Waste News articles from June 2002

Waste News archives from June 2002

Mercury education produces results. (medical waste management).(Brief Article)
June 10, 2002... Within the past few years, many hospitals around the country have begun reducing the amount of mercury and toxic waste they introduce into the environment. Part of the reason for the change is a growing understanding of the dangers posed...

N.C. sued for not building radioactive disposal site. (North Carolina).(Brief Article)
June 10, 2002... Alabama, Florida, Tennessee and Virginia have filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Supreme Court seeking $90 million from North Carolina for allegedly failing to comply with an agreement among the states under which North Carolina was to build a...

Ill. charges Milwaukee with overflow.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2002... Eight U.S. representatives are blaming Milwaukee sewage overflows for an enormous increase in Illinois beach closings and want the federal government to do something about it. U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., sent a letter to...

Waste Expo 2002.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2002... Hundreds of exhibitors attended Waste Expo 2002 in Las Vegas this year, bringing new products for use in waste management and recycling. The following are some of the products that were displayed. AMERI-KART CORP. has introduced six...

Waste News Commodity Pricing Report.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2002... table: Waste News Commodity Pricing Report * graphic: News No. 8: see printed publication.

U.S. air emissions heighten cancer risk, EPA study says.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2002... Toxic chemicals released into the air place people living anywhere in the contiguous United States at an elevated risk of developing cancer, according to a report released May 31 by the Environmental Protection Agency. More than 200...

Consumer oil stains waters.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2002... Lawnmowers, automobiles and oil-stained streets are polluting the nation's coastal waters far worse than leaking tankers or oil rigs, according to a National Academy of Sciences report. Consumers are responsible for most of the oil that...

Fast haul; Firms speed up truck purchases to beat reg change.
June 10, 2002... There's a push to buy new rigs before the new regs kick in. Some buyers of garbage hauling trucks - packer, rolloff and tractor-trailer trucks - are speeding up their new vehicle purchases to save cash before new Environmental Protection...

A prescription for headaches; Hospitals, pharmacies are confronted with a morass of rules governing disposal of drugs.
June 10, 2002... When they dispose of outdated or excess prescription drugs, hospitals and pharmacies face a confusing maze of regulations at the federal level and often at the state, county and local levels as well. Among the federal agencies regulating...

Finding the link; Wood waste recycling presents challenge for several industries.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2002... Recycling wood waste is a difficult task to tackle, but it remains an area that has potential to improve. Linking the wooden pallet and construction industries more closely with the solid waste industry through recycling programs could help...

WTC cleanup completed; 1.6 million tons of debris removed.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2002... The cleanup and recovery operation at the site of the World Trade Center has officially ended, and the final waste disposal numbers are in. Cleanup crews removed a total of 1,642,698 tons of debris from the 16-acre site in lower Manhattan,...

Driving the green; GM to use Republic's gas to power plant.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2002... General Motors Corp. expects to cut air pollution from its Fort Wayne Assembly plant by substituting landfill methane gas for a portion of natural gas used at the site. Methane gas, said GM spokesman Gerry Holmes, burns cleaner than...

EPA's electronics plan raises fears of dumping. (Environmental Protection Agency).(Brief Article)
June 10, 2002... The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to tweak existing waste regulations to promote electronics recycling, but some industry members are concerned about possible side effects. The move could increase American scrap...

Waste Generator Briefs.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2002... Electronics Calif. puts onus on electronics makers Sacramento, Calif. - The California state Senate approved two bills that will require manufacturers to take financial responsibility for recycling end-of-life electronics. Senate...

Perry bides time, takes reins. (Jim W. Perry becomes CEO, Waste Holdings Inc.).(Brief Article)
June 10, 2002... Jim W. Perry just might be the most patient man in the whole solid waste industry. After 31 years of being second in command at Waste Holdings Inc., Perry gets his shot July 1. That's when Lonnie C. Poole Jr. steps down as CEO and...

Hospitals see benefits of culture change. (waste management).(Brief Article)
June 10, 2002... Hospitals are adopting innovative programs to better segregate waste, boost recycling and reduce waste generation as disposal costs mount and regulatory oversight increases. The economic impact of improving waste management can be...

Name game: Waste Industries returns. (Waste Holdings Inc. changes name to Waste Industries USA Inc.).(Brief Article)
June 10, 2002... Raleigh, N.C. - Waste Holdings Inc. is going back to its roots and changing its name to Waste Industries USA Inc. The solid waste management company's shareholders approved the name change June 4 at their annual meeting, ending the Waste...

Q & A: Is open-pit mining a viable option for the disposal of electronics?
June 10, 2002... What a terrific idea! A large, open-pit, hard rock mine makes a good location for this type of activity. Using a process like this could result in reclaiming nearly everything in a typical electronic device. Details in the process need to be...

