Solid Waste in the News

News Archive:

2012: Jan-Mar | Apr-Jun 2011: Jan-Mar | Apr-Jun | Jul-Sep | Oct-Dec
2010: Jan-Mar | Apr-Jun | Jul-Sep | Oct-Dec 2009: Jan-Mar | Apr-Jun | Jul-Sep | Oct-Dec 2008: Oct-Dec

Clips (Jul. to Sep. 2009):

• Waste Association seeks open market in Naperville (Naperville Sun, September 29)
  The Illinois Chapter of the National Solid Wastes Management Association has partnered with the city of Naperville to develop an alternative to a proposed commercial waste franchise plan. Earlier this year, Naperville examined several commercial waste-collection methods to address concerns in the central downtown district.
• New Recycling Center Reduces Construction Debris in Landfills (San Diego Business Journal, September 29)
  Waste Management’s new Construction and Demolition Recycling Center in El Cajon was unveiled amid mounting consumer and government interest in protecting the environment. The C&D recycling center’s green program aims to reduce building materials waste in landfills, and promote reuse and recycling. The facility will convert 130,000 tons of commercial construction waste per year.
• The Greenest Big Companies in America (Newsweek, September 28)
  For more than a year, the magazine worked with leading environmental researchers KLD Research & Analytics, Trucost, and CorporateRegister.com to rank the 500 largest U.S. companies based on the actual environmental performance, policies and reputation. (A number of EIA members companies are on this list: Caterpillar was ranked 73. Cummins was ranked 91. Waste Management was ranked 109. Deere was ranked 141. PPG Industries was ranked 335. And Navistar International was ranked 424.)
• Illinois Waste Management Co. Turns to CNG For Fleet  (NGV Global, September 24)
  Groot Industries Inc., the largest independent solid waste management services provider in the State of Illinois, will add 20 new compressed natural gas (CNG) trucks to its garbage hauling fleet by the end of the year. The vehicle of choice is the Mack Terra Pro LE (model year 2010), selected for its reduced emissions and engine noise, industry suitability and because of the supportive relationship between Groot and Mack, according to Groot Industries Fleet Director, Brian Curry.
• Keeping trash from the landfill (Forest Grove News-Times, September 24)
  Waste Management began operations at the $10 million facility this summer to help local and regional governments achieve aggressive new sustainability goals. The center sorts and reclaims construction and demolition debris that, in the past, ended up in landfills.
• Mining for methane: We see the benefits, but yard waste doesn’t belong in landfills (Bay City Times, September 24)
  The state of Michigan is faced with a dilemma as landfill operators begin burning methane from decomposing garbage to produce electricity. Rep. Jeff Mayes, D-Bangor Township, and co-sponsors Rep. Tim Moore, R-Farwell, and Sen. Jim Barcia, D-Bay City, want to boost landfill production of methane — and renewable electricity — with legislation that would waive a ban on yard waste in landfills where methane is mined as an energy source.
• Governor Rell announces draft regulations for state’s ‘e-waste’ recycling system (Stamford Plus, September 24)
  Governor M. Jodi Rell today announced that the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has formally proposed regulations to establish a recycling system for “e-waste” – old computers, monitors, printers and other electronic devices – that will be paid for by the manufacturers of the devices.
• Tipping Fees Stall Del. Solid Waste Contract Talks (Dover CBS 3, September 24)
  Delaware Solid Waste Authority's proposal to raise landfill tipping fees has stalled contract talks with haulers. Maryland-Delaware Solid Waste Association Director Alice Jacobson said the 15 Delaware companies she represents are hesitant to sign the contract. An association memo last week said DSWA must be held accountable for its spending.
• Garbage Workers Help Keep City Safe  (News 4 JAX, September 23)
  In neighborhoods all across Jacksonville, every single day garbage men and women work to keep the streets clean. But what if they also helped keep them safe? It's already happening in Volusia and Polk counties. The sheriff's offices there are training sanitation workers how to look for telltale signs of crime and even giving them tips on how to fight it.
