Waste News articles from September 2004

Waste News archives from September 2004

Cement firm to test tires in Neb.(News)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Miles Moore Ash Grove Cement Co. has received permission from the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality to do a test burn of scrap tires at its Louisville, Neb., cement plant. The DEQ granted the variance to Overland...

West may benefit from Colo. biodiesel site.(News)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Joe Truini Blue Sun Biodiesel will open the nation's first high-volume commercial biodiesel terminal this fall in southern Colorado, making its proprietary blend available to the western United States. The terminal, which will...

At Deadline.(Late News)
September 13, 2004... Settlement could cost DuPont $342m DuPont has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit filed against the company by West Virginia and Ohio residents for chemical releases from its Washington Works plant on the Ohio River near Parkersburg,...

Square One; Stakeholders set off on quest to boost sagging beverage container recycling rate.(News)(Column)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Joe Truini Stakeholders hoped to begin to reach a consensus on how to reverse declining beverage container recycling rates, but the only thing they seemed to agree on was that there is a problem. A panel representing the...

S.F.'s Chinatown presents unusual set of problems.(News)(Column)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Joe Truini Chinatown's many residents, merchants and tourists, its cramped shops and restaurants and unique culture present interesting recycling and composting challenges. "Its being one of the older parts of San Francisco,...

A Look Back.(News)
September 13, 2004... 1916: U.S. involvement in World War I leads to a shortage of paper pulp, prompting Commerce Secretary William Redfield to ask the public to save old paper and rags to be used to produce new paper. Five years ago: The New York Attorney...

Waste News Pricing Report.(News)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... (With graph: Baled PET): WEST COAST SPIKE: Export demand is propping up post-consumer polyethylene terephthalate prices on the West Coast as domestic end-users are pushing prices lower in other markets. Recovered PET prices have recovered about...

Waste Industry Briefs.(Briefs)(Itec Environmental Group Inc)
September 13, 2004... Solid Waste Kerry supports ban on Canadian trash Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said he immediately would ban Canadian municipal solid waste shipments into Michigan if he were elected. Kerry accused President George...

Waste Generator Briefs.(Briefs)
September 13, 2004... Construction N.Y., Conn. sue EPA over water dispute Attorneys General Eliot Spitzer of New York and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut have filed a federal lawsuit challenging the decision of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency not...

Grateful driver still has what matters most.(Special Report)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Jim Johnson Leroy Lee held on to God and his family when he saw everything else being torn away. Hurricane Charley destroyed his two-bedroom apartment and virtually all of his possessions. But the Waste Management Inc....

Concrete and light bulbs; Standing in rubble, hardware store manager talks about rebuilding.(Special Report)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Jim Johnson Thomas Brown, while standing amid the rubble, looks to the sky and remembers his childhood. "You know, as a kid, I used to love the sound of helicopters. But now it's just depressing,'' said Brown, manager of...

SWANA, NSWMA seek to defend landfill technology.(News)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Bruce Geiselman Two of the nation's largest solid waste organizations have asked a federal appeals court to allow them to participate in defending a federal rule change that allows for the use of bioreactors and other innovative...

Eye of Charley randomly assails town.(Special Report)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Jim Johnson Downtown Punta Gorda is a study in contrast these days, with damage random and often devastating. Mother Nature's hammer came down on several buildings, leaving little but rubble. But nearby structures were...

Storms smack Fla. Businesses struggle with massive cleanup.(Special Report)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Jim Johnson Devastation and debris is everywhere thanks to Mother Nature's ongoing abuse of Florida. Yard waste, lumber, bricks, insulation, crumpled siding. Just about anything that could get destroyed in a hurricane did get...

Wild storm blows through workers' lives at WMI office.(Special Report)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Jim Johnson Melissa Doyle's prayers were answered, the Waste Management Inc. district manager figures. Hurricane Charley - just as she wished - spared the trucks at the company's district offices in Charlotte Harbor. A...