American onus. (US Environmental Protection Agency's rules on electronics recycling).(Brief Article)
June 10, 2002... The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is trying to tweak its rules to promote electronics recycling. In the process, the agency is opening up the potential for abuse overseas. But it also is providing the opportunity for electronic waste...

At Deadline. (includes various information).(Brief Article)
June 10, 2002... Senate weighs reinstating Superfund tax Washington-Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Lincoln Chafee, R-R.I., introduced legislation June 6 that would reimpose a Superfund tax established in 1980 to pay for the cleanup of the nation's most...

Financial advice. (hospital waste management).(Brief Article)
June 10, 2002... Some health care facilities get it. But those that don't could be costing you money. While doctors and hospital administrators must primarily concentrate on care giving, it's in everyone's best interest that they run efficient businesses...

Some find device reuse reduces costs, waste. (hospitals).(Brief Article)
June 10, 2002... One means of reducing the amount of waste that hospitals send to landfills and saving money in the process is through the reprocessing of single-use devices. The procedure is growing in popularity as hospitals wrestle with escalating costs...

Correction.
June 10, 2002... A news brief on Page 6 of the May 27 issue should have said Xtreme Cos. Inc. is buying Nevada-based Nucon International Inc.

A mercury cavity; Environmental groups say dentists pollute wastewater plants.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2002... Dentists are the third-largest users of mercury in the United States and the largest polluters of mercury to the nation's wastewater treatment plants, according to a report issued June 5 by two environmental groups, the Mercury Policy Project...

A Look Back.
June 10, 2002... Five years ago: Med/Waste Inc. cancels a plan to purchase 1.5 million shares of Biomedical Waste Systems Inc. common stock. Med/Waste says it scrapped the deal because it couldn't reach an agreement with the creditors and prospective lenders of...

For better, worse; U.S.-Canada air cleaner, but land and water more toxic, study says.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2002... U.S. and Canadian manufacturers cut emissions of toxic chemicals into the air by 25 percent during a five-year period ending in 1999, but the decrease was largely offset by increases in toxic waste released on land and into the water, according...

Waste Industry Briefs.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2002... Hauling L.A. to sport largest natural gas fleet Los Angeles - The city of Los Angeles has ordered 120 garbage trucks that run on liquefied natural gas, giving the city the largest such fleet in the United States. Clean Air...

Letters.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2002... Nice trip Pete Fehrenbach's piece on the evolution of waste handling in Los Angeles brought back some memories [``L.A. story: Green doesn't come easy,'' May 13, Page 10]. I was just starting to smoke in the 1940s, and my morning ritual was...

Foreign pressures foretell U.S. change.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2002... Whether it occurs through internal initiative or external pressure, waste generators are increasingly finding ways to reduce, reuse and recycle, according to two Yale University professors. Precedents in Europe and Japan are putting more...

Nuke plan; Tribe wants Utah site.(Goshute Indians offer to store nuclear waste from Private Fuel Storage L.L.C.)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2002... A Skull Valley Indian tribe is clearing the remaining hurdles to site a temporary nuclear waste storage facility on its land, but state officials have vowed to stop the project. The Goshute Indians plan to store 40,000 metric tons of...

New regs spark outsourcing trend.(Environmental Protection Agency regulations force most hospitals to close incinerators)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2002... The revolution in medical waste incineration goes on. Hospitals started closing their incinerators in the mid-1990s as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency began drafting new regulations for air emissions that would require most...

Hospitals adapt to changing field.(hospital waste management)
June 10, 2002... Hospitals are becoming more efficient in handling waste as they struggle to control mounting costs and become more aware of the impact of improper waste disposal on the environment, according to hospital officials, environmentalists and...

Paper outlook seems weak; China's demand remains exception in recycling market.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2002... Recycled paper supplies could remain soft into next year, according to a major player in the market from mid-America who attended last month's Waste Expo in Las Vegas. Why is volume down? asked Brian Fielkow, chief operating officer for...

Europe's content law worries auto suppliers.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2002... As automakers lean on their suppliers to cut costs and improve quality, they also want them to do something that suppliers say will cost thousands of work hours and possibly compromise trade secrets. Automakers that sell cars in Europe want...

Calif. fire sparks recycling.(Western Pacific Pulp and Paper Inc.)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2002... Tons and tons of fire-damaged recycled paper are being diverted from landfill disposal and will instead become worm food, and eventually compost. A fire last month left Western Pacific Pulp and Paper Inc.'s site with about 1,000 tons of...

Treatment options for medwaste.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2002... Incineration - Burns waste, and ashes are then landfilled. Autoclave - Relies on increased temperature and pressure to destroy infectious agents. Unlike incineration, the material is not combusted. After treatment, it is disposed of as...

