Waste News articles from January 2008

Waste News archives from January 2008

Stock Report.(At Your Disposal)
January 7, 2008... 3 graphs: Waste News Stock Index * Calvert Social Index Fund * Dow Jones Industrial Average * table: Percentage Change by Market Segment: see print copy.

USGBC to focus on health care industry.(News)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Bruce Geiselman The U.S. Green Building Council and the Green Guide for Health Care are hoping more health care providers will adopt green building standards for new construction projects beginning in 2008. The USGBC, working...

New products & technology.(Products)
January 7, 2008... EATON CORP. has introduced a line of logic products designed for water processes where the measurement needs to be controlled or displayed. The products are aimed at controlling pumps and monitoring process parameters in control schemes. ...

Up and up they go; Waste price increases expected to continue in 2008.(News)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Jim Johnson Garbage companies should continue to enjoy a strong pricing environment in 2008, an atmosphere that means waste generators will end up paying more money to discard their trash. "The one key thing that's been the...

Shuttered EPA libraries reopen.(News)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Elizabeth McGowan Dewey Decimal, it turns out, still rules. Congress gave librarians and researchers reason to rejoice this holiday season by funding shuttered EPA libraries. A $555 billion omnibus appropriations bill that...

CAPITAL BRIEFS; A summary of recent developments in federal and state environmental legislation and regulation.(Briefs)
January 7, 2008... LEGISLATION SOLID WASTE New Jersey: Recycling Enhancement Act imposes a recycling tax on solid waste generation. Amended by Senate Dec. 17. HAZARDOUS WASTE Michigan: Public Act No. 162 removes sunset on the Michigan Childhood...

A Look Back.(At Your Disposal)(Brief article)
January 7, 2008... 10 years ago: New York City says it expects to collect and compost about 100,000 Christmas trees during the first three weeks of January. 5 years ago: The city of Los Angeles is found liable by a federal court for 297 violations of the...

The magic in multiples of five.(Viewpoint essay)(Brief article)
January 7, 2008... California has started nickel-and-diming its residents who recycle beverage containers, and those residents evidently couldn't be more pleased. And the environment seems to be pretty happy about the new plan, too. The country's most...

Coming events.(Calendar)(Brief article)(Calendar)
January 7, 2008... Jan. 15-18 - Solid Waste Association of North America Manager of Landfill Operations Training, Aberdeen, Md. Contact Stephen Lippy (410) 887-2009 or visit www.swana.org. Jan. 20-22 - Platts Aluminum Symposium 2008, Marco Island, Fla....

Natural hardships spur innovation; Drought, energy woes result in creation of new, more efficient technology.(Products)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Tracy Hayhurst There's nothing like the double whammy of drought and rising energy costs to spur innovation, and Italy's woes of the late 1980s and early 1990s helped lead to a new process cooling system that has made its way into...

At Deadline.(Late News)
January 7, 2008... Ex-WM exec fined for securities violations A former Waste Management Inc. chief financial officer has been permanently barred from acting as an officer or director of a public company and must pay $4 million for securities laws violations...

EPA proposes rule change to farm waste reporting.(News)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Bruce Geiselman The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a rule change that would allow livestock producers to avoid having to report ammonia and hydrogen sulfide releases from animal waste that occurs on their farms....

Congress to address climate in 2008.(News)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Elizabeth McGowan A rearview mirror might be more beneficial than a crystal ball for prognosticators predicting what environmental topics the 110th Congress will tangle with in 2008. Observers agree that the warming of the...

Enabling eco-friendly jewelry choices.(At Your Disposal)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Chrissy Kadleck Old, broken and unused jewelry can be transformed into bands representing equal parts love, devotion and social consciousness thanks to the union of Matt and Bonita White. The Texas couple went looking for...

Dem investigation into waiver denial begins.(News)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Elizabeth McGowan Two congressional Democrats representing California have wasted no time beginning their investigations into the EPA's decision to deny their home state a Clean Air Act waiver to curb tailpipe emissions that...

Climate change will govern EPA agenda.(News)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Elizabeth McGowan What most Environmental Protection Agency administrators might attempt to bite off in four years, Stephen Johnson will be trying to chew through in one. Global warming is - by far - the hottest potato he will...

Trex management on the move for money; Restructuring aims to strengthen the company's growth and profitability.(News)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Joe Truini Trex Company Inc. has made major management moves in an effort to return the company to profitability. Trex has named Ronald W. Kaplan president, CEO and director and appointed former CEO Andrew U. Ferrari chairman...