Shops, mobile homes hit in DeSoto County.(Special Report)(Debris)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Jim Johnson Hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of storm-related debris already have been removed from rural DeSoto County, Fla. And there are hundreds of thousands more to go in this area hit hard by Hurricane Charley. ...

WCA buys assets in Ala. Deals include landfill, 4 companies.(News)(Blount Recycling LLC)(Power Waste)(Fines Collection)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Jim Johnson WCA Waste is bulking up its Alabama assets with the acquisition of a Birmingham-area landfill as well as four collection companies in two separate moves. The purchase of Blount Recycling LLC includes two transfer...

Somebody has to do it.(Opinion)(FluorAMEC LLC)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... One thing most Americans can agree on about the situation in Iraq is that we're frustrated we're not closer to closure there. We're anxious for Iraq to be a healthy nation. But in one instance, the U.S. government, organizations and private...

Silverback muscles in; Second independent hauler alliance debuts.
September 13, 2004... Byline: Jim Johnson Mom-and-pop trash companies face a wide range of financial pressures, and the fledgling Independent Haulers' Alliance seeks to pool the purchasing power of these firms to save money on all sorts of goods and services...

Mutual benefit; Web site analyzes funds' relative contributions to global warming.(News)(Civil Society Institute)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Bruce Geiselman A nonprofit group has launched a Web site that analyzes the 24 largest stock mutual funds to determine how many of the top companies in their holdings contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions or are...

Dell awards $200,000 in recycling grants.(News)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Joe Truini Dell Inc. is drawing on local expertise to get more bang for its electronics recycling buck as U.S. electronics recycling actually may be outshining European efforts. Dell unveiled its next round of computer...

America Recycles Day goes annual.(News)(America Recycles Day Inc)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Joe Truini Recycling's biggest day is undergoing a makeover to let Americans know they should be recycling every day. In its eighth year, America Recycles Day Inc. has adopted America Recycles 2004 as the new name for its...

1st step toward 0.(News)(GrassRoots Recycling Network)(Zero-waste )
September 13, 2004... Byline: Joe Truini Call it pie-in-the-sky or recycling's utopia, but U.S. zero-waste proponents took a significant step this month, convening their first national conference in Oakland, Calif. The GrassRoots Recycling Network, the U.S....

White House challenges decision on coal mining.(News)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Joe Truini The Bush administration is challenging a federal court ruling that has effectively halted mountaintop coal mining in southern West Virginia. Meanwhile, the group that brought the case to court believes the president...

Fallout from Frances; Storm forces fertilizer maker to release wastewater into Fla. creek.(News)(Cargill Crop Nutrition)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Jim Johnson A fertilizer company was forced to release 65 million of gallons of partially treated acidic wastewater into a tributary leading to Tampa Bay because a dike failed under the stress of Hurricane Frances. The dike...

Conference outgrows Air Force, general says; Center won't run future programs, but will participate.(News)(Joint Services Environmental Management Conference and Exhibition)( Air Force Center for Environmental Excellence)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Bruce Geiselman Attendance at the Joint Services Environmental Management Conference and Exhibition has grown from 150 to about 2,000 during the past 12 years, making the event too large for the Air Force to continue hosting, said...

Reconstructing a country; U.S. companies work to rebuild Iraq's wastewater systems, landfills.
September 13, 2004... Byline: Bruce Geiselman After the U.S. military and its allies invaded Iraq in March 2003, the coalition forces discovered an infrastructure decimated by decades of neglect. Sewage treatment systems were not working, instead dumping...

Waste Connections makes move as its focus changes.(News)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Jim Johnson Waste Connections Inc. is shuffling its executive ranks and bumping up its former chief financial officer to lead the company's operations. Steven F. Bouck becomes president of the Folsom, Calif.-based company and...

