Peter Karter
Encyclopedia
Peter Karter 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."
and of the United States Military Academy
at West Point, and of the graduate school of engineering at Harvard University
. Karter, the son of Greek immigrants, spent part of his childhood in Anavryti
, Greece, and but his school years in the United States.
Karter was a freshman at City College of New York
when Pearl Harbor was bombed. Upon entering the Army he took a series of exams. One qualified him to be parachuted into Greece to work with the partisans. The other qualified him to be appointed to 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 where he met his wife, Elizabeth Carmen 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, helping build reactors for Pakistan
and Iran
under the Atoms for Peace
program.
In the wake of the enthusiasm for recycling
that swept the nation following Earth Day
(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 (a highly abrasive substance) 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.'"
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."
Karter was buried in the Old Lyme Cemetery.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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."
Personal life, education, and early career
Karter was born in Chicago, Illinois and died on March 30, 2010. He was a graduate of Morris High School (Bronx, New York)Morris High School (Bronx, New York)
Morris High School was a high school in the borough of the Bronx in New York City. It was built in 1897. It was the first high school built in the Bronx...
and of the United States Military Academy
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
at West Point, and of the graduate school of engineering at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. Karter, the son of Greek immigrants, spent part of his childhood in Anavryti
Anavryti
Anavryti may refer to several places in Greece:*Anavryti, Aetolia-Acarnania, a village in the Apodotia municipality, Aetolia-Acarnania*Anavryti, Laconia, a village in the Mystras municipality, Laconia...
, Greece, and but his school years in the United States.
Karter was a freshman at City College of New York
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
when Pearl Harbor was bombed. Upon entering the Army he took a series of exams. One qualified him to be parachuted into Greece to work with the partisans. The other qualified him to be appointed to 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 where he met his wife, Elizabeth Carmen 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, helping build reactors for Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
under the Atoms for Peace
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....
program.
Recycling
Karter founded Resource Recovery Systems, Inc. It was one of "the first materials recovery facilities (MRF) in the US."In the wake of the enthusiasm for recycling
Recycling
Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...
that swept the nation following Earth Day
Earth Day
Earth Day is a day that is intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's natural environment. The name and concept of Earth Day was allegedly pioneered by John McConnell in 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco. The first Proclamation of Earth Day was by San Francisco, the...
(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 (a highly abrasive substance) 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.'"
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."
Karter was buried in the Old Lyme Cemetery.