Waste News articles from December 2005

Waste News archives from December 2005

Developer joins with Pa. regulators, town to reclaim mine.
December 5, 2005... Byline: Elizabeth McGowan Day after day, neighbors in Hazleton, Pa., are starkly reminded of their city's 150-year tradition of coal extraction. It is, after all, nearly impossible to avoid a crater as massive as 300 contiguous football...

Stock Report.(At Your Disposal)
December 5, 2005... 3 graphs: Waste News stock index * Calvert Social Index Fund * Dow Jones Industrial Average * table: Percentage change by market segment: see print copy.

Weyerhaeuser curtails production at N.C. plant; Machine shutdown could result in loss of 200 jobs.(News)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Jim Johnson About 200 Weyerhaeuser Co. employees stand to lose their jobs in Plymouth, N.C., as the company wants to permanently shut down a recycled paperboard machine. The linerboard machine, with an annual capacity of...

Dell's workers, partners help it meet green goals.(News)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Joe Truini Dell Inc. is praising its employees and recycling partners for helping the computer manufacturer achieve its environmental goals. The Round Rock, Texas, computer maker exceeded its paper recycling goal in the last 12...

Maryland diversion hits 39%.(News)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Jim Johnson Oh, so close. Maryland diverted 38.8 percent of its waste last year, new figures from the state Department of the Environment show. The diversion rate includes a 35.8 percent recycling rate and a 3 percent...

Guideline in the pipeline; Association may pass standard for byproduct reuse.
December 5, 2005... Byline: Brennan Lafferty A pending national guideline for byproduct reuse has one North Carolina official excited about its potential implications. State and city officials as well as private developers that want to use industrial...

Court dismisses bioreactor petition; Group says setback is merely procedural.
December 5, 2005... Byline: Jim Johnson A federal appeals judge bounced the GrassRoots Recycling Network from a debate regarding a bioreactor landfill research and development program. But the environmental group is vowing to keep up the fight. The...

Mexico's green building faction looks for foothold.
December 5, 2005... Byline: Jim Johnson Mexico's green building movement is just starting to take root. And it's Cesar Trevino's job to help nurture the growth. But the president of the Mexico Green Building Council believes many hands will be needed to...

GE imagines less emissions.(News)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Joe Truini When somebody invents a word, you know it's got to be important. General Electric Co. launched "Ecoimagination'' this year, one of the reasons the company was a finalist for the Waste News Environmental Award. The...

Toyota sets ambitious goals.(News)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Jim Johnson Toyota also was considered for the Waste News Environmental Award by making news on a variety of fronts. In January the company indicated that it wanted to recycle 95 percent of the materials in its North...

Personnel.(People)(Calgon Carbon Corp. elected William Newlin and Timothy Rupert)(Environmental Waste International Inc. appoints Sam Geist)(Federal Signal Corp. appoints Bob Pray)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... CALGON CARBON CORP. - William Newlin and Timothy Rupert elected to board of directors. ENSR - Michael Jones elected president of the National Association for Environmental Management's affiliate council. ENVIRONMENTAL WASTE...

New Products.(DieselCraft Fluid Engineering water sensor kit)(Brake Pro Ltd refuse collection vehicles)(Flir Systems Inc infrared camera)
December 5, 2005... DIESELCRAFT FLUID ENGINEERING has developed a low-cost water sensor kit. The probe assembly uses a sending unit and a panel-mounted indicator light. The probe can be mounted in some water separators or can be placed into a 1/8 National Pipe...

Kyoto revisited; 10,000 in Montreal for U.N. conference.(News)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Bruce Geiselman Nearly 10,000 people gathered in Montreal beginning Nov. 28 for the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2005. Government, business and civic leaders from throughout the world are expected to attend the...

Goldman Sachs plan gets green groups' thumbs-up.(News)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Bruce Geiselman Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has adopted a comprehensive environmental policy that addresses global climate change and protecting ecosystems. Environmental advocates, including the Rainforest Action Network, have...