Taking out the trash; Illinois program responsible for clearing more than 20,000 tons of illegally dumped waste.(News)(Brief article)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Jim Johnson Nearly 22,000 tons of illegally dumped trash has been cleared from 120 sites in Illinois through the state's I-RID program in a little more than a year. I-RID, which stands for Illinois Removes Illegal Dumps, also...

Report: Toxics rule would imperil public.
January 7, 2008... Byline: Elizabeth McGowan Federal auditors have confirmed what some senators and representatives long suspected - a White House-backed watering down of the country's flagship pollutant database would benefit business and endanger the...

Waste Management ups dividends and buybacks.(News)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Jim Johnson Waste Management Inc. is increasing the amount of cash available for dividends and stock buybacks by $200 million this year, according to the Houston-based trash giant. Plans are to spend up to $1.4 billion in the...

Recycling amendment makes cut in climate bill.(News)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Elizabeth McGowan Recycling made its debut in a landmark climate change bill with acceptance of an amendment offered by Sen. Tom Carper. Carper's amendment is part of America's Climate Security Act, which will advance to the...

Want cleaner air? Unclog traffic, avoid hills; British program pairs hybrid technology, road mapping to cut congestion, fuel use.(News)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Ian Morton Traffic gridlock is no longer just a commuter headache. Now it's recognized as an emissions issue with a negative environmental impact. A new British test project aims to improve traffic flow and thus fuel...

Authors say Climate Security Act safe; Lieberman, Warner say they have enough votes to save law from being lost.(News)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Elizabeth McGowan If and when a bipartisan global warming bill emerges from the full Senate this session, no doubt it will differ from the version already endorsed by the Environment and Public Works Committee. But by how much...

Inbox.(At Your Disposal)(Brief article)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Pete Fehrenbach The assassination of former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto is roiling political water everywhere. It strikes me that this event could have a tangential effect on environmental policy, both here and abroad....

Suit filed over firm's privatization quest.(News)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Jim Johnson Waste Industries USA Inc. and five board members are facing a lawsuit alleging breach of fiduciary duty surrounding a plan to take the company private. The Raleigh, N.C.-based solid waste management company's board...

Smurfit reports increase in recycling.(News)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Jim Johnson Paper recycling giant Smurfit-Stone Container Corp.'s latest environmental report shows that the corrugated container manufacturer is pushing farther into the recycling of commodities such as plastics, glass and metals....

Letters.
January 7, 2008... Agreeing over green I liked the opinion piece "Is the green landscape overgrown'' [Nov. 26]. My opinion as to why Americans haven't fully committed to going green has less to do with gas pricing and more to do with the lack of education...

New wind farm goes online.(News)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Joe Truini Portland General Electric Co. has completed the first phase of its Biglow Canyon Wind Farm, which will be enough to power approximately 34,000 homes. The Portland, Ore.-based utility brought the last 76 wind turbines...

Fort Wayne makes deal to fix wastewater overflow problems.(News)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Joe Truini Fort Wayne, Ind., has agreed to make some $250 million of improvements to resolve longstanding issues with overflows from its sewer system. The agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S....

Not a house of cards; Paper recycling markets should remain strong.(News)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Jim Johnson Paper recycling markets should remain strong for much of 2008 as demand will continue to help keep prices strong, one paper recycling expert believes. William P. Moore, a paper recycling expert based in Atlanta, is...

Retail companies cite sustainability.(News)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Joe Truini Retail industry leaders will focus on sustainability this year as one of the key factors influencing the industry, right up there with transportation costs and supply chain management. "We're going to see more...

GHG to play role in siting power plants.(News)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Joe Truini Greenhouse gas emissions may become more of an issue for building new power plants if a trend that started late last year gains momentum. In October, Kansas became the first state to reject an air permit for a...

Federal report reveals water contamination; Gasoline additive found in about 18 percent of New Hampshire's drinking water wells.(News)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Bruce Geiselman About 18 percent of the wells in New Hampshire that provide public drinking water are contaminated with the gasoline additive methyl tertiary-butyl ether, or MTBE, according to a recent federal report. About 9...

Cashing in on gas; WN Summit to explore emissions credit trading.(News)
January 7, 2008... Emissions credit trading - the practice of buying and selling credits to reduce greenhouse gases - gets a close look in a session at the Waste News Capitol Hill Summit Feb. 12-13. Three speakers will address the issue during the segment...

EPA change points to ethanol growth.(News)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Bruce Geiselman Production of cleaner burning ethanol fuel will likely increase in 2008, and at least one industry spokesman predicts "some fairly tremendous growth developments.'' The U.S. EPA recently raised the ethanol...

