Waste News articles from February 2002

Waste News archives from February 2002

Many schools lie near toxic sites, report says.(Child Proofing Our Communities Campaign)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 4, 2002... Nearly 1,200 schools in five surveyed states are built on or within a half mile of a toxic waste site, according to an environmental group's recently completed study. That places more than 600,000 students at an increased risk of...

Nashville plans to phase out incineration plant.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 4, 2002... Nashville has approved a comprehensive solid waste plan that will improve recycling and shut down its incinerator while saving money. On Jan. 15, the Council of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County approved Mayor...

`Smart' microchips rile remanufacturers ; Inkjet cartridge makers say technology improves product, customer service.(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Original equipment manufacturers and printer cartridge remanufacturers are squaring off over smart chips, which some say could reduce reuse at the expense of corporate profits. Most major manufacturers of imaging equipment, including...

Editorial: Pay now or pay later.(Brief Article)(Editorial)
February 4, 2002... Printer cartridge makers are quickly becoming one of the bad boys of waste generation. Last year Lexmark International Inc. became embroiled in a lawsuit with cartridge remanufacturers over Lexmark's environmental claims. Now a more broad...

Keepsake firestorm ; Ga. firm gets flak for medallions that commemorate terrorist attack.(International Agile Manufacturing LLC)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... A Georgia foundry has found itself in a storm of controversy over its decision to recycle scrap metal from the World Trade Center into commemorative medallions that sell for $29.95 each. International Agile Manufacturing LLC is selling the...

Q & A: Should medallions be made of steel from the World Trade Center?(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Do you have an opinion on this question? Please submit your comments online at www.wastenews.com; by e-mail to editorial@wastenews.com; by fax to Waste News Q&A at (330) 836-1692; or by mail to Waste News, 1725 Merriman Road, Akron, Ohio...

Have an opinion?(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Waste News welcomes letters and opinion pieces from readers. Letters intended for publication must be signed and contain a phone number for verification. Send letters by mail to Editor, Waste News, 1725 Merriman Road, Suite 300, Akron, OH...

Editorial: Recycling our ne'er-do-wells.(Federal Prison Industries Inc.)(Brief Article)(Editorial)(Statistical Data Included)
February 4, 2002... There are many ways to gauge a nation's worth. One yardstick that gets overlooked too often is the nation's success in rehabilitating its criminals. So we applaud the efforts of Federal Prison Industries Inc. The company, better known by...

E-recycler's use of prison labor makes waves.(Federal Prison Industries Inc.)
February 4, 2002... An electronics recycling plant opening soon in California will disassemble televisions, computers, monitors, printers, copiers - almost anything with a cord - and create 350 jobs. However, the workers will be criminals serving their...

Wis. tackles switches ; State helps auto recyclers handle mercury.(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Wisconsin has launched a program to collect and recycle mercury switches from automobiles before they can contaminate the environment. Although automakers have pledged to phase out the mercury switches in newer model cars, the devices...

In Brief.(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Eckerd joins pharmacy thermometer ban Clearwater, Fla. - Eckerd Inc. pharmacies will stop selling mercury medical thermometers in its 2,640 stores by March 31. Eckerd joins CVS, Rite-Aid, Walgreen and Wal-Mart in agreeing to phase out...

Pa. resumes crackdown.(on haulers of solid waste)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 4, 2002... Pennsylvania is once again stepping up efforts to find violations by solid waste haulers. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection recently held a series of surprise inspections at landfills, a transfer station and a scale...

Average rate dips for largest cities.(Municipal Recycling Survey)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 4, 2002... Declining interest and cheap landfill prices are causing the national recycling rate to stagnate as the nation's largest cities have posted lower rates over the last two years. The 30 largest cities in the United States have posted a lower...

Recession hits some harder than others.(city budgets, recycling campaigns)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Recycling services could continue unaffected in some major cities, while others will be tightening their belts in response to the recessionary economy. Many recycling coordinators and public works officials have submitted budget proposals...

Landfill deal not OK ; Okla. fines Waste Connections for lacking plan.(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Oklahoma officials have fined a Waste Connections Inc.-owned landfill for continuing to accept out of state trash despite an order to stop. State Department of Environmental Quality officials levied the fine - believed to be a record...