EPA's new approach slowly taking shape.(News)(Environmental Protection Agency)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Elizabeth McGowan Conservation and recycling are achieving front-burner status at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. A streamlined staff and a remodeled infrastructure at the national and regional levels are evidence...

Lessons from the outback.(Opinion)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Allan Gerlat I just returned from a vacation in Australia that, as the locals would say, was lovely. Besides learning that Foster's is in fact not Australian for beer, I made some tourist's observations about the land down under's...

$500M worth of cleaner air; Virginia utility to install pollution equipment to comply with new air rules.
December 5, 2005... Byline: Joe Truini Dominion Resources Inc. will shell out $500 million to reduce emissions at its coal-fired power plants in Virginia to meet new reductions required under federal law. The company will finish installing additional...

A Look Back.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... 1939: Paperback books are introduced, selling for 25 cents each. Five years ago: Weyerhaeuser Co. launches a hostile takeover of Willamette Industries Inc. with terms mirroring an offer already rejected by Willamette's management. A...

$524M spent on Superfund cleanups in '05.(News)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Bruce Geiselman The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency obligated $524 million in fiscal year 2005 to cleaning up Superfund sites, according to an annual summary released Nov. 22. Of the total, $404 million was spent on...

Capital Briefs.(Briefs)
December 5, 2005... LEGISLATION GENERAL ENVIRONMENT Louisiana: Senate Bill 71a authorizes development and implementation of a comprehensive coastal protection plan; relates to hurricane protection and coastal restoration; and changes the name of the...

At Deadline.(Late News)
December 5, 2005... Scissors, tools to be allowed on airplanes Waste streams at airports will be changing later this month as the Transportation Security Administration changes its security focus away from confiscating small tools and scissors. Passengers...

Wal-Mart outshines the rest; Retailer wins the first Waste News Environmental Award.
December 5, 2005... Byline: Brennan Lafferty Store manager Brent Allen knew his new Wal-Mart in Texas was special when a woman from Oregon sought him out and gave him a great big hug. "I am just so impressed that you as a company would take the kind of...

Can recycling competition surges in Year 2.(News)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Joe Truini The sophomore jinx did not visit a national aluminum can recycling challenge promoted by the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the world's largest aluminum can recycler The Cash for Cans City Recycling Challenge netted...

Insurer denies firm's $100M pollution claim.(News)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Douglas McLeod An American International Group Inc. subsidiary is fighting a bankrupt company's efforts to collect the $100 million limit of a pollution liability policy to cover cleanup costs at several former manufacturing and...

Metal of honor; Waste equipment welder armors military vehicles in Iraq.(At Your Disposal)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Roger Renstrom Mike Davis learned about welding at waste-equipment maker Al-jon Co. and effectively applied the skill during service with his Iowa National Guard unit in Iraq. Upon arrival in the embattled country, Davis...

N.C. company unveils glass processing system.(News)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Jim Johnson Shawn LeMond sees success where many others have experienced failure. The CEO of Elizabeth City Glass Inc. has patented a new system that affordably recycles glass for a variety of reuses, he said. The North...

S.F. evaluates green projects via Internet.(News)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Jim Johnson San Francisco, which already requires all municipal construction projects to meet environmental building standards, is launching a Web-based project to help everyone get greener. With financial help from the U.S....

Comment period extended.(News)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has granted the public additional time to comment on portions of two proposals - the Clean Air Interstate Rule and the Fine Particle Pollution Implementation Rule. The decisions were announced Nov. 23....

SLOT MACHINE:.(News)
December 5, 2005... Deborah Fox, a sales representative with Midpoint International Inc., shows a recycling container her company makes at the Greenbuild International Conference & Expo in Atlanta. CAPTION(S): photo

Inbox.(At Your Disposal)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Pete Fehrenbach Uncanny, isn't it, how shady dealings on the public's dime so often tend to eventually stumble out into the stark light of day? This week's Inbox Case-In-Point[R] comes courtesy of the Lexington [Ky.] Herald-Leader,...