Calif. redemption change makes cents.(News)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Joe Truini A penny or two can make a big difference. California saw a 6 percent increase in its beverage container recycling rate during the first half of 2007 after increasing the redemption value of small cans and bottles...

Calif. sues EPA; Agency's tailpipe ruling illegal, state contends.
January 7, 2008... Byline: Bruce Geiselman California and several environmental groups have filed lawsuits against the U.S. EPA for "wrongfully and illegally'' blocking the state's tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions standards. California Attorney General...

Add comments to stories online.(News)
January 7, 2008... For those who have ever wanted to easily add a thought or two to the footnote of a Waste News story, there now is a new feature available on Wastenews.com. With free registration to the Web site, visitors can add comments to any story or...

Waste Industry Briefs.(Briefs)
January 7, 2008... Recycling Pa. passes out grants for programs Pennsylvania has passed out $20 million in grants to 134 communities to support new and expanded recycling programs in the state. The Recycling Development and Implementation Grant...

Waste Generator Briefs.(Briefs)
January 7, 2008... Electricity Utilities fined for mishandling waste Battelle Energy Alliance and Wheeler Electric Inc. will pay $61,000 for mishandling waste contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls at the Idaho National Laboratory. Wheeler...

Nontoxic citizenship.(Opinion)
January 7, 2008... The evidence is becoming pretty strong that the Bush administration erred by lightening the reporting requirements for companies working with toxic materials. Congress' investigative arm, the Government Accountability Office, charged that...

'08's cracked crystal ball.(Opinion)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Allan Gerlat Predicting what will happen in 2008 is actually pretty easy. At the end of the year, a new president will be loading up the truck and moving to D.C. And the global warming threat won't disappear with the dawn of a...

Letters.(Letter to the editor)
January 21, 2008... Only one side of story The article "Climate window is closing, United Nations reports" [Waste News, Dec. 10] was troublesome in that my perception is that Waste News continues to give only one side - the worst - of the climate change...

Stock Report.(At Your Disposal)
January 21, 2008... 3 graphs: Waste News Stock Index * Calvert Social Index Fund * Dow Jones Industrial Average * table: Percentage Change by Market Segment: see print copy.

Ex WM finance chief barred from leadership.(News)
January 21, 2008... Byline: Jim Johnson A former Waste Management Inc. chief financial officer has been permanently barred from acting as an officer or director of a public company and must pay $4.1 million for securities laws violations in the 1990s, the...

At Deadline.(Late News)
January 21, 2008... Wind energy capacity rose 45% in 2007 The U.S. wind energy industry shattered all previous records in 2007, increasing the nation's wind-power capacity 45 percent during that year alone. New installed capacity amounted to 5,244...

Supplier News.(Briefs)
January 21, 2008... Peterson names Canadian partners Peterson Manufacturing has formed partnerships with Grant Brothers Sales LTD and G'Day Warehousing Inc. Peterson Manufacturing Company, based in Grandview, Mo., produces a line of vehicle safety...

Choices not yet clear.(presidential candidates)(Editorial)
January 21, 2008... Byline: Allan Gerlat One thing we're good at in America is offering choices. At least in numbers, if not in substance. And that's true for the ongoing presidential primaries, or the Great American Winnowing Out Process. The field...

NYC stores bagged down by new law.(News)
January 21, 2008... Byline: Joe Truini New York has become the second major city to address plastic shopping bag waste, and the first to mandate recycling them. The New York City Council passed legislation this month requiring stores to recycle plastic...

Gadget makers to collect castoffs.(News)
January 21, 2008... Byline: Joe Truini Three electronics manufacturers have banded together to form their own recycling company to answer the increasing cries for manufacturers to take responsibility for their products. Electronic Manufacturers Recycling...

Auto poll points to alt fuel.(News)
January 21, 2008... Byline: Jim Johnson A new survey of automotive industry executives shows that consumers are placing more importance on alternative fuel vehicles. The survey, by tax, audit and advisory firm KPMG LLC, indicated 65 percent of 113 senior...

Waiver issue creates sparks in Calif.(News)
January 21, 2008... Byline: Elizabeth McGowan Four high-powered witnesses defended California's right to a Clean Air Act waiver from the EPA during a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee briefing Jan. 10 at the Los Angeles City Hall. But a...

Green networks & BS detectors.(Opinion)
January 21, 2008... Environment-minded business people have been seeking and finding ways to exploit the benefits of the Internet for years, and that trend appears to be accelerating lately. This edition of our newspaper contains a handful of stories about new...

