Peter Karter (1922–2010) was an American nuclear engineer and one of the pioneers of the modern recycling industry. He lived in Old Lyme, Connecticut.
Karter was one of the leading innovators in materials recycling and the first to engineer a "replicable system for mixed recyclables."Peter Karter, National Pioneer In Recycling, May 28, 2010, Anne Hamilton, Hartford Couran /ref>
Personal life, education, and early career
Karter was born in Chicago, Illinois. The son of Greek immigrants, Karter spent part of his childhood in Anavryti, Laconia, Anavryti, Greece, but his school years in the United States.Same Date of Rank; Grads at the Top and Bottom from West Point and the Air force Academy, 2009, pp. 338-9. He graduated from
Morris High School (Bronx, New York)
Morris High School, in New York City, was a high school in the Melrose section of the Bronx borough's South Bronx area. The direct predecessor of Morris was built in 1897 and established as the Mixed High School, situated in a small brick buildin ...
, the
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...
at
West Point
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...
, and the graduate school of engineering at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
.
Karter left college after his freshman year to join the army. Though he qualified as a behind-enemy-lines parachutist, Karter chose instead to attend West Point where Congress had authorized an expanded Corps of Cadets to supply trained officers for a war that might prove lengthy. Karter served for a time in England before beginning West Point. He graduated with the class of 1947 and served with the Army of Occupation in Germany. There he met his wife, Elizabeth Carmen "Bunt" Whitman, who was serving with the US Defense Department Army Special Services, a USO-like organization. The ''Elizabeth B. Karter Watch Rock Nature Preserve'' in Old Lyme is named in honor of Karter's late wife.
Karter also served in Korea, and in Corps of Engineers flood-control projects in the United States. The Army sent him to earn a M.S. in nuclear engineering and physics at Harvard. He was serving as an instructor at West Point when his term of service ended in 1957.
After leaving the Army, Karter worked as a nuclear engineer for
American Machine and Foundry
American Machine and Foundry (known after 1970 as AMF, Inc.) was one of the United States' largest recreational equipment companies, with diversified products as disparate as garden equipment, atomic reactors, and yachts.
The company was founde ...
, helping build reactors for Pakistan and Iran under the
Atoms for Peace
"Atoms for Peace" was the title of a speech delivered by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower to the UN General Assembly in New York City on December 8, 1953.
The United States then launched an "Atoms for Peace" program that supplied equipment ...
program.
Recycling
Karter founded Resource Recovery Systems, Inc. It was one of "the first
materials recovery facilities
A materials recovery facility, materials reclamation facility, materials recycling facility or Multi re-use facility (MRF, pronounced "murf") is a specialized plant that receives, separates and prepares recyclable materials for marketing to end-u ...
(MRF) in the US."Mastermind of the MRF
Logsdon, Gene. BioCycle. Emmaus: Apr 1993. Vol. 34, Iss. 4; pg. 49, ff. /ref>
In the wake of the enthusiasm for
recycling
Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The Energy recycling, recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability t ...
that swept the nation following
Earth Day
Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EarthDay.org (formerly Earth Day Network) including 1 b ...
(1970), many communities set up recycling programs that required householders to drive their cans and glass bottles to a recycling depot, sort the glass bottles by color, and throw them into large metal containers. Karter invented and patented industrial processes capable of sorting cans according to their metal content, and of sorting glass into colors and mechanically crushing glass economically.
The technical problem that he overcame was that glass is very abrasive. "Conventional machines at that time were either not sophisticated enough to sort and separate to Karter's satisfaction or wore out too quickly. 'I don't know how many glass breakers we tried. Glass is a very hard material. We finally found a compromise solution: we designed machines so that the working parts could be quickly replaced when they wore out.'"
Personal life and death
He was married to Elizabeth Carmen (née Whitman); they had four daughters: Jean Karter Gulliver (married to John Gulliver); Diana "Dede" Karter Appelbaum (married to
Paul S. Appelbaum
Paul Stuart Appelbaum (born 1951) is an American psychiatrist and a leading expert on legal and ethical issues in medicine and psychiatry.
Appelbaum has been Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Psychiatry, Medicine, and Law, and Director, Divisio ...
);
Trish Karter Trish Karter is an American entrepreneur and the founder of the Dancing Deer Baking Co.
Early life and education
Karter is a graduate of Lyme-Old Lyme High School, Wheaton College, and the Yale School of Management.Binyamin Appelbaum and
Yoni Appelbaum
Yoni Appelbaum, an American historian and journalist, is Senior Editor for politics at '' The Atlantic''. Appelbaum was previously a columnist for the publication.
Early life and education
Appelbaum is the son of Diana Muir Karter and Dr. Paul ...
, are both journalists. He and his wife were active members of
Episcopalian
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
Church.
Karter was buried in the
Duck River Cemetery
The Duck River Cemetery, also known as the Old Lyme Cemetery is the communal burying ground of the town of Old Lyme, Connecticut. Slater, James A. The Colonial Burying Grounds of Eastern Connecticut
and the Men Who Made Them. Memoirs of the Con ...
. Karter explained his motivation this way, "At my age, it is easy enough to think that I will be dead before the environmental crunch comes down on mankind. I keep working because I keep thinking about my grandchildren."