GOP stages climate-neutral convention.(News)(Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Conventions)(Green buildings)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Elizabeth Autumn The Republican National Convention showed politicians and the public a possible trend for businesses by putting together a climate-neutral event. The Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Conventions, a...

Political football season.(Opinion)(Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Conventions)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Allan Gerlat Both Republicans and Democrats have made gestures toward the environment lately. There are two ways of looking at that, involving that how-much-fluid's-in-the-glass test. The recent Republican National Convention...

Independence day.(Opinion)(Independent Haulers Alliance)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... It's too early yet to declare that there's a movement afoot regarding mom-and-pop waste companies joining forces to compete better with the Goliaths in the marketplace. But there's clearly a groundswell. The latest news involves a group of...

Cleaner coal; AEP to construct an energy facility.(News)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Bruce Geiselman American Electric Power Company Inc. said it plans to build at least one commercial-scale clean coal generating plant by about 2010 at an estimated cost of $1.3 billion. The plant, which would generate as much...

White House: Human actions add to warming.(News)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Bruce Geiselman Human activities likely are contributing to global warming, according to a recent Bush administration report sent to Congress. Environmentalists and Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., pointing to the report, called...

Clorox unveils 'game changer' garbage bag.(News)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Alice Z. Cuneo Taking its cue from Swiffer, Dyson and other breakthroughs in cleaning product design, Clorox Co. is out to reinvent the garbage bag. Clorox's new Glad ForceFlex Trash Bag, a plastic trash bag embossed with a...

Effluent program emerges from court oversight.(News)( cooling water )
September 13, 2004... Byline: Elizabeth Thompson Beckley For the first time since 1990, the Effluent Guidelines Program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is operating without court supervision. The EPA is required by Section 304 of the Clean Water...

Environment, economy can coexist, Pa. chief says.(News)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Elizabeth Thompson Beckley Pennsylvania's chief environmental regulator says she is pleased that the relationship between energy and the environment is emerging as a theme in the industrial waste community. "I am thrilled to...

GlaxoSmithKline broadens its environmental focus.(News)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Elizabeth Thompson Beckley After finding itself in the 1980s on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Priority List for releases of hazardous substances or pollutants, the world's second-largest pharmaceutical...

Coming Events.(Calendar)(Calendar)
September 13, 2004... North America Sept. 19-23 - American Society for Healthcare Environmental Services Annual Conference & Technical Exhibition, Orlando, Fla. Call (312) 422-3908 or visit www.ashes.org. Sept. 20-21 - Institute of Scrap Recycling...

Recyclers stop here; WN needs survey help.(News)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... Calling all recyclers: It's survey time again. If your company recycles paper, plastic, metal, electronics or any other commodity, Waste News asks you to visit our Web site and complete our annual Recycling Ranking survey. The 100...

Paper/plastic: Who's holding the bag?(Opinion)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Marty Forman You know the drill. Every visit to the grocery checkout it's "Paper or plastic?'' Wonder why they ask? Do you think it makes a difference? The facts are surprising. It all goes back to the late 1980s when kids...

Neb. high court to hear tire case.(News)(Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Miles Moore The Nebraska Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case involving the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality and a Wisner, Neb., tire recycling firm. Central States Tire Recycling filed a lawsuit against the DEQ,...

Waste News Poll.(Opinion)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... Q: Is the federal government doing enough to limit industrial mercury emissions? (pie chart): Yes: 21.8% No: 78.2% From the Waste News Web site, Aug. 30 - Sept. 7, 2004. Number of respondents: 170.

Group opposes House water plan.(News)(Brief Article)
September 27, 2004... Byline: Bruce Geiselman A conservation group is asking the Senate appropriations subcommittee that oversees funding for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to resist siding with the House's recommendation to reduce funding for the...

Quote of the Week.(News)
September 27, 2004... New York is now viewing these materials as commodities, not trash. This is truly the right ending to the story, and actually a new beginning. Kate Krebs, executive director of the National Recycling Coalition, applauds New York City's...

