Waste News articles from May 2003

Waste News archives from May 2003

Planet enemy No. 1; Officials: Global warming biggest challenge ever.(News)
May 12, 2003... Byline: Bruce Geiselman Global warming is the most difficult and complicated scientific and political problem the world has ever faced, biologist George Woodwell told attendees of Enviro Expo 2003. "It's much larger than the political...

Mass. conducts mercury sweep.(News)
May 12, 2003... Byline: Bruce Geiselman The state of Massachusetts has undertaken a pilot program to try to rid high schools of mercury, and during the first year of operation it removed 471 pounds of the dangerous metal from 40 schools. "Prior to the...

The 'EP' in EPA.(Opinion)(Brief Article)
May 12, 2003... Some of the ways 9-11 changed our world are clearly visible to us, like long security check lines at airports. But many others are less visible, at least to the general public. Things have changed at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency...

Senate weighs energy bill.(News)
May 12, 2003... Byline: Elizabeth Thompson Beckley The power and landfill gas industries were watching closely as the Senate last week prepared to debate an energy bill passed out of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee April 30. The committee...

EPA sets deadline for e-waste dilemma.(Cover Story)
May 12, 2003... Byline: Joe Truini Time is running out for stakeholders to develop a voluntary nationwide solution to deal with electronic waste. Marianne Lamont Horinko, assistant administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of...

A Look Back.(News)
May 12, 2003... Five years ago: Republic Services Inc. announces it will spin off its solid waste division next year and is selling 25 to 35 percent of the new company in an initial public offering. A year ago: An ruling by the U.S. Environmental...

Waste News Pricing Report.(News)(Brief Article)
May 12, 2003... SCRAP RETREAT: Scrap steel prices are easing back after making a significant run early this year. Buyback rates for steel cans and white goods have dropped in many markets as steelmakers push down their prices for scrap steel. Recyclers expect...

Snail's pace; Lakes cleanup lags.(News)(Brief Article)
May 12, 2003... Byline: Joe Truini A progress report on the cleanup of the Great Lakes has shown little, well, progress, according to some watchdog groups. The International Joint Committee estimates it will cost the U.S. and Canada $8.8 billion to...

Report urges feds to cooperate in cleanups.(News)
May 12, 2003... Byline: Bruce Geiselman Defense officials need to better coordinate cleanup efforts at former military bases with other federal and state regulators, according to a report prepared for Congress. The General Accounting Office report...

Green building on the rise, speakers say.(News)
May 12, 2003... Byline: Bruce Geiselman Adopting green building practices can provide long-term cost savings, reduce energy consumption and sewage output, and make the workplace a more enjoyable environment for employees, said several speakers at Enviro...

Texas city's trash plan hits snags.(News)
May 12, 2003... Byline: Joe Truini Kenneth Barr's final act as Forth Worth's mayor may be taming the monster he's created. "Fort Worth has tried to be proactive and plow new ground,'' Barr said of the city's new recycling and trash collection...

Group questions priorities of U.S. EPA; Agency denies it has shifted emphasis from environment to security, Whitman.(News)
May 12, 2003... The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is referring fewer cases for prosecution as investigators are reassigned to homeland security and protecting Administrator Christine Whitman, according to an advocacy group. The EPA denied the...

Wis. utility to pay huge fine.(Cover Story)
May 12, 2003... Byline: Joe Truini Another utility company has settled with the U.S. government rather than challenge what some see as ambiguous New Source Review requirements. Wisconsin Electric Power Co. will spend $600 million to reduce emissions...

Waste giant cuts here and adds there; Analyst backs WMI's strategy of paring routes.(News)
May 12, 2003... Collecting trash more efficiently will save Waste Management Inc. tens of millions of dollars per year. The Houston-based solid waste giant has begun examining each of its 15,000 commercial and residential routes with an eye toward cutting...

Coming Events.(Calendar)(Calendar)
May 12, 2003... North America May 19-22 - Electronics Recycling Summit, Boston. Call (800) 810-4333 or visit www.iseesummit.org. June 2-5 - In Situ and On-Site Bioremediation International Symposium, Orlando, Fla. Call (614) 488-2030 or visit...

Synagro buys Wis.-based biosolids firm.(Late News)(Brief Article)
May 12, 2003... Synagro Technologies Inc. completed the acquisition of Aspen Resources Inc. May 7. Aspen Resources, of Oconto Falls, Wis., land-applies organic residuals from pulp and paper mills and biosolids from municipalities. The company operates...

Waste Generator Briefs.(Briefs)
May 12, 2003... Environment Study urges U.S.-Mex border teamwork Washington - A presidential advisory committee has sent a report to President Bush and Congress containing recommendations for strengthening U.S.-Mexico cooperation to improve...