• Bills to fight pollution pass Wisconsin Legislature (Duluth Fox 21, September 23)
  Proposals designed to stop pollution from mercury and limit the amount of electronic waste in landfills have passed the Legislature. One bill passed Tuesday by the Assembly would require electronics manufacturers to arrange for recycling of their products to cut down on so-called e-waste being dumped in landfills.
• Wausau votes to keep trash hauler, Veolia  (Wausau WAOW 9, September 23)
  Wausau City leaders decided to keep Veolia as the city's garbage hauler for the next 5 years. At Tuesday night's meeting, city council members voted unanimously to approve a 5 year $8 million contract with the Schofield business.
• County bolsters recycling service (Brandon News & Tribune, September 23)
  Curbside recycling in Hillsborough County has actually decreased from a high of 59 percent of homes setting out recycling in 1998 to just 32 percent in 2008. The Hillsborough County Solid Waste Department blames a lack of knowledge on how people can get recycling bins, what they can recycle and on which days.
• Bag makers launching sustainable packaging project  (Plastics News, September 22)
  In an effort to boost environmental sustainability, several plastic bag manufacturers are pursuing more proactive self-policing steps toward green packaging.
• Landfill Could Be Gold Mine For City (Greensboro Rhinotimes, September 18)
  During speakers from the floor at the Greensboro City Council meeting on Tuesday night, Sept. 15, in the council chambers, the council heard a proposal for an economic development plan that centered around reopening White Street Landfill for municipal solid waste. What made this proposal stand out were the supporters. One was Paul Gilmer from the Kings Forest neighborhood, within sight of the landfill. He is one of the principals involved in the company set up to “transform the area.”
• Ithaca’s Pioneers of Dog Waste Composting (New York Times, September 18)
  Several years ago, dog owners in the college town of Ithaca, N.Y., began worrying about all the plastic bags filled with dung that ended up in the landfill… This year, with Mr. Kochian’s nudging, one of the city’s dog parks — part of the Allan H. Treman Marine State Park — became a dog waste composting park.”
• 'Smart Trash' concept could reinvent recycling with a cash incentive (PhysOrg.com, September 18)
  Envision a distasteful trip to the curb to take out the trash as a pleasant -- and profitable -- stroll. Some juiceless batteries - those are good for a few cents. An old keyboard might fetch a couple of bucks. Even that empty box of Pop-Tarts might be worth something.”
• Recycling and Land Reuse Practices Can Help Fight Climate Change (U.S. EPA press release, September 18)
  EPA announces release of “Opportunities to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions through Materials and Land Management Practices”. The report finds that 42 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions are influenced by materials management policies and assesses 100% MSW recycling, 100% C&D recycling and 100% conversion of landfill methane into electricity as the most effective solid waste management tools for managing materials.
• Rumpke educates on expansion (Brown County News Democrat, September 17)
  Visitors to the landfill were given the opportunity to ask the experts questions about recycling, air quality monitoring, soil conservation, and other waste management topics. Children visiting the facility got the chance to have their picture taken in the driver’s seat of a garbage truck and a backhoe. They could also play in an inflatable moon bounce, play cornhole, or join in other games. There were free hot dogs and ice cream as well.
• Following Trash and Recyclables on Their Journey (New York Times, September 16)
  Through the project, overseen by M.I.T.’s Senseable City Laboratory, 3,000 common pieces of garbage, mostly from Seattle, are to be tracked through the waste disposal system over the next three months. The researchers will display the routes in real time online... Lynn Brown, a spokeswoman for Waste Management Inc., a company that runs both landfills and recycling centers nationwide and is helping to underwrite the tracking project with $300,000, said garbage moved through a vast network of sites run by multiple contractors, which makes it challenging to find the most efficient way to handle it.
• Turning Trash into Fuel (Washington Post, September 16)
  Plastic soda bottles, Big Gulp cups and empty sour cream containers get fed into the top of the three-story machine. About 10 minutes later, out the other side comes a light-brown synthetic oil that can be converted into fuel for a truck or a jet airplane.
