Waste News articles from August 2007

Waste News archives from August 2007

Stock Report.(At Your Disposal)
August 6, 2007... 3 graphs: Waste News Stock Index * Calvert Social Index Fund * Dow Jones Industrial Average * table: Percentage Change by Market Segment: see print copy.

VeraSun to acquire three ethanol plants.(News)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Joe Truini VeraSun Energy Corp. plans to buy three ethanol plants with a combined annual production capacity of 330 million gallons per year. The Brookings, S.D.-based company plans to acquire the plants from ASAlliances...

Climate bill pricey, but not impossible, according to EPA.(News)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Elizabeth McGowan An EPA analysis of his earlier climate change bill has assured Sen. Joe Lieberman that carefully crafted global warming legislation might be expensive but it won't bankrupt the nation. Economic growth would be...

PG&E buys solar energy from Calif. desert project.(News)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Joe Truini Pacific Gas and Electric Co. will buy the output from a 6,000-acre solar power project that will provide enough electricity for 400,000 homes. Solel Solar Systems of Israel is building the 553-megawatt Mojave Solar...

At Deadline.(Late News)(building energy power projects)(Brief article)
August 6, 2007... House to debate energy measure The House was expected to take up a floor debate and vote on an energy bill Aug. 2 dealing with issues including energy conservation and the promotion of cleaner alternative fuels and electricity. House...

Boxer blasts EPA chief over Calif. waiver.(News)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Elizabeth McGowan Sen. Barbara Boxer lambasted EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson in a Senate committee hearing July 26, accusing him of serving the wishes of the Bush administration instead of protecting the health and welfare of...

Feingold introduces wetlands measure.(News)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Bruce Geiselman Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., introduced a measure in the Senate July 25 aimed at ensuring the Clean Water Act applies to all of the nation's rivers, streams and wetlands despite recent Supreme Court rulings that...

Charterhouse to sell portion of Oakleaf.(News)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Jim Johnson The majority owner of Oakleaf Waste Management Inc. is cashing out of its investment in a $655 million deal that the company's CEO and founder says will allow for even more growth. One investment firm, Charterhouse...

Inbox.(At Your Disposal)(laws for waste mangement industry)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Pete Fehrenbach L.A. Renters Get Curbside: A couple weeks ago, the city of Los Angeles for the first time gave apartment dwellers the option of having their recycling picked up at the curb by city crews. According to a recent item...

Strange bedfellows.(Opinion)(Brief article)
August 6, 2007... The Bush administration has been widely criticized for a terrible record on environmental issues. Its stance on the current water projects bill is a dramatic example of how it earns that reputation. President Bush is threatening a veto of...

Utilities hurry new plants to beat GHG regs.(News)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Joe Truini Stirring up a bit of deja vu from the 1970s, a new report is raising concerns that utilities in the United States are racing to site new coal-fired power plants so they can be grandfathered in under possible carbon...

A communique from the trenches.(Opinion)(Brief article)
August 6, 2007... A comprehensive federal climate change bill is in the works, and badly needed. The proposal, by Sen. Joseph Lieberman, is in its early stages and sure to draw a lot of criticism, but it appears like a solid, practical step toward seriously...

Bill aims to reduce heat-trapping gases.(News)
August 6, 2007... Sen. Joseph Lieberman unveiled the first draft of a comprehensive climate change bill to senators Aug. 2, just before the start of Congress' August recess. The bill, to be formally introduced this fall, is designed to reduce heat-trapping...

Eatery 'green' on and off menu; Restaurant focuses on conservation, composting and organics.(At Your Disposal)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Chrissy Kadleck Matt McLaughlin, general manager of The Rockfish, an upscale seafood restaurant in Annapolis, Md., chuckled when he revealed his recent Saturday plans - a conference on watershed issues and wastewater management....

