Waste News articles from October 2004

Waste News archives from October 2004

Print it; News good for paper.(News)(European Recovered Paper Council)(Confederation of European Paper Industries)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... Byline: Jim Johnson European paper recyclers say they're on target to hit a 56 percent recycling rate by next year. A new report from the European Recovered Paper Council predicts paper and paperboard industries will hit that voluntary...

A Look Back.(News)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... 1872: New York City halts its practice of dumping garbage into the East River from a platform built over the waterway. Five years ago: The city of Toronto puts out a request for proposals for a contract to dispose of 2.2 million tons of the...

Cal-EPA, DOD agree on sampling.(News)(Department of Defense)(California Environmental Protection Agency)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... Byline: Bruce Geiselman The Department of Defense and California environmental officials have completed a procedure for prioritizing perchlorate sampling efforts at military sites statewide. The agreement specifies the role each party...

Team e-waste; WMI unit to hold events in 7 cities.(News)(Waste Management Inc,)(2004 Vision for America award)
October 11, 2004... Byline: Joe Truini A waste hauler and a shopping center manager are teaming up this month to collect scrap electronics. Waste Management Inc.'s subsidiary, Recycle America Alliance LLC, will host electronics recycling events in seven...

Jobs bounce? 2 enviro sectors see growth; 1 may follow.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Jim Johnson Hiring first started to increase in sales, and then in operations. Now the rally could continue into equipment manufacturing, an employment firm serving the waste and recycling industry reports. Meanwhile, a recent...

Allied names Cotros CEO.(News)
October 11, 2004... Byline: Jim Johnson Trash industry veteran Thomas Van Weelden is out as chairman and CEO at Allied Waste Industries Inc., as the former head of a well-known food services company takes control of the nation's second-largest garbage firm....

Citgo clears air dispute.(News)(Citgo Petroleum Corp.)
October 11, 2004... Byline: Joe Truini Citgo Petroleum Corp. will spend about $320 million to reduce annual emissions from six of its U.S. petroleum refineries by more than 30,000 tons over the next four years. The company signed a consent decree Oct. 6...

Waste Industry Briefs.(Briefs)(Clean Energy Combustion Systems Inc. forms a joint venture with EnEco Industries Ltd.)
October 11, 2004... Solid Waste Management SWANA: Wastecon attendance up 10% Attendance at this year's Wastecon trade show, sponsored by the Solid Waste Association of North America, increased by 10 percent compared with last year, according to SWANA...

Single stream spreads.(News)(recycling)
October 11, 2004... Byline: Brennan Lafferty It's no coincidence that one of Steve Viny's golden rules for recycling has a lot in common with single-stream recycling systems. A principal with Norton Environmental, which operates single-stream systems,...

It's barges, rail for NYC's trash; Mayor's new plan sets target for 2007.(New York City)
October 11, 2004... Byline: Jim Johnson New York wants to rely on a combination of barge and rail systems as well as public and private resources to handle waste flowing out of the city for the next 20 years. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg unveiled late last...

At Deadline: Seattle poised to add recycling programs.(Late News)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... Seattle Mayor Greg Nichols is expected to sign legislation passed by the City Council that will create a residential food waste recycling program and a paper recycling program for small businesses. "The mayor has 10 days to sign it, and he...

Seaworthy plan.(Opinion)(Michael Bloomberg's new plan)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... The early returns are in regarding the 20-year solid waste plan unveiled by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg last week. On the whole, the reviews are positive. Environmental groups are giving the proposal the thumbs-up because it will...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
October 11, 2004... * A technical spec sheet description on Page S-2 of the Sept. 13 issue for Heil Environmental should have listed the company's Web site as www.heil.com.

The great green void.(Opinion)(presidential elections)
October 11, 2004... Byline: Brennan Lafferty In the saturated political environment we currently reside, one area isn't getting near the attention it deserves: the environment. Here in Ohio, you can't swing a bleary-eyed pollster without knocking into...

Waste Generator Briefs.(Briefs)
October 11, 2004... Energy 500 join federal green power program The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Green Power Partnership has grown to include 500 partner organizations that collectively purchase almost 2 billion kilowatt-hours of renewable...

Waste News Pricing Report.(News)(high density polyethylene)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... (With graph: Houston recovered HDPE): PLASTIC BOOST: High-density polyethylene prices got another boost late last month, continuing into October, with recyclers seeing a significant increase in the prices of recovered post-consumer colored...

Q&A with Stampp Corbin.(Special Report)
October 11, 2004... Byline: Joe Truini Stampp Corbin founded Columbus, Ohio-based RetroBox, an electronics recycling company, in 1997. The firm specializes in the redeployment and recycling of personal computers, monitors, servers, networking equipment and...