At Deadline.(Late News)(wind energy tax credit)
September 27, 2004... Congress passes wind energy tax credit Renewable energy producers are welcoming back a crucial tax credit for wind energy that is expected to kick the industry back into high gear. The House and Senate approved reinstating the wind...

SWANA membership peaks.(News)(Solid Waste Association of North America)
September 27, 2004... Byline: Brennan Lafferty Membership has never been greater in the Solid Waste Association of North America. Organizers last week proudly told those gathered in Phoenix for Wastecon that their membership is now nearly 7,300 strong. In...

Show merger talks to resume in November.(News)
September 27, 2004... Byline: Brennan Lafferty The next step in the possible merger of the two largest waste industry trade shows will occur in early November. But whatever happens, it will be without the American Public Works Association. That group...

Asthma attack; Power industry assails smog study.(News)
September 27, 2004... Byline: Joe Truini A new report that ranks the 50 worst U.S. cities in terms of the impact of smog on children and lays out a plan to cut 80 percent of the pollution that triggers asthma has drawn sharp criticism from the power industry....

Waste Industry Briefs.(Briefs)(WCA Waste Corp)(Translift Inc)(California Integrated Waste Management Board)
September 27, 2004... Hazardous Waste Report: Canada hazwaste imports drop Canada imported less hazardous waste for the fourth consecutive year while exporting less hazardous material to U.S. disposal facilities, according to an Environment Canada study...

Waste Generator Briefs.(Briefs)
September 27, 2004... Oil & Gas Calif. toughens rules for oil platforms Offshore oil and gas platforms in federal waters off the California coast will face more stringent environmental limits starting Dec. 1. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency...

Waste News Pricing Report.(News)(Scrap steel prices, recovered paper freight rates )(Brief Article)
September 27, 2004... (With graph: Soft mixed paper) RECOVERED TO RISE: Ocean freight rates for recovered paper could increase in October by as much as $45 per ton, which could affect export pricing. Meanwhile, export prices for old newspaper have improved slightly,...

Pa., Va. top waste import list.(News)(Pennsylvania)(Virginia)
September 27, 2004... Byline: Jim Johnson Pennsylvania accounts for nearly a quarter of all waste imports in the United States, new congressional research shows. But the amount of waste flowing into the state has fallen for the second year in a row. The...

Sampling some sites; U.N. program assists Iraq's polluted land.(News)(United Nations)(Brief Article)
September 27, 2004... Byline: Bruce Geiselman The United Nations will help Iraqi scientists assess health and environmental threats posed by contaminated sites across the country. Iraqi scientists will collect samples from the sites, which will be tested...

Lawsuit claims Ground Zero air was unsafe; Sanitation workers among those suing groups for $1 billion.(impact of dust pollution)
September 27, 2004... Byline: Jim Johnson Almost three years to the day after the World Trade Center towers fell, a class-action lawsuit was filed on behalf of cleanup workers and others at Ground Zero. The legal action by Worby, Groner, Edelman, Napoli &...

Survey shows green buildings will rise.(News)
September 27, 2004... Byline: Jim Johnson A new survey shows that the vast majority of those working in the green building industry expect the number of projects they'll work on to increase during the next three years. Ninety-three percent of respondents...

NYC to invest $2.2 billion in wastewater system; Agreement between city and state environmental agencies will focus on sewer overflows.(News)(New York City)
September 27, 2004... New York City will spend $2.2 billion to upgrade the city's sewer system in a deal it struck with the state this month. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection agreed to a negotiated consent order Sept. 8 with the New York...

State slaps feds; Wash. state fines Department of Energy $270,000, alleging improper disposal of radioactive waste.(News)
September 27, 2004... Byline: Joe Truini The state of Washington has levied a record fine against the U.S. Department of Energy for improper disposal of radioactive waste. "This is a very serious offense, and we are concerned that it's just the tip of the...