Officials downplayed risks after storms, groups charge.(News)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Bruce Geiselman Several environmental groups have accused federal and Louisiana environmental officials of misleading the public about health risks associated with sediment in the New Orleans area following Hurricane Katrina. ...

A tip of the cap.(Opinion)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Wal-Mart is the largest company in America, and it's a lightening rod for critics. So it's no surprise that its environmental efforts attract attention, both positive and negative. This year the company has opened two environmental-lab...

The iceberg's hidden parts.(Opinion)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... When most people think of waste, they think of municipal solid waste. And while the 240 million or so tons that Americans generate is significant, it's dwarfed by the amount of industrial waste that's created. For example, 200 million tons...

Duo pans EPA's dust plan.(News)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Bruce Geiselman The latest plan to test dust generated from the collapse of the World Trade Center is meeting with resistance. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., and Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., argued that the plan, unveiled...

Turner Construction sees biz model as staying green.(News)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Jim Johnson Green building - including diversion of waste from multimillion-dollar construction sites - isn't just a niche for one of the nation's largest construction companies. The way Michael Deane talks, green building is...

Waste Generator Briefs.(Briefs)(British Petroleum Company PLC)(Green design)(Hewlett-Packard Co.)
December 5, 2005... Oil & Gas BP to double green energy investment BP PLC has announced plans to double its investment in alternative and renewable energies to create a low-carbon power business that could generate revenue of about $6 billion annually...

Waste Industry Briefs.(Briefs)(downsizing)(Recycling industry)(Waste Management Inc. (Houston, Texas))
December 5, 2005... Paper Domtar to close mills, cut 1,800 jobs Domtar Inc. is closing and selling off mills in moves that will eliminate 1,800 jobs, the Montreal-based forest products company said. A wide range of moves involving paper mills and...

E-waste system elusive.(News)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Joe Truini Advocacy groups and legislation in three states are pressuring electronics manufacturers to come up with a recycling system, but a simple solution is just out of their grasp. "We have a very diverse membership, so we...

At Deadline.(Environmental Protection Agency )(Agri-Ethanol Products LLC builds new plant)
December 19, 2005... 5 business sectors receive Title V relief Federal environmental regulators will no longer require five types of small businesses to obtain federal operating, or Title V, permits. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was taking the...

Commodity Pricing.(At Your Disposal)
December 19, 2005... 2 graphs: What Paper Mills Are Paying for baled paper * What Recyclers Are Paying for primarily loose materials: see print copy

Stock Report.(At Your Disposal)
December 19, 2005... 3 graphs: Waste News stock index * Calvert Social Index Fund * Dow Jones Industrial Average * table: Percentage change by market segment: see print copy.

Retailers must accept batteries.(Michael Bloomberg signs legislation)(Brief Article)
December 19, 2005... Byline: Joe Truini New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has signed legislation requiring the recycling of rechargeable batteries. The law, signed Dec. 1, requires retailers selling rechargeable batteries in the city to accept them back...

Energy company testing mercury control; Southern unit to research anti-pollution technology.(Southern Co. to test mercury pollution)
December 19, 2005... Byline: Joe Truini One of the nation's largest power companies will begin testing mercury pollution control technology at a first-of-its-kind facility this month. Southern Co. will commence operations this month at the nation's first...

Watch out for falling shoes.(E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. fined by Environmental Protection Agency )(Brief Article)
December 19, 2005... Environmental groups are complaining that the $16.5 million administrative settlement levied by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency against DuPont last week is too small, and on one level they may be right. On its face, the fine is a drop...

EPA levies landmark fine on DuPont plant.(Environmental Protection Agency, E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co.)
December 19, 2005... Byline: Jim Johnson DuPont is on the hook for more than $16 million for its failure to share information regarding a toxic chemical involved in the manufacture of Teflon at a West Virginia plant. Controversy has been stirring for years...

