James W. Garthe, PE
James Garthe is an
agricultural engineer and an instructor in the
Department of Agricultural and Biological
Engineering at Pennsylvania State University.
For more than15 years,
Jim has been a true Pioneer in the field of
recovery/capturing the tremendous energy potential
trapped in waste agriculture and consumer plastics.
Driven by the belief that these materials had
tremendous value as an energy source and were not
mere waste products to be disposed of in a landfill
or buried in the back forty, he has developed
several different machines that could take this
material, densify it and then burn it to release the
tremendous amount of potentially useful BTU'
strapped inside. Jim's passion, dedication and
leadership to this goal has been an inspiration to
others. He has written and made presentations on
this issue at past ASP Congresses and many other
venues around the country. Jim's research has gone a
long way to completing the circle in the life of
plastic product from its inception, manufacture,
use, collection, and finally recycling or
incinerating for its energy value.
Jim joined Penn State
in 1978 after a successful engineering career in the
private sector. His focus expands beyond plastics to
general environmental issues. He carries his breadth
of knowledge into his work as an extension
specialist. Jim is also active in Penn State’s
nationally renowned Center for Plasticulture. His
participation in a webinar on plasticulture produced
at Penn State in 2004by ASP with the American
Plastics Council reached out to media across the
country. As a member of the Board of Directors for
the American Society for Plasticulture from 2002 to
2005, Jim was an active proponent of recycling
issues.
Jim holds degrees in Agricultural
Engineering from Clemson University and the
University of Idaho.