• Cheaper garbage pickup coming for Buncombe County  (Asheville Citizen Times, September 16)
  Buncombe County residents can expect to see new garbage trucks on the roads and a lower monthly bill for trash collection and recycling, starting Jan. 1. Buncombe commissioners voted to award a new 10-year franchise to Waste Pro of Longwood, Fla., which underbid the current hauler, GDS, by 20 percent.
• Pay as you throw based on amount of trash discarded  (Shawnee Dispatch, September 16)
  If the city of Shawnee requires its trash haulers to provide a pay-as-you-throw system, residents will begin paying for the amount of trash they throw away rather than a flat rate for weekly pick-up. But with unlimited recycling, officials say the system’s added benefit is diversion of recyclable materials from the area’s rapidly-filling landfills.
• Truck driver puts out propane fire  (New York Post-Bulletin, September 15)
  A quick-thinking garbage truck driver extinguished a propane fire Monday morning, according to Rochester fire department officials.
• In the dumps about landfills, or, trash -- it's a gas  (Orange County Examiner, September 15)
  What happens to the trash that you throw away in the waste basket or trash can? Where is "away"? Truth is, there is no such place as "away". "Away" does not exist when it comes to trash. So where does it all go? In a landfill, sometimes referred to as a dump. A landfill is basically a large hole in the ground where the solid waste materials from hundreds of thousands of people gets dumped, stored, and, in many cases, covered up with land that is later used (provided strict environmental regulations are met) for various human activities.
• Sycamore increases recycling  (Cincinnati Community Press, September 15)
  Proving once again that they are going green, Sycamore Township has seen a 22.59 percent increase in recycling through the first half of 2009. Michelle Balz, solid waste outreach coordinator for the Hamilton County Environmental Services, said that Sycamore Township recycled 10.73 percent of the total waste generated in the township from Jan. 1 to June 30, up from 8.37 percent from the same period in 2008.
• City hopes to turn waste to energy, trash to cash  (Kansas City Star, September 15)
  Michael Shaw cringes when he sees truck after truck loaded with recyclable materials headed to landfills. If Kansas City’s solid waste manager has his way, the City Council by next summer will consider a plan to create a plant that can process all those recyclables and trash, and perhaps even convert waste to energy.
• Recycling gets big boost with new center  (Anchorage Daily News, September 15)
  Valley Community for Recycling Solutions organizers say a new recycling center being built in the Valley will provide much more than a place where plastic bottles are smashed into giant cubes and shipped to the Lower 48 for recycling. The $6.5 million facility -- dubbed a Regional Resource Recovery and Training Park -- is being built to meet the "gold" standard of nationally recognized Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED.
• A greener, cheaper way to way to deal with garbage (Slate.com, September 9)
  If you had to devise a product designed to succeed in this unique climate, it might be one that makes an eco-friendly, alternative-energy-powered, carbon-reducing, American-made, public-space-beautifying commodity that saves municipalities money and that can be purchased with stimulus funds. In other words, it might be the BigBelly solar-powered trash compactor.
• Trash — a renewable energy source (Arizona Daily Star, September 9)
  It's a landfill's hidden treasure. Buried beneath the layers of smelly trash and debris is an energy gold mine, an oasis of waste that can bring us one step closer to energy independence. Every day we read about solar energy, wind energy, even nuclear power, but rarely do we talk about energy that is created by — you guessed it — trash. Decomposing landfill waste releases methane gas, a natural resource that can be harnessed to produce clean energy and reduce the demand for fossil fuel.
• Oregon reduces garbage, increases recycling in 2008, report says (Portland Oregonian, September 9)
  Here's one upside of the down economy: Oregonians' garbage generation dropped significantly in 2008, the Department of Environmental Quality said today, while recycling increased. DEQ's latest report on garbage and recycling found Oregon's waste generation dropped from 3,045 pounds per person in 2007 to 2,761 pounds, a 9 percent drop. Total garbage generation fell 8 percent, to 5.2 million tons.
• Managing state’s waste wisely a priority (Worcester Telegram, September 6)
  Massachusetts needs proven and environmentally sustainable state-of-the-art, waste-to-energy plants and modern landfills. An editorial, “Energy future” (Sunday Telegram, Aug. 30), properly frames this issue and sheds valuable light on how our industry manages the wastes and discards created by the state’s citizens, communities and businesses.