Corrections.(Correction Notice)
June 24, 2002... * A photo caption on Page 4 of the May 27 issue should have said the Waste Expo booth that contained a miniature racecar track was shared by three companies: Roto Industries Inc., AmRep Inc. and Valvoline. * A photo on Page 4 of the June 10...

Waste Generator briefs.(Brief Article)
June 24, 2002... Paper Kinko's stores to buy renewable energy Dallas - Kinko's Inc. has signed on as the largest purchaser of renewable energy in Colorado, Oregon and Utah. The Dallas-based copy company will buy more than 10 percent of its total...

Cleanups stir growth for insurance market.(Brief Article)
June 24, 2002... Risk managers are slowly but increasingly turning to insurance to contain pollution cleanup costs and third-party liabilities, but charting the sea of coverage issues can be a complex and lengthy task. Some risk managers who have made...

Thousands to pay for N.H. waste oil mess.(Brief Article)
June 24, 2002... Federal officials want to make deals with 1,000 waste generators that contributed to a contaminated waste oil and recycling site in New Hampshire. The latest settlement offer is open to companies, municipalities and individuals in three...

Wastewater may help power autos, cell phones; Penn State fuel cell researchers see potential in byproduct reuse.(Brief Article)
June 24, 2002... Researchers at Penn State University see wastewater as a potential source of renewable energy. Hydrogen is used to power fuel cells, and a university research group now can boost hydrogen production from wastewater by 43 percent by using...

G-P to pay for Wis. damage.(Georgia-Pacific Corp. pollution of Fox River, Wisconsin)(Brief Article)
June 24, 2002... Georgia-Pacific Corp. will pay more than $10 million to settle federal natural resource damage claims surrounding PCB contamination of the Fox River in Wisconsin. The company's Fort James Operating Co. subsidiary will pay $8.5 million for...

Q & A: Will the proposed Clean Air Act reforms help or hurt the environment?
June 24, 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...

NYC compromise; City to collect metal; glass, plastic suspended.(Brief Article)
June 24, 2002... Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and the New York City Council agreed last week on a $42.3 million budget for 2003, which includes a compromise to the mayor's proposed suspension of the city's recycling program. ``This year's budget was passed...

Full circle; Well-traveled ash will rest in peace near its Pa. birthplace.(Brief Article)
June 24, 2002... Three thousand tons of incinerator ash that sailed around the world in search of a final resting place may be coming home to Pennsylvania after a 16-year odyssey. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection on June 13 issued...

S.C. sizzles about plan; Government to recycle plutonium from Colo.(Brief Article)
June 24, 2002... A federal judge on June 13 rejected a plea by South Carolina Gov. Jim Hodges to halt shipments of plutonium from Colorado to the federal government's Savannah River Site near Aiken. But the governor sparked another showdown with the federal...

New deal up North; Vt. generators receive relief from contracts.(Vermont commercial waste generators)(Brief Article)
June 24, 2002... Certain commercial waste generators in Vermont now fall under less restrictive contract requirements with the state's largest trash hauler as a result of an antitrust settlement with the Vermont attorney general's office. Casella Waste...

Coming Events.
June 24, 2002... North America June 26-27 - Business & Sustainability Conference, New York. Call (212) 759-0900. June 26-28 - International Truck Show, Las Vegas. Contact Roger Sherrard (800) 227-5992. June 30-July 3 - National Environmental...

Ohio considers proposal to reissue unused meds.(medications)(Brief Article)
June 24, 2002... The Ohio Legislature is considering a measure that would allow individuals to donate unused pharmaceuticals to a state-run repository program that would dispense the medication to low-income patients who lack prescription drug coverage. ...

New flow; County enforces '89 law directing waste.(Sumner County, Tennessee)(Brief Article)
June 24, 2002... The Sumner County, Tenn., Resource Authority is taking advantage of a recent court ruling that challenges flow control rules set in 1994. This year Sumner County officials began enforcing its 1989 flow control ordinance requiring haulers...

Waste Industry briefs.(multiple news briefs)(Brief Article)
June 24, 2002... Biosolids Court gives Synagro lawsuit go-ahead Williamsport, Pa. - The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania will allow Synagro Technologies Inc. to proceed with its lawsuit against a township ordinance...

Autonomy: You earn it.(Bush administration plans rollback of Clean Air Act regulations)(Brief Article)
June 24, 2002... A major controversy is brewing over the Bush administration's proposed changes in the Clear Air Act and its New Source Review regulations. It's a debate about whether the revisions will help or hurt air quality, but it's also a debate about how...

Own up, U.S. of A.(number of US companies self-reporting on environmental issues is increasing)(Brief Article)
June 24, 2002... The number of U.S. companies reporting on their environmental performance is on the rise. That's the good news. The bad news is that the number still is low, particularly in comparison to the world average. A survey of environmental...