Automakers group attacks Calif. emissions proposal.(News)
September 27, 2004... Byline: Jim Johnson A consortium of automobile makers is blasting away at a California proposal aimed at lowering greenhouse gas emissions, calling the approach extreme and not in the best interest of the state's residents. The...

Richard Getter.(Jamaica Ash and Rubbish Inc. employee)(Obituary)
September 27, 2004... Richard R. Getter, the general manager of Jamaica Ash in New York, died Sept. 16 after a yearlong battle with cancer. Getter is survived by his wife, Eileen, and daughters Laurie and Eileen and their husbands James and A.J., according to an...

Montenay chief has high hopes for future of WTE.(News)(waste-to-energy plant)(Montenay Power Corp.)
September 27, 2004... Byline: Bruce Geiselman One expert believes that long-term prospects for the waste-to-energy sector appear brighter, although it's unlikely additional plants will be built in the short-term. Steve Passage, president and CEO of Montenay...

Ill. calls on hospitals to shutter incinerators.(News)(Illinois)
September 27, 2004... Byline: Bruce Geiselman Illinois' governor has called on the 11 hospitals operating medical waste incinerators in the state to voluntarily shut them down, and he is vowing to introduce legislation in the fall banning all hospital...

Study: Growth doesn't mean poor air.(air quality)
September 27, 2004... Byline: Bruce Geiselman America's air quality is improving despite robust economic growth, according to a report released by an industry-funded foundation. Despite the improvement, nearly three-quarters of the public believes air...

3rd parties cut chemical costs.(chemical management services)
September 27, 2004... Byline: Jim Johnson Paying closer attention to chemical management allows businesses to cut waste disposal costs and improve their environmental record, new research shows. An emerging trend of chemical management services - where a...

Recyclers stop here; WN needs survey help.(News)(Waste News)
September 27, 2004... Calling all recyclers: It's survey time again. If your company recycles paper, plastic, metal, electronics or any other commodity, Waste News asks you to visit our Web site and complete our annual Recycling Ranking survey. The 100...

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
September 27, 2004... Border skirmish John Kerry has declared he will ban Canadian municipal solid waste from entering Michigan landfills if he is elected. Is this a violation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which was implemented under the Clinton...

NYC pact's effect expected to ripple out.(New York city)(New York Department of Sanitation)
September 27, 2004... Byline: Joe Truini New York's 20-year recycling contract could reach far beyond the city limits. "I think this is a great thing for recycling, both in New York and, I think, the rest of the country,'' said Robert Lange, director of...

NYC nails a big one.(contract with scrap recycling firm)(New York City)(Brief Article)
September 27, 2004... New York City got it right this time on recycling. The city is finalizing a 20-year contract with scrap recycler Hugo Neu Corp. for the company to process the city's curbside recyclables. Hugo Neu is building a material recovery facility in...

COWPOKES.(Wastecon)(Brief Article)
September 27, 2004... Attendees of last week's Wastecon in Phoenix brand their initials into leather keytags at the Arizona Refuse Sales booth.

'Smart paint' cuts corrosion, hazardous waste.(waste disposal management)
September 27, 2004... Byline: Tracy Hayhurst A new paint being developed by researchers at Ohio State University helps cut down on metal corrosion and hazardous waste material at the same time. The more environmentally friendly coating relies on a "smart...

ISG recovers steel from Ohio plant demolition.(News)(International Steel Group Inc.)
September 27, 2004... Byline: David Bennett International Steel Group Inc. has changed the face of the domestic steel industry in the last two years with a series of acquisitions. Now, the steelmaker quickly is changing the face of its holdings in Cleveland....

A Look Back.(contracts of waste management firms)(Brief Article)
September 27, 2004... Five years ago: The city of Seattle agrees in principle to two seven-year contracts worth a combined $140 million to split its residential trash collection, curbside recycling and yard waste pickup service between Waste Management Inc. and...