Report urges military to ban mercury sales.(News)
May 12, 2003... Byline: Bruce Geiselman Defense officials should continue a ban on selling surplus mercury and concentrate the 4,900 tons it has in storage at one location, according to a government draft report. The excess mercury is now stored at...

WN seeks H&D data.(News)
May 12, 2003... Waste News needs your assistance in compiling our annual ranking of the largest hauling and disposal companies in the United States and Canada. To be included in this year's list, please take a moment to visit our Web site...

Illinois institutes NOx rules.(News)
May 12, 2003... Byline: Joe Truini Illinois power generators are getting a jump on federal regulations thanks to statewide rules limiting emissions. Illinois is the first Midwestern state to implement major regulations to reduce nitrogen oxide...

Deep dark truthful mirror.(Opinion)
May 12, 2003... Byline: Allan Gerlat Surveys can be instructive and, even more often, really interesting. The gap between those two, though, that's the question. We wrote a story in our last issue on an Internet survey claiming that consumers are...

Paper giant touts reuse to Iowans.(News)(Brief Article)
May 12, 2003... Byline: Jim Johnson Weyerhaeuser Co. is trying to push for more paper recycling in Iowa, home to the world's largest 100 percent recycled containerboard mill. Weyerhaeuser's Cedar Rapids containerboard mill will use more than 1...

New trials; Court reverses ruling in uranium mill case.(News)(Brief Article)
May 12, 2003... Byline: Bruce Geiselman A federal appeals court has set aside verdicts and ordered new trials in two cases that awarded a total of $43.3 million to residents and businesses near a uranium mill in Colorado. The residents argued that the...

Corrections.(Correction)
May 12, 2003... * A story on Page 7 of the April 26 issue should have said: "I think what they're doing is criminal,'' said Robert J. Glavin, president and CEO of United Recycling Industries Inc., referring to Unicor's use of prison labor. * A story on...

Plastic growth; Crown sells division; new firm to expand.(News)(Brief Article)
May 12, 2003... Byline: Steve Toloken Crown Cork & Seal Co. Inc. has sold its Nationwide Recyclers division to a private investment group that plans roughly to double the company's polyethylene terephthalate recycling capacity and make other investments...

GIANTS ATTACK LANDFILL.(News)
May 12, 2003... photo: see print copy. CAPTION(S): GIANTS ATTACK LANDFILL: Employees of Casella Waste Systems Inc. exhibit a model of a working landfill at Enviro Expo 2003. The convention was held last week in Boston.

12/31/03 or bust.(Opinion)(Brief Article)
May 12, 2003... The writing is on the wall, in red. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has challenged NEPSI - the ad hoc coalition of electronics makers, sellers, recyclers and regulators formed to create a national electronics recycling program - to...

University research 'trashes' fast food.(Cover Story)
May 12, 2003... Byline: Jim Johnson From harvest to home, food ends up becoming trash at rates higher than previously thought, ongoing research at the University of Arizona shows. Timothy W. Jones of the university's Bureau of Applied Research and...

Senator probes food contamination issue.(News)
May 12, 2003... Byline: Bruce Geiselman A U.S. senator is asking three federal agencies to investigate whether a chemical found in rocket fuel is contaminating America's food crops. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., made the request last month following...

N.J. team builds bridges with recycled plastic.(Products)
May 12, 2003... Byline: Tracy Hayhurst A team of researchers from Rutgers University and a manufacturer of plastic lumber are working to bridge the gap between the glut of plastics available for recycling and the still-scarce market for them. Polywood...

Broken heartland; Tornadoes bring destruction, debris to states.(Cover Story)
May 12, 2003... Byline: Jim Johnson A daunting cleanup lies ahead for many towns as tornadoes ripped through the belly of America last week, killing dozens and damaging or destroying thousands of buildings. Folks will bury their own and then, in the...

Waste Industry Briefs.(Briefs)
May 12, 2003... Medical Waste Commodore buys 3 haulers in Southeast Nashville, Tenn. - Commodore Medical Service has purchased three medical waste haulers in the southeastern United States. Commodore, a medical waste transporter, recently...

No flow in Mont. Court puts clamps on natural gas developers discharging wastewater.(News)
May 12, 2003... Byline: Joe Truini Montana natural gas developers can no longer discharge salty wastewater into rivers and surface waters without a permit. A federal appeals court ruled last month that water pumped from coal bed methane wells is a...

Allied cuts jobs, hikes prices to counter drop.(News)
May 12, 2003... Byline: Jim Johnson Allied Waste Industries Inc. is using a combination of price increases and job cuts to help make up for a weaker-than-expected first quarter. "The first quarter produced a challenging operating environment from the...