Hand-sort study reveals recycling rift; A lot of items recovered could have been put to reuse.(News)
January 21, 2008... Byline: Jim Johnson This was not work for the weak of stomach. An extensive hand-sorted study of trash at 15 Missouri landfills and transfer stations shows that almost half of the discarded material actually could be used again. A...

Sopping up oil in someone else's shoes; Recycler turns old footwear into something sorbent for spills.(News)
January 21, 2008... Byline: Joe Truini Recreation Equipment Inc. is the first Minnesota retailer to step up to participate in a shoe recycling program set up by the Recycling Association of Minnesota. REI's Bloomington, Minn., store has put out collection...

GM teams to make eco-fuel.(News)
January 21, 2008... Byline: Jim Johnson General Motors Corp. certainly does not mind a little Dumpster diving if it means lessening the nation's oil addiction. The world's largest automobile company is teaming up with a company called Coskata Inc., which...

WN Buyer's Guide is now available.(News)
January 21, 2008... The Waste News 2008 Buyers Guide is now available online and on CD. The Buyers Guide is a comprehensive directory of solid waste industry suppliers of equipment, products and services. This year's edition includes more than 14,000 listings...

Inbox.(At Your Disposal)
January 21, 2008... Byline: Pete Fehrenbach Diamonds, Platinum, Trash: OK, garbage may not quite be in league with the world's most valuable commodities - yet. But we sure have come a long way from the days when trash was seen as purely worthless and the...

No topic too small for discussion at WN summit.(News)
January 21, 2008... Environmental issues big and small will be examined at the Waste News Capitol Hill Summit early next month. The conference Feb. 12-13 includes sessions on the broad green movement in business and on nanotechnology, the science of analyzing...

Salesman Simmers, and smokes, with sun; Solar-powered dishes roast with renewable energy.(News)
January 21, 2008... Byline: Chrissy Kadleck For most of his career, visions of smokestacks would make Doug Simmers smile. A salesman of analyzer and control systems for power plants, Simmers, 56, saw the potential money to be made in the industry he...

Perfectly good boxes; U-Haul makes container reuse a snap for customers.
January 21, 2008... Byline: Jim Johnson Make no mistake, U-Haul International Inc. is in the business of selling boxes and supplies to the do-it-yourself movers the company rents equipment to around the country. But the company also wants to make a...

Lawmaker blasts EPA for missing deadlines.(News)
January 21, 2008... Byline: Bruce Geiselman Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., has criticized the EPA for failing to produce documents regarding the agency's decision to reject California's plan to curb greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles. Waxman,...

Several factors involved as corn prices creep up.(News)
January 21, 2008... Byline: Bruce Geiselman Increasing demand for ethanol is helping push corn prices higher, but it's not the only cause, Bob Stallman, American Farm Bureau president, said during the bureau's annual convention in New Orleans Jan. 13-16. ...

Banking on the climate.(survey of banks involved in carbon emissions trading)(Viewpoint essay)(Brief article)
January 21, 2008... When we look at waste and pollution we tend to logically look at the generators of those byproducts: the factories, the utilities, the products. But an important part of the equation that often gets overlooked is the financing of those...

Breathe deeply; Report: Waiver denial imperils Californians.(News)
January 21, 2008... Byline: Bruce Geiselman The U.S. EPA's recent refusal to allow California to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles will jeopardize the health of California's urban residents, especially children and the elderly, according to a...

Supreme Court won't hear Canadian mining co.'s case.(News)
January 21, 2008... Byline: Bruce Geiselman The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear arguments by a Canadian mining company that contends it should not be liable under U.S. law for contamination that crossed the border. Teck Cominco Ltd., of Vancouver,...

Oil company to get day in court over spill.(News)
January 21, 2008... Byline: Elizabeth McGowan Justices have selected Feb. 27 as Exxon Mobil's day in the Supreme Court. Almost exactly 19 years after the worst oil spill in U.S. history, Chief Justice John Roberts and seven of his eight colleagues will...

Suit filed over Shell emissions.(News)
January 21, 2008... Byline: Bruce Geiselman Environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against Shell Oil Co. regarding emissions from an oil refinery and chemical plant near Houston. The Sierra Club and Environment Texas filed a lawsuit Jan. 7 in the U.S....

Dallas launches site for green issues.(News)
January 21, 2008... Byline: Joe Truini Dallas city officials have launched a Web site dedicated to environmental initiatives, making it the first major U.S. city with a comprehensive stand-alone site addressing green issues, Mayor Tom Leppert said. The...