• A Wooded Prairie Springs From a Site Once Piled High With Garbage (New York Times, September 6)
  A quarter-century ago, the hill was a more memorable sight. It was the Fountain Avenue Landfill…Today, someone at the top of the hill stands 130 feet above the sea in a field of prairie grasses. It is some of the highest ground in the city, its panoramic views taking in the Empire State Building to the northwest, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and New York Harbor to the west, Jamaica Bay to the south.
• SPSA to end recycling programs in region by early 2010 (Norfolk Virginia-Pilot, September 5)
  SPSA, the regional trash agency, has decided to end all of its recycling programs after 21 years of service, citing a desire to cut costs, save money and reform itself into a leaner organization…Michael Benedetto, vice president of Tidewater Fiber Corp., one of the largest private recycling companies in Virginia, said he was "slightly surprised" by the news Friday but was ready to negotiate with localities interested in doing business.
• Man killed in garbage truck accident at Fenway Park (Boston Globe, September 4)
  A 49-year-old man who worked for Waste Management Inc. was killed in an accident this morning involving a garbage truck at Fenway Park, police said…The operator of the truck didn't know whether the victim had been struck by either the truck or the dumpster, but emergency medical personnel reported that the victim had suffered severe injuries from being crushed, the report said.
• Good energy-related jobs fueled by stimulus (Las Vegas Sun, September 4)
  For the next several weeks, Republic Services is testing a hybrid garbage truck in Las Vegas. Autocar and Parker Hannifin developed the E3 RunWise Hybrid Drive truck, which is said to improve fuel savings up to 50 percent and cut down on noise and carbon dioxide emissions. Republic Services is expected to run the truck on its high demand routes.
• County mixed recyclables in with trash for years, audit says (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, September 2)
  For years, Milwaukee County public works employees were mixing recyclable glass, plastic and cans with trash from the courthouse complex and numerous other offices, county auditors revealed in a report released Tuesday. The recyclables ended up in landfills, a clear violation of state laws, the audit says.
• Methane from Landfills Localities are finding new ways to use a potent greenhouse gas (Governing Magazine, September 1)
  …Hundreds of landfills around the country have begun transforming methane into electricity and biofuels… “Methane can be used for multiple purposes,” says Bruce J. Parker, president and CEO of the National Solid Wastes Management Association. What’s more, Parker says, it’s reliable. “Unlike sun and solar power, you have continuous access. A landfill is taking gas out 24/7.”
• DOE to begin work on historic landfills (Tacoma News Tribune, September 1)
  The Department of Energy plans to start work today to excavate the historic landfills that hold day-to-day trash generated by more than 50,000 Hanford workers and their families during World War II. Unlike most other environmental cleanup at the Hanford nuclear reservation, this trash will be checked for historical significance as it is unearthed.
• Cities Slash Services Amid Economic Slump (New York Times, September 1)
  The economic downturn has taken a toll on U.S. cities, forcing them to slash jobs, raise taxes and fees and limit hours of operation at libraries, zoos, parks and other popular facilities, according to a survey… To boost revenue, 27 percent of cities reported raising fees on services like water use and garbage collection; 25 percent hiked property taxes; and five percent raised their sales tax.
• Garbage is gold in trash war (Columbus Dispatch, August 31)
  Franklin County's landfill faces a budget crisis, and its operators intend to reclaim more than 100,000 tons of garbage — and $3.7 million in dumping fees — currently diverted to private landfills… The proposal, however, is drawing fire from one of central Ohio's smallest communities. Canal Winchester fears it will lose jobs and revenue from a trash-transfer station where Waste Management Inc. consolidates garbage to be trucked to its Perry County landfill.”
• Advanced Disposal aids Coal Mountain (Forsyth News, August 29)
  Eagle Point Landfill/Advanced Disposal recently held its annual Festival at the Landfill. The festival featured a petting zoo and face painting, as well as games, pony rides and obstacle courses. Several schools participated this year, earning points for recycling projects and attendance.