New Products & Technology.(Products)
May 12, 2003... CATERPILLAR INC. has introduced the 500E-Series Vibratory Soil Compactors. The four new models - the CP-563E, CS-563E, CWS-573E and CS-583E - have operating weights ranging from 11.1 to 15.7 metric tons (12.2 to 17.3 U.S. tons), and each...

Structurally sound.(Cover Story)
May 12, 2003... table: see print copy.

Waste News Stock Report.(News)
May 12, 2003... graphic: see print copy.

Coming Events.(Calendar)
May 26, 2003... North America June 2-4 - Anaerobic Digester Technology Applications in Animal Agriculture Summit, Raleigh, N.C. Contact Lori Burkhammer (703) 684-2400 or visit www.wef.org/conferences. June 2-5 - In Situ and On-Site Bioremediation...

Idaho high court KOs hauling franchises.(News)
May 26, 2003... Byline: Jim Johnson An Idaho Supreme Court ruling regarding trash service in a small town in southeastern Idaho could impact the industry throughout the state. The high court recently ruled that the city of Fruitland, and any other...

It's raptoriffic; Falcons make gulls' lives intolerable at L.A. landfills.
May 26, 2003... Byline: Jim Johnson Sea gulls don't like Joe Suffredini. The master falconer makes a living by making those birds' lives miserable thanks to the stable of falcons he flies at a couple of California landfills owned by Waste Management...

Waste Generator Briefs.(Briefs)
May 26, 2003... Energy Minn. House reconsiders stance on Xcel St. Paul, Minn. - The Minnesota House of Representatives has flip-flopped on a bill that would allow Xcel Energy Inc. to store additional nuclear waste at its power plants in the state. ...

Bumpy ride on the right route.(automobile industry and waste management)(Brief Article)
May 26, 2003... In a lot of ways, the auto industry seems to get it. The highly visible business sector - long the target of environmentalists crying foul for air pollution and greenhouse gas issues - is making strides in the sustainability arena. In...

A Look Back.(News)
May 26, 2003... 1978: The U.S. Supreme Court rules that garbage is protected by the Constitution's Interstate Commerce Clause. Five years ago: Metal Management Inc. gains access to a port for international shipping by purchasing Naporano Iron & Metal Co....

A change of scenery.(Opinion)(Brief Article)
May 26, 2003... Nobody ever says politics is easy. It claimed another victim last week when Christie Whitman resigned as administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Whitman said she's leaving to spend more time with her family. But she...

Calif. retains smog king title, report says.(News)
May 26, 2003... Byline: Bruce Geiselman California's major metropolitan areas are the smoggiest cities in the United States, according to an American Lung Association report. For the fourth consecutive year, the Los Angeles, Fresno, Bakersfield and...

New sales pitch; Mich. waste firm employs former pro athletes as part of sales force.(News)(Dave Rozema, Disposal Management L.L.C.)
May 26, 2003... Byline: Jim Johnson Many athletes talk trash as a way to gain an edge; Dave Rozema talks trash as a way to make a living. The 10-year Major League pitcher, who spent the bulk of his career with the Detroit Tigers, now spends his...

EPA chief's exit stirs speculation; Views on what type of person should lead EPA vary widely.(Environmental Protection Agency)
May 26, 2003... Byline: Bruce Geiselman Opinions on who should succeed Christie Whitman as administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are varied as the industries the EPA oversees. Many consider Whitman a moderate Republican, and some...

WN seeks H&D data.(News)
May 26, 2003... Waste News needs your assistance in compiling our annual ranking of the largest hauling and disposal companies in the United States and Canada. To be included in this year's list, please visit our Web site (www.wastenews.com/...

At Deadline.(Late News; waste management)
May 26, 2003... Environmental exec to tackle electronics Boston - The U.S. Office of the Environmental Executive will kick off a pilot program next week in Portland, Ore., to reduce the environmental impacts of the government's use of electronic...

Supplier News.(Briefs)
May 26, 2003... Heil consolidates manufacturing units Chattanooga, Tenn. - Heil Environmental Industries Ltd. is consolidating its North American refuse collection vehicle manufacturing operations into its flagship Fort Payne, Ala., facility and will close...

Offices, schools new focus for paper recycling industry.(News)
May 26, 2003... Byline: Jim Johnson Collecting more of the used paper generated in the nation's offices and schools will be key to a new goal of recycling 55 percent of the nation's recovered fiber in the next decade. The nation now recovers about 48...