On the search for a bio-breakthrough.(News)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Elizabeth McGowan Coaxing fuel from plants is currently unrewarding, inefficient, pricey and incredibly messy. But a former Department of Energy scientist who helped launch the Human Genome Project believes all those drawbacks...

Landfill plays host to phony pileup for police.(News)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Jim Johnson A landfill near Cincinnati was the scene of multiple vehicle accidents as several late-model cars collided with telephone poles, police reported. About 25 police officers and accident experts were at the scene, and...

A Look Back.(At Your Disposal)(laws passed in recycling industry)(Brief article)
August 6, 2007... 10 years ago: Eleven states pass measures concerning recycling, ranging from the Washington, D.C., City Council's call to reinstate curbside program to Florida's trimming of $12 million from a local recycling fund. 5 years ago: New...

Capital Hill Summit moved to February.(News)(environmental summit)(Brief article)
August 6, 2007... Waste News has moved the dates of its first Capitol Hill Summit to next February. The environmental summit, which will focus on legislative and regulatory issues and trends, will take place Feb. 12-13 in Washington. The conference...

Mid-Atlantic prisons to do enviro self-audits.(News)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Bruce Geiselman More than a dozen federal prisons in the eastern United States will conduct voluntary environmental audits to ensure they are meeting regulations for controlling air and water pollution, hazardous waste and other...

Governors group pledges climate change leadership.(News)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Bruce Geiselman States should take a leadership role in developing domestic clean energy sources, and the National Governors Association plans on helping, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty said. Pawlenty, the new chairman of the...

Study: Laser printers pose health hazards.
August 6, 2007... Byline: Joe Truini That laser printer sitting on your desk could be as hazardous to your health as a co-worker puffing on a cigarette in the next cubicle. A Queensland University of Technology study found some laser printers emitted...

Dayton recycling facility fire under investigation.(News)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Jim Johnson Fire officials were investigating the cause of an overnight fire that struck a recycling warehouse in Dayton last week. A five-alarm blaze was spotted by a passing police officer late July 31 at a 65,000-square-foot...

New Products & Technology.(Products)(Exair Corp.)(Spectrex Inc.)(Philips Industries Inc.)
August 6, 2007... HYT NORTH AMERICA has introduced the TC-500, a 16-channel two-way portable radio available in either VHF or UHF frequencies. The TC-500 is powered by a 1100 mAH Ni-MH battery and offers users 4 watts of talking power plus 12.5/25-KHz channel...

Calif. vineyard cuts environmental impact.(News)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Chrissy Kadleck Nothing pairs better with a robust California winery like environmentally sound business practices. Fetzer Vineyards, a true pioneer in sustainable winegrowing, has been uncorking new ways to improve its...

Republic boosts dividend, buys back $250M in stock.(News)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Jim Johnson Republic Services Inc. is hiking its quarterly dividend by 60 percent and plans to buy back another $250 million in common stock, the Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based firm said. In deciding to devote more money to share...

Redemtech acquires electronics recycler.(News)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Joe Truini Redemtech Inc. has its sights set on selling used electronics disposition services to smaller operations as proper management of electronic waste becomes the norm for all businesses. The Columbus, Ohio-based company...

Very well connected; 'Singles hitter' Waste Connections marks milestones.
August 6, 2007... Byline: Jim Johnson Waste Connections Inc. is happy hitting singles. String together three or four of those base-knocks and you have yourself a pretty decent inning. String a couple hundred or so together and you have yourself a...

Atypical harmony; Inhofe, Boxer vow to fight water veto.
August 6, 2007... Byline: Bruce Geiselman In a rare show of unity, the chairwoman and the ranking member of the Senate environment committee are vowing to override a threatened presidential veto of a $20 billion water resource development bill that recently...

Senate moves to restore TRI requirements.(News)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Bruce Geiselman The Senate environment committee has approved a measure that would reverse the EPA's efforts to reduce reporting burdens for some businesses under the nation's Toxics Release Inventory program. By a 10-9...