CMRA preparing fines reuse guide.(Construction Materials Recycling Association)
September 27, 2004... Byline: Jim Johnson How best to reuse the tiny pieces of waste known as fines has been a tricky topic for construction and demolition debris recyclers, but work is under way to create a guide to help promote the use of the material. ...

Texas tornado; Tom Fatjo Jr. has WCA Waste Corp. gathering force quickly.(News)
September 27, 2004... Byline: Jim Johnson WCA Waste Corp. wants to take advantage of its unique position in the waste marketplace to build itself into a $200 million company in the next few years, the company CEO said. Tom Fatjo Jr., leader of the...

Best laid plans? Epson's cartridge recycling program faces criticism.
September 27, 2004... Byline: Joe Truini Sometimes even the best of intentions draw fire. Epson America Inc., touting the expansion of its inkjet cartridge recycling program, has found itself open to criticism from recycling professionals and advocates. ...

EPA study touts air's cleanliness.(Environmental Protection Agency)
September 27, 2004... Byline: Joe Truini Smell that fresh air. America's air is the cleanest ever in three decades, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. But some environmental groups contend it may not continue if the administration...

Industry campaign addresses climate.(greenhouse gas emissions)(Brief Article)
September 27, 2004... Byline: Jim Johnson Almost three-quarters of all companies represented by the Business Roundtable are taking part in that group's voluntary Climate Resolve program aimed at addressing greenhouse gas emissions. The Business Roundtable,...

Allied Waste changes focus to operations.(News)
September 27, 2004... Byline: Jim Johnson Allied Waste Industries Inc., in the words of its CEO, needs to take a couple of steps back to move forward. The nation's second-largest solid waste management company is putting renewed energy into the operations...

Wastewater systems in Iraq lose funding.(News)
September 27, 2004... Byline: Bruce Geiselman The United States is redirecting $3.46 billion in congressionally approved funding for rebuilding Iraq - including wastewater systems - to pay for security improvements in the country. Congress last year...

2.5 years to connection; IBM to pay for contamination of N.Y. town's drinking water.(News)
September 27, 2004... Byline: Joe Truini IBM Corp. will spend $10 million to provide the town of East Fishkill, N.Y., with safe drinking water. The Shenandoah Road Ground Water Contamination Superfund site, in East Fishkill, has contaminated residential...

Rash ruling.(Opinion)(Brief Article)
September 27, 2004... Illinois seems like it leaped before it looked with its recent announcement about medical waste incinerators. Gov. Rod Blagojevich said he wants the state's 11 incinerators to shut down or he'll follow through on a plan to have legislation...

Coming Events.(Calendar)(Calendar)
September 27, 2004... North America Oct. 1-2 - Green Building/Hybrid Source Expo & Workshop, San Antonio. Call (210) 212-8013. Oct. 10-12 - Sustainability & Energy Efficiency Leadership Conference, Oconomowoc, Wis. Call (414) 224-9422 or visit idga.org. ...

Personnel.(People)(Document Destruction & Recycling Services)(Brief Article)
September 27, 2004... DOCUMENT DESTRUCTION & RECYCLING SERVICES - Timothy Cooney named service coordinator. GREIF INC. - Vicki L. Avril named to the board of directors. GZA GEOENVIRONMENTAL INC. - Jonathan Andrews named senior project manager. METAL...

New Products & Technology.(Products)(MODERN BUSINESS COMPUTING INC)
September 27, 2004... MODERN BUSINESS COMPUTING INC. has introduced Diamond Connection Solutions, a fleet maintenance software and parts replenishment system designed to help international dealer locations work with companies managing vehicle fleets, organize their...

Waste News Poll.(Opinion)
September 27, 2004... Q: Is the environment getting short shrift in the election race? (Pie chart): 41.9%: Yes, It's as important as any issue 31.9%: No, other issues outweigh it right now 17.5%: Yes, ultimately nothing matters more. 8.8%: No,...