Selfish do-goodism.(Opinion)(Brief Article)
May 26, 2003... Byline: Allan Gerlat We all know investing hasn't been very attractive lately. The financial markets have been gradually bouncing back in recent weeks, but confidence is nowhere near where it was in the heady days of the '90s. So now...

Waste Industry Briefs.(Briefs)
May 26, 2003... Electronics Association publishes e-waste report Boston - The International Association of Electronics Recyclers has published the first comprehensive report on the electronics recycling industry. The group released the report...

Green LEEDership; Toyota focuses on environment with Calif. HQ project.(News)
May 26, 2003... Byline: Jim Johnson Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. has created the nation's largest so-called green building complex, a project containing more than 600,000 square feet of office space. Toyota said the site, an expansion of the...

Automaker teams with WMI to power plant.(News)(BMW Manufacturing Corp.)(Waste Management Inc.)
May 26, 2003... Byline: Jim Johnson Decomposing trash is fueling a quarter of BMW Manufacturing Corp.'s energy needs at a South Carolina auto plant. Methane gas from Waste Management Inc.'s Palmetto landfill near Spartanburg, S.C., is now flowing to...

Military faces cover-up accusation about perchlorate.(News)(Brief Article)
May 26, 2003... Byline: Bruce Geiselman Two Democratic members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee have accused the Department of Defense of covering up the extent of contamination caused by a component in solid rocket fuel and ammunition used by...

Waste News Pricing Report.(News)(Brief Article)
May 26, 2003... (Chicago PET prices): FOR GOOD NEWS, LOOK EAST: Recovered polyethylene terephthalate prices continue to inch upward in the eastern United States. Material is moving relatively well as the markets gain strength, according to some PET end-users....

Tire tax; N.Y. fee to partially address scrap tires.(News)(Brief Article)
May 26, 2003... Byline: Joe Truini New York enacted a law May 15 to clean up millions of scrap tires and encourage markets for recycled rubber. The law creates a fee to fund the efforts. The state will charge $2.50 for each new tire sold and $2.50 per...

Recycling grows in Nashville.(News)
May 26, 2003... Byline: Joe Truini Last year, Mayor Bill Purcell decided it was time that Nashville recycled more and threw away less. And things already are looking up a year after the city launched the largest recycling effort in its history. ...

Mass. may hand bill to automakers.(News; mercury pollution)
May 26, 2003... Byline: Jim Johnson Another New England state is considering whether to give vehicle makers the responsibility and cost of recycling mercury found in the automobiles they create. A bill introduced in the state House of Representatives...

Mutually beneficial portfolios; Interest, investment swell in socially, environmentally responsible funds.(Special Report)
May 26, 2003... Byline: Elizabeth Thompson Beckley When managing their environmental impact, companies usually first consider government compliance and cost savings. Increasingly they have another consideration: gaining favor with the environmentally...

Audits keep firms honest.(Special Report)
May 26, 2003... Byline: Elizabeth Thompson Beckley In order for a company to be considered by green investors, it must demonstrate that it is walking the walk and not merely "greenwashing'' its public image. Socially responsible investment funds, or...

Funds earn top ratings plus a loyal following.(Special Report; ethical investing)
May 26, 2003... Byline: Elizabeth Thompson Beckley While the rest of the U.S. mutual fund industry contracted during the first quarter, with investment pullouts of almost $13.2 billion, socially responsible mutual funds recorded increased net investments...

Not all companies can fit through funds' filters.(Special Report; ethical investments)
May 26, 2003... Byline: Elizabeth Thompson Beckley Whether a firm's environmental initiatives will attract investment depends in part on the types of screens different funds use. One strategy is to screen out the most egregious company in every...

Pilot a big step for fuel cells.
May 26, 2003... Byline: Jim Johnson First-of-its-kind testing through a new private-public partnership will help determine the viability of hydrogen fuel cell-powered delivery vehicles. A government fuel emissions laboratory in Ann Arbor will serve as...

Dark skies; Researchers warn about glut of soot.(News)(Brief Article)
May 26, 2003... Byline: Bruce Geiselman Microscopic particles of airborne soot are more plentiful and contribute more to global climate change than researchers previously thought, according to scientists from NASA and Columbia University. If these...

7 drivers earn EIA award.(News)
May 26, 2003... The Environmental Industry Associations has honored seven trash truck drivers with its annual Driver of the Year award. They are: * David R. Coon, small commercial category, Prairie Waste Service in Bettendorf, Iowa. * Charles Van...

Speech drives arts support; Waste consultant, NYC provide needed backing for threatened program.(News)
May 26, 2003... Byline: Joe Truini While competing for its very existence, the New York Materials for the Arts program won a fan and gained an unexpected ally. As New York faced a massive budget crunch last year, many nonessential city services fought...