Guest View: Bottle barrage won't halt PET's march.(Plastic product industry view)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Following the ban on plastic beer and soft drink bottles at football stadiums when fans in Cleveland and New Orleans used those bottles as projectiles, there has been a flurry of doom and gloom stories on what this means for the future of the...

Combustible dispute ; Michigan sues firm for improperly burning hazardous waste.(Radian International LLC )
February 4, 2002... The Michigan Attorney General's Office has filed a lawsuit seeking more than $4 million from Radian International LLC for violations of the state's hazardous waste and air pollution laws. The complaint, filed in the Ingham County Circuit...

Seattle hits the skids ; Model recycling city suffers rate decline.(local recycling activity)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Times are getting tough, even for one of recycling's juggernauts. Seattle, looked up to by many communities for its residential and commercial recycling efforts, posted a 39 percent recycling rate in 2000. Though respectable, the rate is...

Mich. rep touts waste import bill.(John D. Dingell)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... A Michigan representative is pushing for Congress to consider legislation early this year that would allow states to limit waste shipments from outside the state and outside the nation. Rep. John D. Dingell, D-Mich., sent a letter to the...

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
February 4, 2002... Incomplete pass Here in rural Iowa, we haven't resorted to tossing plastic beer bottles at each other in times of stress. We do have a bottle problem, however. A local beer distributor had a dumpster of empty plastic beer bottles at...

A Look Back.(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Five years ago: Waste Management Inc. unveils a restructuring plan that includes $1.5 billion in divestitures and staff reductions that will affect 18,000 employees. A year ago: The Architect of the Capitol, the office that handles waste...

Paper's slide continues in East.(industry price information)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... New York recovered paper prices have continued to slip, albeit slightly, during January as export and domestic markets have not yet picked up enough to boost pricing. Old corrugated container prices fell to an average of $1 per ton for...

6 paper firms talk deal.(industry acquisition data)
February 4, 2002... It's now definite. Weyerhaeuser Co. is taking over Willamette Industries Inc. in a deal valued at $7.9 billion, including the assumption of $1.7 billion in debt. This mega merger, a long time in coming, actually came together quite...

Brokers to merge.(Canusa Corp and Hershman Recycling Inc)
February 4, 2002... A couple of major recycled paper brokers are merging in a trend that's following the larger paper industry. Canusa Corp. of Baltimore and Hershman Recycling Inc. of Branford, Conn., have signed a letter of intent to join their paper...

A Hula Bowl 1st ; Organizers to recycle beverage bottles.(recycling program information)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... There figured to be plenty of thirsty folks drinking beverages from plastic bottles at the Hula Bowl this year. So the organizers of the college all-star game, which has been attracting sellout crowds of 23,000 in recent years, joined...

At Deadline: NYC hauler faces lifetime ban for lying.(Southside Carting, Daniel Fiorello)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... A New York waste hauler who allegedly lied to conceal his ties to organized crime will probably be banned from operating in the city, a city agency said. Daniel Fiorello, president of Southside Carting, pleaded guilty Jan. 31 to a...

Gas firm to pay fine.(Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corp.)(Brief Article)
February 18, 2002... Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corp. will pay a $1.4 million civil penalty to settle waste disposal violations along its 10,500-mile natural gas pipeline. Transco also will test for and clean up soil and groundwater contamination at its...

Q & A: Should medallions be made of steel from the World Trade Center?(Brief Article)
February 18, 2002... I worked in the World Trade Center for many years and was fortunate enough to evacuate the North Tower safely. I lost one very good friend and several colleagues on Sept. 11. The complex was more than a building, it was very much a part of our...

In Brief.(environmental policy and recycling programs)(Brief Article)
February 18, 2002... EPA rakes in $4 billion from polluters Washington - The Environmental Protection Agency reported that it received commitments during the 2001 fiscal year for a record $4.3 billion in pollution control and environmental cleanup from...

Enron collapse touches WMI too.(Brief Article)
February 18, 2002... Enron Corp.'s bankruptcy filing is costing the nation's largest solid waste company millions of dollars. Waste Management Inc. says Enron's collapse will cost the trash giant $16 million in pre-tax expenses for its fourth quarter. The...

At Deadline.(Brief Article)
February 18, 2002... WMI to supply recycled plastic to Coke Atlanta - Coca-Cola Co. has signed an agreement with the nation's largest solid waste management firm to supply it with recycled plastic for its soft drink containers. Recycle America, a...