The not-so-great indoors.(Opinion)(environmental management by future generation)(Viewpoint essay)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Allan Gerlat Wondering about what the next generation will be like becomes an increasingly popular pastime for this generation the older we get. You can sense the torch slowly being passed with each day. As a journalist I'm...

PepsiCo tops list of 'green power' buyers.(News)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Bruce Geiselman The U.S. EPA has updated its Top 25 Green Power Purchasers list, and two of Pepsi's three independent bottlers have joined the list. PepsiCo - the parent company that manufactures Pepsi, Frito-Lay, Quaker Oats,...

CAPITAL BRIEFS.(News)(amendments in environmental laws)
August 6, 2007... LEGISLATION GENERAL ENVIRONMENT California: Assembly Bill 946 expands an existing incentive program for electricity produced by a public water or wastewater agency by including, as eligible projects, those on property owned or under...

Coming Events.(Calendar)(Calendar)
August 6, 2007... Aug. 14-16 - Resource Training Institute Management of Polychlorinated Biphenyls, Idaho Falls, Idaho. Call (706) 951-5685 or visit www.rtii.org. Aug. 15-16 - Waste Handling Equipment News Recycling Expo 2007, York, Pa. Contact Janet Button...

Waste Industry Briefs.(Briefs)
August 6, 2007... Wastewater San Diego budgets $1 billion for sewers San Diego will spend about $1 billion to improve its sewer system under an agreement with the federal government to settle clean water violations. The U.S. Department of Justice...

Waste Generator Briefs.(Briefs)
August 6, 2007... Government U.S., China announce partnership The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Business Council for Sustainable Development have announced they will be partnering on several environmental projects with the Chinese...

WN adds editor.(News)
August 6, 2007... Rachael Whitcomb has joined Waste News as associate editor. She will be responsible for editing copy, page design and layout and Web site management. Whitcomb worked for the past three years as an editor and reporter with two...

CAPITAL BRIEFS.(Briefs)(changes in environmental laws)
August 20, 2007... LEGISLATION SOLID WASTE California: Assembly Bill 1023 amends the existing law that requires manufacturers of plastic trash bags to obtain from their suppliers of recycled plastic post-consumer material a statement containing...

Electronics makers to pay for recycling.(News)
August 20, 2007... Byline: Joe Truini Manufacturers selling computers and televisions in Connecticut soon will have to pay to do so. Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell has signed a bill that will require manufacturers to fund electronics recycling for the...

Power companies covet clarity on carbon caps.(Special Report)
August 20, 2007... Byline: Bruce Geiselman Electric utilities are struggling to deal with increasing demand for energy while facing uncertainty about possible future greenhouse gas emission caps. "One of the industry challenges, and something we're...

Veolia, Allied join forces with $86 million deal.(News)
August 20, 2007... Byline: Jim Johnson One company has made it clear it wants to get bigger. The other company has made it clear it wants to divest underperforming operations. So it's no surprise that Veolia ES Solid Waste Inc. and Allied Waste...

All aboard the green train; Eastman Chemical Co. plans to use biodiesel five locomotives and about 350 other pieces of equipment.(News)
August 20, 2007... Byline: Jim Johnson A large chemical plant in East Tennessee expects to increase use of biodiesel fuel by more than 200,000 gallons per year by using the blend in locomotives. Eastman Chemical Co. expects to be using B20 biodiesel fuel...

Not enough 'eco' in automotive ads.(News)
August 20, 2007... Byline: Mary Connelly Automotive News Auto advertisers' failure to talk green is costing them opportunities to reach mainstream buyers, a new survey suggests. Consumers' environmental consciousness and interest in fuel efficiency...

Bill includes perks for renewable energy.(News)
August 20, 2007... Byline: Bruce Geiselman The House of Representatives passed a comprehensive energy bill Aug. 4 that includes a renewable electricity standard of 15 percent by 2020. The bill, passed 242-172, also includes increased incentives for...