U.K. attempts to attain ambitious waste goal.(News)
October 11, 2004... Byline: Bruce Geiselman Phoenix - The United Kingdom faces the daunting task of having to dramatically reduce the amount of waste flowing into landfills, but it lacks a cohesive policy to achieve the goal. That's the viewpoint of...

Calif. board OKs car emission rule.(News)(California)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... Byline: Bruce Geiselman The California Air Resources Board on Sept. 24 approved a regulation requiring automakers to sell vehicles with reduced greenhouse gas emissions by model year 2009. Automobile makers have criticized the...

Pinero takes federal post.(News)(Edwin Pinero)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... Byline: Bruce Geiselman President Bush has appointed Edwin Pinero as the federal environmental executive. Pinero, the deputy federal environmental executive since January 2003, had served as the acting head of the office since June,...

Report points out internal EPA fight; Businesses take issue with inspector general.(Environmental Protection Agency)
October 11, 2004... Byline: Bruce Geiselman A federal watchdog office has released a report saying Bush administration reforms to the New Source Review portion of the Clean Air Act have seriously hampered enforcement cases and efforts to negotiate...

Illinois puts heat on hospitals.(News)
October 11, 2004... Byline: Bruce Geiselman Illinois state officials are praising one hospital for quickly moving forward on plans to shut down its medical waste incinerator, and they're filing a lawsuit against a second hospital for alleged pollution and...

No longer off the hook.(Opinion)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... California, not surprisingly, again is leading the way in aggressive environmental legislation. The state's newly passed law requiring wireless phone companies and other entities to take back and recycle all cell phones at no cost could be a...

Utilities move to dismiss suit.(News)(cases)
October 11, 2004... Byline: Joe Truini Electric utilities are fighting back against lawsuits that try to pin global warming on a handful of power companies. The nation's five largest power companies filed motions Sept. 30 in federal court to dismiss a...

Calif. takes stand; State enacts first cell phone recycling law.(California)
October 11, 2004... Byline: Joe Truini Wireless phone companies are hearing California loud and clear, but they don't like the message. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Assembly Bill 2901, the Cell Phone Recycling Act of 2004, into law Sept....

Schwarzenegger vetoes tire bill.(News)(Arnold Schwarzenegger)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... Byline: Joe Truini California environmentalists will not get their wish for the state to use more recycled tires in roadways. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed Assembly Bill 338 Sept. 29, which would have required the state Department...

Republic launches health care.(News)
October 11, 2004... Byline: Jim Johnson Trash collection, waste disposal and health care? One of the nation's largest solid waste management companies is branching out to start providing in-house basic health care at one of its largest operations. ...

Ocean motion; California limits ship dumping.(News)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... Byline: Bruce Geiselman California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed into law two bills that limit the ability of cruise ships to dump sewage in the state's coastal waters. The governor signed AB2903, which will prevent cruise...

Metal recyclers continue to enjoy boom.(Special Report)
October 11, 2004... Byline: Bruce Geiselman Scrap steel prices have fallen slightly since hitting historic highs this spring, but No. 1 heavy melting scrap prices remain well above levels seen in previous years. Continued steel production and demand due...

Air rules for plywood makers disputed.(News)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... Byline: Bruce Geiselman The environmental law firm Earthjustice has filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Sierra Club challenging federal standards for air emissions from plywood plants as too lax. The rule, issued in February, will reduce...

Waste News Poll.(Opinion)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... Q: What impact do you think the NYC recycling deal will have on U.S. recycling programs? (Pie chart) 20%: Major 25.5%: Moderate 34.5%: Minor 20%: None From Wastenews.com Sept. 20-27. Number of respondents: 110

Spotlight moves to hydrogen technology.(News)(Brief Article)
October 25, 2004... Byline: Bruce Geiselman The U.S. Energy Department has awarded more than $75 million in research grants to support development of hydrogen fuel technology. The projects receiving the money will tackle major technical and economic...

Unclear skies.(Opinion)(Brief Article)
October 25, 2004... The election is now just a few days away, and to no one's surprise, terrorism and Iraq have dominated the debate between presidential candidates. But the environment has played a supporting role, and we hope it will be an important part of the...

Waste News Pricing Report.(News)(Brief Article)
October 25, 2004... (With graph: Los Angeles recovered PET): FOCUS OUT WEST: Overseas demand, particularly from China, has given the recovered polyethylene terephthalate market a boost on the West Coast. Increased export activity is pushing prices up, and the...

Economists disagree on recycling's role.(News)
October 25, 2004... Byline: Joe Truini Aurora, Ohio - The Thrilla in Manilla. The Rumble in the Jungle. And now, the Uproara in Aurora? Well, that's what happens when two economists on opposite sides of the fence square off to debate recycling's role...