Coming Events.
February 18, 2002... North America Feb. 19-20 - American Society for Testing and Materials Committee F20 on Hazardous Substances and Oil Spill Response, Port Hueneme, Calif. Contact Jeff Adkins (610) 832-9738. Feb. 19-20 - Cleanup Site Closure: Integrating...

3M to pay for printing waste cleanup ; National park in Ohio to benefit from $15 million penalty from Minn.-based company.(Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co.)(Brief Article)
February 18, 2002... Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co., better known as 3M, reached a $15.5 million settlement this month to repay the U.S. government for the cleanup of a former industrial dumpsite in a northern Ohio national park. 3M will pay $14.7...

Nev. waits for Bush decision.(Nevada being considered by President Bush for nuclear waste repository)(Brief Article)
February 18, 2002... President Bush has listened to arguments opposing the use of the Yucca Mountain site in Nevada as the nation's nuclear waste repository, but no one knows whether he'll accept the site recommendation. U.S. Senators Harry Reid, D-Nev., and...

Mail it in ; HP recycling 70% of inkjet material.(Hewlett-Packard Co.)(Brief Article)
February 18, 2002... About 70 percent of the material in used inkjet cartridges returned to Hewlett-Packard Co. in the United States ends up being recycled into new products. The waste generated by consumers - the used cartridges - is returned through a...

Editor's View: Altruists or mercenaries?(ethical aspects of International Agile Manufacturing L.L.C. medallions made from the World Trade Center Tragedy scrap metal)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
February 18, 2002... It doesn't seem like there should be a thin line between honoring the dead and profiting off them. But that's the debate over the commemorative medallions made from World Trade Center scrap steel. A foundry in Georgia, International Agile...

S.C. orders Med/Waste to close plant.(South Carolina forces Med/Waste Inc. to close its plants after violations ensue)(Brief Article)
February 18, 2002... Regulators in South Carolina ordered a Med/Waste Inc.-owned medical waste incinerator in Hampton to permanently close, saying it has been in chronic violation of South Carolina law and federal and state regulations. The state Department of...

Thermostatic pressure ; Groups urge mercury's demise; Honeywell looks for alternatives.(Honeywell International Inc. seeks alternatives to mercury thermostats)(Brief Article)
February 18, 2002... While Honeywell International Inc. is researching alternatives to mercury thermostats, environmentalists are pushing the industry to cease production of the devices. Environmental groups had praised Honeywell, the nation's leading...

Bush slates $4.6 billion for energy programs.(President Bush's new energy plans and programs)(Brief Article)
February 18, 2002... President Bush announced his plan last week to combat global warming, and it contains tax incentives for developing renewable energy sources. The president's plan is an alternative to the international Kyoto treaty he rejected last year...

Farm bill gains nod in Senate.(Brief Article)
February 18, 2002... The Senate approved a farm bill Feb. 13 that includes funding to help farmers control animal waste. The bill would make assistance available to hog and cattle operations in controlling manure through the Environmental Quality Incentives...

Embattled Med/Waste files for bankruptcy.
February 18, 2002... Mounting red ink, growing concern from creditors and regulatory action against an incinerator in South Carolina have pushed Med/Waste Inc. into a series of legal battles and eventually a federal bankruptcy court. During the process, the...

Rotten eggs.(aftereffects of Enron collapse)(Brief Article)
February 18, 2002... It's an unfortunate sign of the times that the news has been dominated lately by the financial troubles of big-name companies, led of course by Enron Corp. And it's having its effect on waste management as well. Waste Management Inc., the...

New York vs. New York.(Brief Article)
February 18, 2002... A major contradiction has reared its head in the state of New York. Unfortunately, the mixed signals being sent by two of the state's more visible public officials confuse the importance of recycling for one of the country's bellwether...

2,000 HOTS, NO COT.
February 18, 2002... New York City Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty, left, speaks with Salvation Army chaplain Roger Pitcher, center, and a mess tent assistant at Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island. The city Sanitation Department recently presented a check...

New York may cut curbside recycling.(Brief Article)
February 18, 2002... Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's plan to scale down New York's curbside recycling program has met with resistance from environmentalists The mayor's recycling proposal is part of a wave of cuts he proposed last week to close a projected $4.8...

Spring cleaning; Group's mattress recycling may spread.(Brief Article)
February 18, 2002... A pilot mattress recycling program launched by the St. Vincent de Paul Society on the West Coast ultimately could spread across the country. The society's Lane County organization, headquartered in Eugene, began operating the...