EPA aid; Auto, construction get help via Internet.(News)(Brief Article)
May 26, 2003... Byline: Jim Johnson Workers in two more industries - construction and automotive recycling - have new help to comply with federal and state environmental regulations. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - in conjunction with...

Two cuts above; Hydrodemolition job at Tennessee nuclear power plant achieves 100% recycling rate.(News)
May 26, 2003... Byline: Jim Johnson A year of planning went into a recently completed unique demolition project that used high-pressure water to slowly cut huge holes in a nuclear reactor dome. This was a project where all of the waste - concrete and...

Tight ship; Ohio EPA increases enviro enforcement.(News)(Brief Article)
May 26, 2003... Byline: Jim Johnson More than 5 million scrap tires and almost 10,000 tons of solid waste were cleared from open dumps in Ohio last year as the result of Ohio Environmental Protection Agency enforcement actions. According to an Ohio...

Machine makes animal parts into oil, fertilizer.(Products)
May 26, 2003... Byline: Tracy Hayhurst Go ahead. Put just about anything into Changing World Technologies' apparatus and out comes oil and other clean, usable byproducts. The idea sounds too good to be true, almost like some sort of waste alchemy....

Letters.
May 26, 2003... Thanks to a friend I attended the funeral on May 8 for Ralph Mastrangelo Sr., and was deeply moved as an association manager who knew this fine man from our work together over the years. Ralph's legacy represents all that is good in our...

Report: U.S. dirty bomb security lacking.(News)
May 26, 2003... Byline: Bruce Geiselman The U.S. Department of Energy needs to develop better long-range plans for securing unwanted radioactive material that terrorists could use to construct nuclear weapons and "dirty bombs,'' a congressional report...

Groups debate ozone plan.(News)
May 26, 2003... Byline: Bruce Geiselman The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released a proposed blueprint for adopting new ground-level ozone standards. The agency says the standards will better protect the public's health, but some...

Foreign concepts in Wisconsin; Driver hasn't ever called in sick at Onyx Waste, or bent a fender in 34-year career.(News)
May 26, 2003... Byline: Jim Johnson For 28 years Chuck Van Dyke hasn't missed a single day of work. And for 34 years - his entire career as a trash truck driver - the Onyx Waste Services Inc. employee hasn't even dented a fender. These days, the...

EPA chief's exit stirs speculation; Whitman quits amid criticism, praise, conjecture about friction.(Christie Whitman )
May 26, 2003... Byline: Bruce Geiselman Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christie Whitman said she is resigning to spend more time with her husband in New Jersey, but some environmentalists speculated that friction regarding administration...

Exxon hears cries for openness.(News)(Exxon Mobil Corp. )
May 26, 2003... Byline: Joe Truini Shareholder and environmental groups are demanding one of world's largest oil and gas firms to tell them what it's doing about global warming. Exxon Mobil Corp. is the only major oil and gas company ignoring global...

Mont. ruling favors Atlantic Richfield.(News)(Brief Article)
May 26, 2003... Byline: Joe Truini Atlantic Richfield Co. won a victory this month in the massive cleanup of the nation's largest Superfund site. Atlantic Richfield does not have to pay the $47 million the state requested for natural resource damages...

Ohio toxic releases dropped by 13.4% in '01.(News)
May 26, 2003... Byline: Jim Johnson The amount of toxic chemicals released into Ohio's environment fell in 2001, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency said. The 13.4 percent decrease between 2000 and 2001 is the largest in four years since the...

Awards.(News)(Brief Article)
May 26, 2003... Panasonic nets 5th Energy Star award Washington - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy recently recognized Panasonic as Energy Star Partner of the Year. Panasonic is the only consumer electronics maker to...

Purchase of Pa. steel maker brings environmental costs.(News; Bethlehem Steel Corp.)
May 26, 2003... Byline: Joe Truini International Steel Group Inc. has come to terms with an inherited environmental liability from its purchase of Bethlehem Steel Corp. this month. International Steel agreed May 14 to assume responsibility for mine...

NW spat; Feds broke haz waste rules, Wash. state says.(News)
May 26, 2003... Byline: Bruce Geiselman Washington state officials have accused the U.S. Department of Energy of violating state hazardous waste laws by improperly managing radioactive waste buried in unlined trenches at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation....

S.C. Johnson increases stake in landfill gas.(News)
May 26, 2003... Byline: Jim Johnson S.C. Johnson & Son Inc. is investing $5 million to use landfill gas at its largest manufacturing plant and cut greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel use by about half. The maker of such household cleaning...