Waste Generator Briefs.(Briefs)
October 25, 2004... Waste-To-Energy Congress OKs poultry waste tax break Congress recently passed a tax break that will encourage the development of waste-to-energy systems using poultry waste as fuel. The Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004...

FedEx warms to solar power at airport.(News)
October 25, 2004... Byline: Jim Johnson FedEx Corp. is going solar and in a big way. The package delivery giant will construct an 81,000-sq.-ft. solar electric system at its operations at Oakland International Airport, the largest corporate solar electric...

Schwarzenegger unveils plan to protect waterways; Critics wish governor had attached timetables to plan.(News)
October 25, 2004... Byline: Bruce Geiselman California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has endorsed a comprehensive ocean protection plan that he said would set a national standard for the management of ocean and coastal resources. "I asked for this plan...

NYC rail-barge plan fogs hauler's future.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Jim Johnson New York City's largest independent trash hauler is taking a wait-and-see approach to the city's new plans to use a hybrid approach to transporting waste out of the city. IESI Corp. has a network of three transfer...

A Look Back.(News)(Brief Article)
October 25, 2004... Five years ago: An internal audit of Waste Management Inc. operations turns up additional accounting problems, prompting the company to warn of a second write-off in the third quarter that could reach as high as $1 billion. A year ago: The...

Alderman pushes to pop blue bags.(News)
October 25, 2004... Byline: Joe Truini Be it a shot in the arm or a kick in the butt, a Chicago official is looking for a change to improve the city's residential recycling program. Alderman Tom Murphy suggested scrapping the city's nine-year-old...

Generation tops 2 billion.(News)
October 25, 2004... Byline: Jim Johnson Global municipal solid waste generation will increase by 7 percent this year and top 2 billion tons for the first time ever, a new report shows. And the increase will be 31.1 percent between 2004 and 2008,...

Pa. utility may face suit.(News)
October 25, 2004... Byline: Joe Truini A Pennsylvania power company has two months to address pollution problems at one of its plants or face litigation. Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future notified Allegheny Energy Inc. that it intends to sue the company...

Heinz Kerry has 'green' history.(News)
October 25, 2004... Byline: Steve Toloken If John Kerry wins the presidency in November, the United States will have a first lady with a long history of making big financial donations to environmental groups, including those with interests in chemical and...

Foot in the door.(Opinion)(Brief Article)
October 25, 2004... Some hard lobbying work has paid off for proponents of landfill gas and waste-to-energy tax credits. This month Congress agreed to a compromise version of the measure. The bill only waits for President Bush's signature to make it official. ...

Quote of the Week.(News)
October 25, 2004... This is exactly why all economists should be shot, drawn and quartered. Peter Anderson, president of Recycleworlds Consulting Inc. of Madison, Wis., criticizes an economist's proposal of a cap-and-trade system that would limit the amount...

Roiled waters; Court favors greens in Fla. pollution tiff.(News)
October 25, 2004... Byline: Bruce Geiselman Environmentalists have won a legal battle to force a federal court to determine whether Florida and federal environmental officials improperly removed more than 100 bodies of water from the state's pollution cleanup...

New Allied Waste leader limits time to two years; Ariz.-based company realigns structure, eliminates 30 jobs.(News)(Allied Waste Industries Inc.)
October 25, 2004... Byline: Jim Johnson Charles H. Cotros' employment contract to take control of Allied Waste Industries Inc. requires the executive to stay as chairman and CEO for at least a year, but not more than two years. A filing with the U.S....

Green Lodging Program reaches 26 hotels in Calif. Rooms, offices and lobbies can feature waste reduction.(News)
October 25, 2004... Byline: Jim Johnson California's green hotels have nothing to do with foliage in the lobby or bathroom decor. A new program by the California Integrated Waste Management Board aims to identify hotels in the state that are taking steps such...

Waste, emissions may swing some states.(News)
October 25, 2004... Byline: Bruce Geiselman Environmental issues have not been at the forefront of either presidential campaign, but they could play a significant role in a few swing states where a percentage point or two could change the outcome. As was...

Mirror, mirror: Looking for differences; Conservatives see few; green groups see stark contrast.(News)
October 25, 2004... Byline: Bruce Geiselman You know an election is heated when experts can't even agree on what separates the candidates. Environmentalists portray huge differences between the presidential candidates on environmental issues. But some...

At Deadline.(Late News)
October 25, 2004... Russian house ratifies Kyoto Protocol The lower house of the Russia's parliament, the State Duma, voted overwhelmingly on Oct. 22 to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, drawing praise from environmentalists. Russia's upper house still must vote...