CAPITAL BRIEFS; A summary of recent developments in federal and state environmental legislation and regulation.(Briefs)
January 21, 2008... LEGISLATION SOLID WASTE New Jersey: Assembly Bill 1886 provides for the Recycling Enhancement Act concerning the recycling of solid waste and imposes a recycling tax on solid waste generation. Passed by Senate Jan. 7. New Jersey:...

Awards.(Briefs)
January 21, 2008... Insta-Valve chosen for Nova Award ADS LLC said the Construction Innovation Forum has selected Hydra-Stop's Insta-Valve Plus to receive the Nova Award for outstanding innovation in construction. Insta-Valve Plus is a liquid flow control...

Display your emissions; California Web site offers credits for proud polluters.(At Your Disposal)(Website overview)
January 21, 2008... Byline: Joe Truini If you're not feeling guilty about driving that gas-guzzling sport utility vehicle or about living alone in that eight-bedroom, four-bath mansion, you now can proudly display it. A Huntington Beach, Calif.-based Web...

Group launches Web site to police green ads.(News)(Website overview)(Brief article)
January 21, 2008... Byline: Joe Truini Corporate greenness is being put to the test. Green ads have become more popular in television and other media. But environmental boasts made by companies no longer have to be taken at face value, as a new Web site...

EPA needs new emergency plan.(News)
January 21, 2008... Byline: Bruce Geiselman The U.S. EPA needs to improve its national emergency response planning to ensure an effective response to emergencies such as a chemical or biological release or detonation of a dirty bomb, according to the EPA...

A sustainable site; Eco-accountability meets social networking.(News)
January 21, 2008... Byline: Joe Truini A trio of young environmentalists is reaching out to individuals and businesses with one of the first green social networking sites on the Internet. Brothers Benjamin Brown and Adam Schrader-Brown, along with a...

Oil wise; Casella installs refining systems on trucks.(News)
January 21, 2008... Byline: Jim Johnson Casella Waste Systems Inc. expects to avoid using some 200,000 gallons of oil each year and save hundreds of thousands of dollars by installing onboard oil refining systems on its trucks. The Rutland, Vt.-based...

Daily E-mail delivery time changed.(News)
January 21, 2008... Beginning Jan. 21, Waste News' Daily E-mail is coming at a new time to better serve its readers with the most up-to-date news. Instead of receiving the Daily E-mail each morning, subscribers now will get the e-mail in the mid-afternoon....

Massey settles suit for $20M.
January 21, 2008... Byline: Bruce Geiselman Massey Energy Company Inc. will pay a $20 million civil penalty to resolve Clean Water Act violations at coal mines in West Virginia and Kentucky. It is the largest civil penalty in the EPA's history levied against...

Waste Generator Briefs.(Briefs)
January 21, 2008... Renewable Energy Utility adds natural gas trucks to fleet Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has added five heavy-duty liquid natural gas trucks to its alternative fuel fleet as part of the company's effort to reduce its environmental...

Waste Industry Briefs.(Briefs)(people oppose new nuclear waste disposal site)(Rumpke Consolidated Companies Inc. purchasing trucks, containers and customer accounts)(new radio campaign promoting driver safety near garbage trucks )
January 21, 2008... Hazardous Waste Opposition voiced to Yucca Mt. plan A dozen national organizations and 68 state and local groups filed comments to the U.S. Department of Energy expressing strong opposition to the nuclear waste site proposed for Yucca...

Coming Events.(Calendar)(Calendar)
January 21, 2008... Jan. 29-31 - 2008 Lantech Landfill Gas System Engineering Seminar, Ontario, Calif. Call (800) 526-3832 or visit www.ces-landtec.com. Feb. 9-12 - United States Composting Council 16th Annual Conference and Trade Show, Oakland, Calif. Call...

Unisys gets IT right with renovations.(News)
January 21, 2008... Byline: Chrissy Kadleck Faster than a tech turn, Unisys Corp. cut its carbon footprint, restored prairie lands, and revamped its outsourcing facility in Eagan, Minn., into an environmental powerhouse. The worldwide information...

New Products & Technology.(Products)
January 21, 2008... HENDRICKSON AUXILIARY AXLE SYSTEMS has introduced an upgraded 20,000-pound capacity Paralift steerable truck lift axle system. Features include an adjustable ride height and frame width capabilities, a trailing arm with a single paddle, a...

A Look Back.(At Your Disposal)
January 21, 2008... 10 years ago: The General Services Administration delays a decision that would halt the automatic pricing of recycled copier paper at cheaper prices than virgin paper. 5 years ago: Waste Management Inc. and Peltz Group Inc. join forces to...