andrew Mills. And lastly, Sam Desnoyeres has retired from Layfield Plastics after 31 years in the geosynthetics business. Mr. Desnoyeres was with Layfield for 22 years at the time of his retirement held the position of Operations Manager. The newly appointed Operations Manager Al McRae, P.Eng comes to Layfield with a strong Industrial Project Construction background - Welcome Mr. McRae to the world of geosynthetics! For more information about any of these three items, please contact Andrew Mills at amills@layfieldgroup.com.

Article: Written by Jeremy K. O'Brien and published by MSW Management. The SWANA Applied Research Foundation has prepared a new guide to provide solid waste managers with up-to-date information and guidance on an exciting development in the field of solid waste management - namely the bioreactor landfill. Learn more here.;

General Manager, Mr. Enrique Saavedra is pleased to announce that SL Limitada (formerly Serrot Chile Limitada) has a new line devoted to the market outside of Latin America that will expand their capacity to 1800 MT a month. A new commercial grade membrane has been developed. This enables SL Limitada to provide 5 new products to the market not available at this time. Negotiations for a third line are currently in the works. For more information, Mr. Saavedra can be reached at EnriqueJSaavedra@cs.com.

From the May issue of GFR, author Robert Koerner examines the benefits and short-comings of certification programs.

Agendas for your upcoming meeting are now being posted to the "Member's Only" area of your Committee web page, as the deadline for their receipt has arrived. Agendas will be accepted and posted up to the meeting date. Please continue to regularly check the site for new postings as they are submitted by subcommittee chairpersons.

The Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) is proud to announce the premiere issue of Plastics Engineering - Europe, which focuses on the advancements and challenges found throughout the area. To be published again in the fall of 2003, the magazine should expand into a quarterly publication in 2004. Learn more here.;

Article written by Maxine Topping, Staff Manager, Committee D35. ASTM International Committee D35 on Geosynthetics was formed in 1984 as a global forum for the development of consensus standards and to disseminate knowledge dealing with geosynthetics.

The President of Atlantic Thread and Supply Co. in Baltimore, Mr. Diaz is a 2002 recipient of the ASTM International Committee E02 Frank Reinhart Award for his outstanding and ususual contribution to ASTM in the area of terminology standardization. He has almost thirty years experience in the thread and yarn industries, producing geotextiles, and aircraft composite components. Committee E02 works with the development and maintenance of standards for terminology, the management and use of terminology, and the promotion of the knowledge and the use of principles and theories of terminology.

NAGS President, David Suits, wants the Board of Directors to emphasize technology transfer in the form of conferences dedicated to peer reviewed papers which will go beyond (most likely in 2004) the current planned co-sponsored 2003 conference with the Canadian Geotechnical Society and the International Association of Hydrologists.

Please note that with immediate effect, the Kaytech Head Office and Kwazulu-Natal Branch telephone numbers change to: (031) 717 2300 (callers within South Africa), (+27) 31 717 2300 (International callers). Please adjust your records, as soon you will not be able to reach us on the old number. Our fax numbers remain unchanged. Our Cape Town and Johannesburg numbers also remain unchanged.

A new center, formed by the Geosynthetic Institute, called The Center for Polymeric Reinforcement of Structures (CPReS), will focus on polymeric reinforced walls (modular block walls, and others), polymer reinforced steep soil slopes, and polymeric reinforced foundation systems (over pile foundations, spanning voids, etc.). The center will function under the guidance and direction of Dr. Grace Hsuan (with activities at Drexel University) who has proposed and will be involved with testing using the Stepped Isothermal Method (SIM), Dr. Dov Leschinsky (with activities at the University of Delaware) who has proposed and willl be involved with design considerations when encountering limited space for full reinforced lengths, and Dr. George Koerner (with activities at the Geosynthetic Institute) who has proposed and will be involved with building a small segmental retaining wall at GSI (needed to accommodate the GSI air conditioning condensers) with pH monitoring directly between the blocks. Dr. Bon Koerner will serve in an advisory role.

SL Limitada has installed their newest state of the art IBC Geomembrane texturing line in Chile, and have contracted with Mike Mathieson's company, WASEW Technologies Inc., to offer their geomembranes in the USA and internationally. E-mail Mike Mathieson at mike@wasew.com or call +1 (702) 450-4872.

TRI/Environmental (Austin, TX, USA) and BTTG Laboratories (Didsbury, England) are jointly performing a testing program to certify geosynthetic products for CE marking. Contact Sam Allen at TRI (sallen@tri-env.com) or Clarissa Austin at BTTG (caustin@bttg.co.uk).

AASHTO M288 will be licensed exclusively through GMA as a single copy specification. It is also available as an appendix to the NTPEP 137 Report, now in its 17th edition. Learn more here.;

Are you a mechanical engineer? Would you like to conduct all your research from one online resource? Visit ElsevierEngineering.com/Mechanical to find out how to sign up for free. Learn more here.;

In a recent project I-CORP was asked to propose the maximum allowable strains in HDPE (smooth, textured, structured), LLDPE, and fPP geomembranes that might be used in a separation layer for a vertical expansion of a landfill. The request was instigated by a regulator's implication that a maximum of 1% would be required. This clearly makes design very complex.

Goals for the International Erosion Control Association's Annual Conference were 2000 attendees and 140 exhibitors. Post conference tallies were at 2270 attendees and 158 exhibitors! The 2004 Conference is in Philadelphia, PA., February 16-20. Exhibit space is already 59% sold out so reserve your space now. Learn more here.;

International Erosion Control Association Board, staff, and representatives from several South American countries met at the February '03 Las Vegas Conference to discuss the formation of an IberoAmerican Chapter. The Board supported chapter will include Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Venezuela, and Uruguay. Contact Jesus Cardozo for more info at jcardozo@andex.com.pe. Learn more here.;

The International Association of Geosynthetic Installers (IAGI) announces the recent publication of its 2003-2004 Membership Directory. Published biennially, the 34-page directory contains complete listings of geosynthetic installers, designers, and distributors. For complimentary copies, please e-mail iagi@iagi.org or call 651-554-1895.

Robert E. Mackey, senior design engineer and partner with S2L, Maitland, Fla., will be recognized with a 2003 ASTM International Award of Merit and the accompanying title of fellow. He will receive this honor, the highest Society recognition for individual contributions to standards activities, for his exceptional leadership and service to ASTM Committee D35 of Geosynthetics in the development of voluntary standards for the geosynthetics industry and in the dissemination of information related to these standards.

The following questions have been asked by one of our readers: "Has anyone experienced the floating of the primary geomembrane of a lining system consisting of a geomembrane/GCL composite primary liner, a geonet leak detection layer, and a geomembrane secondary liner?" Please send comments to info@geosynthetica.net. In a similar vein, "If there is a 3 m head of water on a single HDPE geomembrane liner with no water underneath it the geomembrane will obviously be in intimate contact with the subgrade. But if the groundwater is 0.5 m above the floor of the pond, and there is no leak in the geomembrane, where will the floor geomembrane be?" a) on the subgrade b) floating at 0.5 m or c) elsewhere Comments to info@geosynthetica.net.

Elizabeth Peggs, Director of geosynthetica, is happy to announce the arrival of her first child, Kiefer Ian Thomas Peggs. He was born at 8:53 pm on Wednesday the 7th of May, at 8lb. 13 oz., 21 in. long. Mom, Dad, and baby are healthy, happy, and resting comfortably.