Coming Events.(Calendar)(Calendar)
August 20, 2007... Aug. 26-29 - Georgia Recycling Coalition Annual Conference & Trade Show, St. Simons Island, Ga. Contact Gloria Hardegree (404) 634-3095 or visit www.georgiarecycles.org. Aug. 27-29 - Resource Training Institute Environmental Laws and...

FirstEnergy breaks ground on green office.(News)
August 20, 2007... Byline: Joe Truini FirstEnergy Corp. has broken ground on the largest planned high-performance green office building in its hometown of Akron, Ohio. The energy company is constructing the site to Leadership in Energy and Environmental...

Automakers look to diversify, electrify.(Special Report)
August 20, 2007... Byline: Jim Johnson Climate change. For folks in the automotive industry these days, a big environmental management issue revolves around the use of energy and how that relates to climate change. Using less carbon-based energy -...

Over a barrel; Oil producers say access is crucial as global demand keeps gushing upward.(Special Report)(oil and gas industry consider environmental impacts)
August 20, 2007... Byline: Chrissy Kadleck You may get a shock if you ask Chevron Vice Chairman Peter Robertson about the future of energy use. "In the next 25 years, we expect the demand for energy in the world to grow by 50 percent from where we are...

Letters.(Letter to the editor)
August 20, 2007... Wine quality questioned The following letter pertains to the "Wearable Wine'' column item that appeared in the June 21 Inbox on Wastenews.com. Plastic wine bottles? I have grudgingly conceded the occasional presence of a plastic...

Shareholders' climate requests hit record level in '07.(News)
August 20, 2007... Shareholders filed a record 43 climate-related resolutions with U.S. companies this year, and businesses responded positively to 15 of those shareholder resolutions, according to CERES, a group that advocates sustainable investing. In the...

A Look Back.(At Your Disposal)(Brief article)
August 20, 2007... 10 years ago: The largest tire pile in the west was set to disappear as a result of agreements with the owner of the tires and a tire-fueled power plant in California. 5 years ago: Research shows that Americans are generating more food...

Carfax to go carbon-neutral.(News)
August 20, 2007... Byline: Jim Johnson Carfax Inc. - the company that issues used vehicle history reports - plans to go carbon-neutral and hopes its example leads others to do the same. The Centerville, Va.-based company planned to use the recently...

One person's trash is another's teaching tool.(At Your Disposal)(recycled stationery used by school students)
August 20, 2007... Byline: Chrissy Kadleck After some covert dumpster-diving missions around the industrial park where his manufacturing company I Was Framed is located in Gardena, Calif., Steve Stanton knew there was plenty to learn from what others leave...

BP to cut discharges at Indiana refinery.
August 20, 2007... Byline: Elizabeth McGowan Responding to an uproar in the Upper Midwest that has already resonated in the nation's capital, BP is promising to figure out how to reduce the amount of industrial waste it dumps into Lake Michigan from its...

Big boxes grapple with Big Four; Climate change, waste stream, logistics, product mix top list of retailers' concerns.(Special Report)
August 20, 2007... Byline: Elizabeth McGowan No matter whether they're selling spinach, underwear, hammers, air conditioners, pencils or baseball bats, big-box retailers are eyeballing the same quartet of challenges as they aim for the "greener'' pastures of...

Security issues; Users' e-waste disposal strategies grow more complex.(Special Report)
August 20, 2007... Byline: Joe Truini Data security and environmental concerns are creating new trends in the electronics industry as companies and consumers become more sophisticated regarding obsolete technology. "We're definitely seeing an uptick in...

Dems push higher fuel economy by 2020.(News)
August 20, 2007... Byline: Harry Stoffer Automotive News Automakers may want to start thinking about how to make their fleets average 35 mpg by 2020. Last week, top House Democratic leaders postponed a debate over rival proposals for future fuel economy...