Doing a slow burn; Power industry takes issue with wildlife group's mercury report.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Joe Truini The power industry is balking at a National Wildlife Federation report that claims the coal-fired power plants can significantly reduce mercury emissions for the price of a cup of coffee. The federation is calling on...

A 2nd for Sony; Plans to open e-recycling plant with Envirocycle.(News)
October 25, 2004... Byline: Joe Truini Sony Electronics Inc. and a Pennsylvania electronics processor have signed an agreement to open a California electronics recycling facility. Sony will open the post-consumer electronics recycling center at its...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
October 25, 2004... * In the Recycling Ranking on Page 13 of the Oct. 11 issue, the No. 55-ranked company, Universal Scrap Metals Inc., should have been labeled as having private ownership.

High court hears Texas Superfund case.(News)
October 25, 2004... Byline: Bruce Geiselman The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard arguments about whether a company that voluntarily cleans up contamination on its property should be able to sue a former owner under the federal Superfund law to recover costs....

Court rejects effort to ban snowmobiles at Yellowstone.(News)(Brief Article)
October 25, 2004... Byline: Bruce Geiselman A federal judge in Wyoming has struck down a rule that would have banned snowmobiles from Yellowstone National Park. Snowmobile advocates and manufacturers opposed the rule, which was finalized in 2001 at the...

Obituaries.(Obituary)(Converto Manufacturing Co. Inc.)(Brief Article)(Obituary)
October 25, 2004... Lyn Seaquist Lyn Seaquist, president and CEO of Bulldog Caster Company Inc., died Aug. 14 of cancer at her home following a 14-month battle with the disease. Seaquist founded Bulldog Caster, which is headquartered in San Clamente,...

Coming Events.(Calendar)(Calendar)
October 25, 2004... North America Oct. 25-27 - Environmental Management & Security for Defense, Washington. Contact Tony Yauch (212) 885-2766 or visit idga.org. Oct. 26 - Buy Recycled & Environmentally Preferable Products Annual Vendor Fair & Conference,...

Process makes rich fertilizer from fish waste.(Products)
October 25, 2004... Byline: Tracy Hayhurst Plenty of processes break down fish waste and convert it into an emulsion that can be used as fertilizer, but a California firm claims it can do it much more quickly and create a more highly concentrated product. ...

Personnel.(People)(Brief Article)
October 25, 2004... AMERICAN BALER CO. - Dave Barger appointed West Coast regional sales manager. AMERICAN PAPER RECYCLING CORP. - William Anderson appointed to head the Asheville, N.C., recycling division; Kathleen Bent appointed director of brokerage sales;...

Bush's first term offers mixed reviews.(News)
October 25, 2004... Byline: Bruce Geiselman Only weeks before the November presidential election, environmentalists and federal environmental enforcers are painting two different pictures of the Bush administration's performance in pursing polluters and...

In their own words.(News)
October 25, 2004... Byline: Bruce Geiselman President Bush describes himself as a good steward of the land, but his Democratic opponent John Kerry says Bush's administration is one of the worst in modern history on environmental issues. Neither candidate...

Tax credit bill receives tepid thumbs-up.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Bruce Geiselman The U.S. Senate has approved a corporate tax measure that includes landfill gas and waste-to-energy tax credits, although the bill does not completely satisfy some backers. The measure, approved Oct. 13, has...

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
October 25, 2004... A recycler's view Marty Forman's "Paper/plastic: Who's holding the bag?'' [Sept. 13, Page 9] failed to take into consideration the enormous amount of paper bags that do get recycled. They show up in the recycling facilities stuffed...

Fla.'s long recuperation; Storms' impact expected to linger for a year or more.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Jim Johnson Four separate hurricanes that punched Florida in rapid succession this year created as much vegetative and construction and demolition debris as the state would normally see in three years. Hurricanes Charley,...

Waste Industry Briefs.(Briefs)
October 25, 2004... Electronics Recyclers, university form association The University of California at Davis has joined with a group of electronics recyclers and advocates to form an association to help electronics recyclers and other recovery companies...

Armed with new fee, Va. will clean up tires; Contractors to bid for share of $3 million fund.(News)(Brief Article)
October 25, 2004... Byline: Miles Moore The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality is introducing "Operation Clean Sweep,'' a $3 million program to clean up the commonwealth's estimated 3 million scrap tires remaining in 342 piles in November. Bids...

New Products & Technology.(Products)(Petro Green Inc.)(Johnston Madvac Inc)
October 25, 2004... PETRO-GREEN INC. has introduced ADP-7 Surface Washing Agent to clean up oil or fuel leaks. The spills can be emulsified, reducing odor and flammability, using this diluted washing agent. The water-wet solution can be flushed off of a hard...