Onyx to change name to Veolia Environmental.(News)
December 19, 2005... Byline: Jim Johnson Onyx North America Corp. will soon be operating under a new name that ties company more closely with its Paris-based parent. Onyx, which includes the former solid waste management assets of Superior Services Inc.,...

Inbox.(controlling the birds)(Column)
December 19, 2005... Byline: Pete Fehrenbach I came across an interesting story last week from the Palm Beach Post about bird problems at a Florida landfill. Turkey vultures and sea gulls have been causing fits for motorists on a section of highway that runs...

House approves brownfield proposal.(News)
December 19, 2005... Byline: Bruce Geiselman The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Dec. 13 aimed at revitalizing abandoned industrial sites, commonly known as as brownfields. The Brownfields Redevelopment Enhancement Act would make it easier for...

Gifting the trash guy; Many reward service with cash, baked goods, wine.
December 19, 2005... Byline: Jim Johnson Mail carriers get remembered at Christmas time. And so do those delivering newspapers. But how does your friendly neighborhood garbage collector fare during the holiday season? Not too bad if you talk to Stanley...

A safe bet on wind-solar.(Opinion)(Brief Article)
December 19, 2005... Kudos to Atlantic City. Officials unveiled a hybrid wind-solar power plant that should provide more than half the energy needed for the Atlantic County Utilities Authority's wastewater treatment facility in the New Jersey city. The project...

New Products.
December 19, 2005... PETERBILT MOTORS CO. has introduced an integrated chassis-body program for premium dump bodies and trailers from J&J Truck Bodies & Trailers. The dump bodies and trailers available through the program are the company's all-aluminum DynaHauler...

Waste Industry Briefs.(Briefs)(BioFuels Solutions LLC to construct Nebraska plant)(Liberty Waste's new site served by rail)(MedSolutions purchases Positive Impact Waste Solutions LLC)
December 19, 2005... Alternative Fuels BioFuels to construct Nebraska plant BioFuels Solutions LLC is planning to build an ethanol plant in Wood River, Neb., that will produce 110 million gallons of ethanol per year, the company said. The plant will...

Arkansas company's ammonia removal system makes gains.(ThermoEnergy Corp.)
December 19, 2005... Byline: Tracy Hayhurst From Long Island Sound in New York to Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans, ThermoEnergy Corp. wants to change the way wastewater treatment plants handle their ammonia-nitrogen content. The Little Rock, Ark.-based...

Atlantic City's new power player; Wind, sun generate energy for town's wastewater plant.
December 19, 2005... Byline: Joe Truini They're gambling in Atlantic City, N.J., but just not on dice or cards. The Atlantic County Utilities Authority unveiled one of the largest hybrid solar-wind power plants in the world Dec. 12, counting on renewable...

Mean Green unveils 1 of 5 new plants.(News)
December 19, 2005... Byline: Joe Truini A GreenShift Corp. subsidiary is planning to build a biodiesel production facility in western Tennessee that will have the capacity to produce 30 million gallons of fuel per year. Mean Green BioFuels Corp. plans to...

Calif. tightens screws on ship emissions.
December 19, 2005... Byline: Roger Renstrom California's air quality agency is extending emission controls 24 miles offshore and drawing scrutiny from groups of ship operators. Effective Jan. 1, 2007, a new California Air Resources Board regulation would...

Indiana company fills C&D recycling void.(News)
December 19, 2005... Byline: Jim Johnson Residential builders in and around Fort Wayne, Ind., haven't had much of a chance to divert their construction debris over the years. Essentially the leftovers from construction all headed to the same place: the...

A Look Back.(At Your Disposal)(Brief Article)
December 19, 2005... 1917: Raw material shortages during World War I prompt the U.S. to form a new agency, the War Reclamation Service. Every article of waste is considered valuable for industry. Five years ago: Recycling Industries Inc. ceases operations and...