BEAR rebuttal ; Recycling groups clash over report.(Businesses and Environmentalists Allied for Recycling )(Brief Article)
February 18, 2002... A recycling advocacy group has fired back a reply in a battle over a report on the merits of bottle deposits and curbside recycling. In what is likely a related development, Coca-Cola Co. has pulled out of the Businesses and...

Enron's fall affects ONP prices.(paper recycling)(Brief Article)
February 18, 2002... Enron Corp.'s collapse has reached the recycled commodities market and is dragging down recovered newspaper prices. The closure of Garden State Paper Co. is pumping additional volumes of recovered newspaper into the market as recyclers...

Kmart makes payment ; Hauler asked court to void recycling pact.(Weyerhaeuser Corp.)(Brief Article)
February 18, 2002... Kmart Corp.'s bankruptcy caused the company to fall behind on payments for removal of the trash and recyclables the retailer generates. Kmart, one of the nation's largest retailers with more than 2,100 stores, was overdue on $1.4 million...

New Products & Technology.
February 18, 2002... Minn. dairy farm makes electricity from manure Princeton, Minn. - The cows at Haubenschild Farm, about an hour north of Minneapolis, have proven almost as valuable for their manure as they have for their milk. The 1,000-acre dairy farm...

Letters.
February 18, 2002... Wasted profits Most of the articles I have had access to in the national solid waste journals have centered on the industry's finding more cost-efficient ways to trundle American society's excrement out of view and into some kind of...

Follow guidelines or pay, plastics groups urge.(recycling laws)(Brief Article)
February 18, 2002... Groups representing polyethylene terephthalate bottle producers and resin suppliers warned that unless new containers meet strict recycling guidelines, companies could pay a heavier legislative price. Officials with the Charlotte,...

NYC official balks at profit from WTC scrap.(commemorative medallions made from World Trade Center scrap)(Brief Article)
February 18, 2002... A New York city official said he was shocked to learn that scrap steel from the World Trade Center is being used in commemorative medallions and has urged companies selling the scrap to do all they can to prevent similar events in the future....

Personnel.(Brief Article)
February 18, 2002... AMERICAN ECOLOGY CORP. - Steve Welling appointed national sales and marketing director; Michael Gilberg appointed vice president and corporate controller. AMERICAN IRON & STEEL - Roger Champa named president and chief operating officer,...

GE will finance river dredging.(Environmental Protection Agency orders removal of printed circuit board contaminated sediment from Hudson River)(Brief Article)
February 18, 2002... Federal regulators are ordering General Electric Co. to undertake a multimillion-dollar dredging of the Hudson River to remove millions of cubic yards of PCB contaminated sediment. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christie...

Ky. farm ammonia worries group ; Sierra Club threatens to sue Tyson Foods over chicken waste issue.(Brief Article)
February 18, 2002... The Sierra Club announced it plans to sue Tyson Foods Inc. and four chicken farms for failing to comply with the federal Superfund law. The Sierra Club served a 60-day notice on Tyson and four Kentucky chicken farms under contract with the...

Rx for bottle redemption ; Drug stores, Pepsi to comply with N.Y. bottle bill.(Eliot Spitzer enforces returnable bottle bill law)(Brief Article)
February 18, 2002... New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has reached settlements with four drug store chains and a major soft drink maker to strengthen the state's bottle bill. Four of the settlements require four major drug store chains to start...

Small firms do heavy lifting at Ground Zero.(Brief Article)
February 18, 2002... A man wearing a respirator and yellow rubber boots slogs through the rainwater in the basin of Ground Zero, helping to lay the footings for a new bridge. The old one, made of debris, must be replaced because human remains were detected in it....

Bush's plan cuts EPA's 2003 budget.(Environmental Protection Agency)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 18, 2002... The Bush administration's proposed $2.1 trillion budget for the 2003 fiscal year would boost funding for fighting terrorism but trim money from some environmental programs. The amount Bush has requested for the Environmental Protection...

Supplier News.(Brief Article)
February 18, 2002... McClain undergoes major changes Sterling Heights, Mich. - McClain Industries Inc.. faces a cash crunch and is negotiating to renew its line of credit with bankers, but the company's top executive remains optimistic that it can turn its...