• Day of 'metered garbage' might be coming (Vicksburg Post, August 29)
  The cost of garbage collection is not negligible. Every residential stop of a Waste Management truck costs a Vicksburg homeowner or residential tenant $2.30. That comes to right at $240 per household per year…Last week, Vicksburg officials invoked the “we have no choice” rationale for passing through yet another rate increase — from $17.89 to $19.95 per month — effective immediately.
• $5.5M stimulus grant to help Allied Waste replace diesel trucks (Boise Idaho Business Review, August 28)
  Allied Waste Services of Idaho hopes to replace at least 28 heavy-duty diesel trucks with vehicles able to run on compressed natural gas and build at least two fueling stations with the help of a $5.5 million grant through the federal economic stimulus program… The project provides an opportunity to build Idaho’s first compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station open to the general public.
• Sanitation Dept. Unveils Hybrid Garbage Trucks (New York Times, August 25)
  Two years ago, the city ’s Sanitation Department issued a challenge to the industry: develop a hybrid garbage truck. “No one, until we asked, had entertained the thought of putting together a hybrid heavy-duty garbage collection truck,” said Vito A. Turso, a department spokesman. This week, the department announced that it would begin using the first of three such trucks, among the first in the country, in western Queens in September.
• Landfill remakes 200 acres as valuable wildlife habitat (Allentown Morning Call, August 25)
  Taking a group of high school students to visit a landfill, at first blush, seems like a good way to learn about recycling. Taking a group of students to the Grand Central Sanitary Landfill in Pen Argyl, a 537.5-acre facility, has an added bonus:Students can learn about restoring wildlife habitat.
• Bay Area utility turns food scraps into energy (Los Angeles Times, August 24)
  Food waste from 2,300 restaurants ends up in a treatment facility where the food decomposes, creating methane gas that can be turned into renewable energy.
• On the job: Michael P. Smith, Residential Recycling Driver (Worcester Telegram & Gazette, August 23)
  What do you do? “I am given a route and I'm responsible for driving the route and collecting the recycling at every residence on the route. I'm responsible for driving the truck safely, and doing it in a reasonable amount of time. A typical route in Worcester has 1,000 to 1,200 stops. Not every house puts out recycling. They (routes) typically run eight to nine hours. Is it physically demanding, being in and out of the truck, and lifting so much? “It's very, very physically demanding.”
• Santa Rosa will keep its trash (Pensacola News Journal, August 23)
  The Emerald Coast Utilities Authority will not likely be providing solid waste service in Santa Rosa County anytime soon. The ECUA -- a governmental entity that provides solid waste, water and other utility services to much of Escambia County -- asked the Santa Rosa County Commission to be allowed to compete with the private garbage services that operate in Santa Rosa County. Those private services, however, objected…. Kenya Cory, a representative of the Florida chapter of the National Solid Waste Management Association, also objected.
• Cobb turns trash pick-up over to private firm (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, August 23)
  The big building where Cobb County takes trash will be no more this fall. Early next month the county will remove itself from the trash and waste-composting business. The county has turned over operation of its trash site and composting facility to Advanced Disposal Services of Jacksonville. Officials say it will result in $5 million in annual savings.
• Clunker Parts' Crossroad: Useful Spare or Gritty End (The Washington Post, August 21)
  …the Cash for Clunkers program…is leaving behind vast lots full of discards -- a big job for the $22-billion-a-year auto recycling business and its many colorful characters. People wonder: Where do all these cars go? "It's sort of like flushing a toilet. Nobody knows what happens after that," said David Simon, president of Baltimore Scrap, one of the region's largest car shredders. "This aspect of the recycling industry is often out of sight, out of mind for the general public.
• Garbage keeps collectors on the run (Phoenix Daily News-Sun, August 21)
  Sterling Skidmore of Glendale thought he was in good shape. He had, after all, worked as a salesman at a gym where being fit was a job requirement. And then he got hired as a garbage collector with Parks & Sons. “It was two weeks before I could do this job,” said Skidmore, 22. “And it was another six months before I could do it well.”