N.C. establishes cool-down period; State allows utilities to freeze rates to offset costs of emission cuts.(North Carolina)(Brief Article)
June 24, 2002... Coal-fired electric generating plants in North Carolina must significantly reduce emissions over the next decade at a combined cost of about $2.3 billion, but the two utility companies operating in the state can recoup part of their costs by...

Atlanta lays off 12% of sanitation staff.(Atlanta, Georgia)(Brief Article)
June 24, 2002... Waste collection service in Atlanta, which has already been problematic, could suffer more due to dozens of job cuts in the city's Sanitation Department. The Atlanta City Council last week approved the layoff 66 of the approximately 540...

Air regulations stirring debate; Utilities like New Source Review revisions.(US environmental policies)
June 24, 2002... Industry and environmentalists, Democrats and Republicans have all taken early shots in what's going to be a long, fierce battle over New Source Review regulations. The heart of the debate is whether the proposed changes to New Source...

Yucca Mt. foes quake over plan; Tremor won't dissuade Energy officials.(Department of Energy reacts to earthquake near Yucca Mountain, Nevada)(Brief Article)
June 24, 2002... The aftershocks from a Nevada earthquake are being felt in Washington, where the Senate will vote soon on whether to create a permanent disposal site for high-level radioactive waste at Yucca Mountain, Nev. A June 14 earthquake of 4.4...

Bid for Jefferson Smurfit causes ripple effect in U.S.(Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. to bid for acquisition)(Brief Article)
June 24, 2002... Recycled packaging maker Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. has hired Morgan Stanley & Company Inc. to advise it in light of an investment firm's bid to purchase Smurfit-Stone's largest shareholder, Jefferson Smurfit Group. The news that a...

Supplier News.(several news briefs)(Brief Article)
June 24, 2002... Waste firm opens 4 offices in South Charleston, S.C. - Innovative Waste Management has opened satellite offices in Atlanta; Jacksonville, Fla.; Knoxville, Tenn.; and Gulfport, Miss. Joanne O'Keefe will oversee operations in the Atlanta...

Personnel.(multiple appointment news briefs)(Brief Article)
June 24, 2002... APPLEGARTH RECYCLING - Jackie Wheeler appointed office manager. AUTOCAR LLC - Denise Reeves appointed director of product marketing. CLAYTON GROUP SERVICES INC. - Alton Hobbs appointed regional office manager of environmental services....

Lighter and faster; Safety-Kleen sale will hasten firm's emergence from Chapter 11.(Safety-Kleen Corp. sale of Clean Harbors Inc.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 24, 2002... Safety-Kleen Corp. expects to emerge from bankruptcy court protection later this year now that the sale of its chemical services arm to Clean Harbors Inc. has been approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. A...

A look back.
June 24, 2002... 1988: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 14,000 landfills have closed since 1978, more than 70 percent of the landfills that operated at that time. Some sites closed because they reached capacity, others because they were...

Nev. firm's system gasifies tires, sludge.(power from waste at North American Power Co.)(Brief Article)
June 24, 2002... A new research and development facility built by North American Power Co. plans to show how an old concept has been turned into a viable process. The Henderson, Nev.-based firm's thermal recovery unit, or TRU, processes inorganic and...

Senators push to fund Superfund.(taxation of polluters)(Brief Article)
June 24, 2002... A group of senators, saying polluters should pay for environmental cleanups, is pushing for legislation that would reauthorize the long-expired Superfund tax on oil producers and other companies that are likely to pollute the environment. ...

On the rise; More U.S. firms report on impact to environment.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 24, 2002... The number of American companies reporting on environmental, social and sustainability performance continues to rise, according KPMG LLP, a U.S. professional services firm. The number of U.S. companies reporting on environmental and social...

At Deadline.(Brief Article)
June 24, 2002... WMI landfill gas to power S.C. auto plant Houston - Waste Management Inc. will supply landfill gas from its Palmetto landfill in Spartanburg, S.C., to BMW Manufacturing Corp.'s nearby plant. The gas will be delivered through a...

Karon's bequest.
June 24, 2002... The article on Page 4 about the Ohio man and the state lawmaker who together launched a legislative drive to reform the state's wasteful prescription drug disposal law hits hard, and it hits on many levels. The story is inspiring because it...

New Products & Technology.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
June 24, 2002... MORBARK INC. has introduced the mid-sized Model 4600 Track Wood Hog. The Model 4600 grinder is mounted on a Caterpillar 325L undercarriage and is easy to maneuver through rough terrain, according to the company. With horsepower...

Waste News Commodity Pricing Report.
June 24, 2002... table: Commodity Pricing Report * graph: Old corrugated containers: see printed publication.

Elderly emitters.
June 24, 2002... table: see printed publication.

Waste News Stock Report.
June 24, 2002... graphic: see printed publication.