Inbox.(At Your Disposal)
August 20, 2007... Byline: Pete Fehrenbach "COAL: Pennsylvania's #1 Fuel For Electricity... Now Clean & Green with New Technologies.'' At least a half dozen billboards my family and I passed as we motored down the Pennsylvania Turnpike last week displayed...

At Deadline.(Late News)
August 20, 2007... Sony to recycle e-waste nationwide Sony Electronics Inc. will launch a nationwide electronics recycling program Sept. 15, making it the first U.S. television manufacturer to do so and earning it cautious applause from recycling advocates....

Production surge won't change Ohio firm's focus.(News)
August 20, 2007... Byline: John Booth Crain's Cleveland Business TCP Inc. is selling a lot of light bulbs. By the end of the year, the Aurora, Ohio-based company expects to be cranking out 1.2 million of its compact fluorescent lamps a day - double the rate...

Beach bummer; Sewage spills, overflows lead to record closings.(beaches close down inorder improve quality of water)
August 20, 2007... Byline: Joe Truini Talk about a crappy day at the beach. In 2006, sewage spills and overflows led to a record 1,301 beach closings and advisory days nationwide, 402 more than the previous year. In total, there were more than 25,000...

Michigan welcomes biodiesel refinery; $20 million facility expected to produce 20 million to 100 million gallons per year.(News)
August 20, 2007... Byline: Joe Truini Michigan welcomed the state's largest biodiesel refinery this month, the first to be built in a special, virtually tax-free zone designed to attract businesses to economically distressed areas. "Companies like...

Energy hogs; Study: Data centers have lots of room for improvement.(News)
August 20, 2007... Byline: Bruce Geiselman The EPA has prepared a report for Congress that finds data centers in the United States could reduce energy consumption by as much as 80 percent through more energy-efficient equipment and operations. The...

Firm makes fertilizer the eco-friendly way.(Products)
August 20, 2007... Byline: Tracy Hayhurst A Vancouver, British Columbia-based company is using its proprietary technology to extract phosphorous, nitrogen and other nutrients from wastewater, which not only reduces the strain on treatment plants but results...

It's a gas; N.H. university to launch major LFG project.
August 20, 2007... Byline: Bruce Geiselman The University of New Hampshire, in Durham, N.H., plans to use landfill gas to meet 80 percent of its energy needs for electricity and heating by the end of next year. That would make it the first university in...

U.S., India join to cut emissions.(News)
August 20, 2007... Byline: Bruce Geisleman The U.S. EPA and India's largest oil producer have agreed to work together to reduce emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd., headquartered in Dehradun, India, has...

More initiative needed in oil biz.(Opinion)
August 20, 2007... The oil industry doesn't need a worse environmental reputation, does it? We don't need to have a worse public opinion of it in general, do we? The latest black eye involves BP America, which has been dumping an increased amount of toxic...

Waste Industry Briefs.(Briefs)(conservation of nuclear energy)(United States. Environmental Protection Agency)
August 20, 2007... Nuclear Energy Plant pledges to reduce mercury waste TXU Corp. has pledged to reduce mercury waste generation at its Texas nuclear power plant under a partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Comanche Peak...

Waste Generator Briefs.(Briefs)
August 20, 2007... Recycling Scrap metal recyclers form new group Tennessee scrap metal recyclers have formed a new association to promote the industry throughout the state. The Tennessee Scrap Recyclers Association elected Dom Marchitto of Metal...

New products & technology.(Products)
August 20, 2007... CHAMPION MOTOR GRADERS has introduced updates to the C Series line of single-axle drive compact graders, the C60 C and the C66 C. New features include a re-engineered front axle which allows 50 degrees of steering angle left and right, an...

Stock Report.(At Your Disposal)
August 20, 2007... 3 graphs: Waste News Stock Index * Calvert Social Index Fund * Dow Jones Industrial Average * table: Percentage Change by Market Segment: see print copy.