Waste Generator Briefs.(groundwater pollution)(Hurricane Katrina influence)(Computer Technology Link Corp)
December 19, 2005... Oil Refiners Chevron, ConocoPhillips repay N.J. Two refiners have agreed to compensate New Jersey for groundwater pollution at hundreds of gas stations and oil processing facilities. Chevron USA Inc. and ConocoPhillips Co. will...

One of 31 hot spots; Governments to clean up PCBs near Lake Erie.(News)
December 19, 2005... Byline: Joe Truini A joint federal, state and local effort will carry out a $50 million cleanup of contaminated sediment from the Ashtabula River in Ohio. The project falls under the Great Lakes Legacy Act of 2002 and is the largest...

Jeffords, GAO encourage federal action on e-waste.(News)
December 19, 2005... Byline: Bruce Geiselman Sen. Jim Jeffords, I-Vt., says a recently released government report underscores the need for legislation that would encourage the recycling and reuse of electronic waste. Jeffords, the ranking member of the...

2005 In Review: Memorable Quotes.
December 19, 2005... Does your wife know you bought a motorcycle for $800,000? NBC Tonight Show host Jay Leno jokes with Waste Management Inc. CEO David Steiner about the company's auction purchase of a celebrity-autographed Harley-Davidson motorcycle. (Feb....

2005 in Review: Top 10 Stories of the Year.(Clean Air Interstate Rule )
December 19, 2005... 1. Katrina generates heartbreak, debris Hurricane Katrina battered the Gulf Coast with such fury that debris created by the storm could take two years to clear. Millions of cubic yards of waste were created in Louisiana, Mississippi...

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
December 19, 2005... Far East tradeoff The article "Wal-Mart shines above the rest'' [Dec. 5] mentions Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott's pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It should be mentioned that Wal-Mart has already made significant contributions toward...

Wis. cranberry plant blossoms with Onyx gas.(News)
December 19, 2005... Byline: Jim Johnson A new landfill gas project is set to help urinary tracts across the country. OK, that's a bit much. But Onyx Waste Services Inc. is launching a new $2 million landfill gas project in Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.,...

A first for Pa. landfill; Chester County site supplies energy to multiple users.
December 19, 2005... Byline: Jim Johnson A Pennsylvania landfill has become the first in the state to provide methane gas to multiple customers, including a container company. Gas from the Lanchester landfill in Narvon Township, Pa., owned by the Chester...

Let there be (renewable) light.
December 19, 2005... Byline: Elizabeth McGowan Energy-conscious congregations aren't flinching when Rabbi Daniel Swartz invites them to worship at the alternatives altar. They're extremely receptive to his idea of investing in renewables as one way to...

Group wants to flush emission credit trade plan.
December 19, 2005... Byline: Joe Truini One group in Montreal definitely is not mincing any words regarding what it thinks about the Kyoto Protocol and a European Union plan to trade emission credits. The National Center for Public Policy Research, a...

A great stocking stuffer.
December 19, 2005... Byline: Brennan Lafferty Last-minute shopping got you frazzled? Fear not. I know the perfect Christmas gift for that environmentalist in your life. Here's the best part: It's free. Hey, if you don't tell, I won't. Anyway, log on to...

CAPITAL BRIEFS; A summary of recent developments in federal and state environmental legislation and regulation.(News)
December 19, 2005... LEGISLATION GENERAL ENVIRONMENT Illinois: Senate Bill 67 amends the Environmental Protection Act to exempt current and former quarries, mines and other excavations that do not use clean construction or demolition debris as fill...

$500,000 per wheel; WM auctions bike to aid storm victims.(Waste Management Inc)
December 19, 2005... Byline: Jim Johnson That's one expensive hog. A Harley-Davidson motorcycle signed by dozens of celebrities was auctioned off this month for charity by Waste Management Inc. to the tune of $1 million. It's the same motorcycle that...