• Seattle voters don't buy shopping-bag charge (Seattle Times, August 18)
  Seattle voters firmly rejected Referendum 1, which would have made Seattle the first city in the nation to go after both plastic and paper shopping bags…Had Referendum 1 passed, grocers, convenience marts and drugstores would have charged shoppers 20 cents for each bag they were provided at checkout counters.
• Garbage Costs to Fall in Centralia (Salem WJBD Radio, August 18)
  Plans to increase the monthly charge for garbage and yard waste collection in Centralia, took an unexpected turn at Monday night's meeting when the City Council voted to lower the going rate $0.40. The changes came after Veolia Solid Waste Management submitted a bid substantially lower than the previous provider. That bid was approved at the meeting at a cost of $7.99 per residence per month. The council then voted 3-2 to set the monthly collection cost at $8.00 even.”
• Cape Girardeau City Council to look at private trash collection (Southeast Missourian, August 18)
  As it explores ways to save money on garbage pickup, Cape Girardeau will look at privatizing the entire operation, city manager Scott Meyer told the city council…To determine whether there are savings to be found, Meyer said he must understand whether a private company would provide all the services the city now offers. If not, he said, the portion that would be taken by a private company should not result in higher costs for the city.
• Prison composting reduces garbage (NashvilleDaily Times, August 16)
  …About 13,000 pounds of leftover foodstuffs from the state prison facilities in Nashville are hauled each week to the now-closed, castle-shaped former prison off Centennial Boulevard. The leftovers are mixed with wood chips and mounded in rows to decompose. Instead of paying to have the waste buried in a landfill, the remains of the meals for about 2,300 inmates cook themselves into a rich soil additive that is spread on the prison's 100-acre vegetable garden.
• Activists back recycling, not landfills (Worcester Telegram & Gazette, August 16)
  Several environmental groups working to influence a new statewide 10-year master plan for solid waste, including landfill expansion opponents from Southbridge, have delivered a petition with 12,000 names to state officials calling for more recycling and fewer landfills and trash incinerators.
• TRASH TALK: South Coast sees dwindling recycling numbers (Swansea Wicked Local, August 15)
  …data shows that many towns that have implemented a pay-as-you-throw or trash fee program initially see high recycling numbers, but those numbers steadily decrease over time…“When the fee first started, people are gung ho and want to save money because now the trash bags cost them money and the recycling is free,” said Swansea Highway Director Moe Pukulis. “But then I think people get lazy.
• With less garbage, incinerator could lay off workers (Minneapolis Finance and Commerce, August 14)
  Here’s a problem not many organizations encounter: Too little garbage. That’s the unique issue facing Resource Recovery Technologies (RRT), which operates a garbage incinerator in Elk River. As of next Wednesday, its 20-year contract with Hennepin County comes to an end, and that could mean an end to 150,000 tons of garbage shipped each year to the plant from Minnesota’s most populous county.
• Trash collector pinned against garbage truck in fatal crash (Ocala Star Banner, August 11)
  A Monday morning crash involving a Waste Management garbage truck and a pickup resulted in the death of a trash collector…Travis Townsley of Ocala and his Waste Management truck were making a garbage pick-up stop at a residence as Luis Ponce-Rizzo was loading trash into the truck. Ted J. Plouff of Hernando failed to stop and hit the garbage truck from behind, the patrol reported.
• Landfill Waste Turned To Steam? (Traverse City WPBN, August 11)
  During the day, you hardly ever noticed it, but at night, driving along M-72, you could see the flame glowing from the Glen's landfill. That glow is no longer visible, and at least one viewer wondered, what happened to the flame? The answer is the subject of this Fact Finder.
• Volusia County raises trash-pickup fee (Deland-Deltona Beacon, August 10)
  Despite public outcries, the Volusia County Council Aug. 6 narrowly approved a 44-percent increase in the rate for trash pickup in the unincorporated areas.
• Waste district plans to fight state budget (Akron Beacon Journal, August 9)
  The district is unhappy that a House-Senate committee while resolving differences in their budget bills, added a House-backed provision that revokes the garbage district's authority to keep other counties from using three landfills in Stark and Tuscarawas counties if those counties recycle less trash than the average in Stark-Tuscarawas-Wayne…The National Solid Wastes Management Association, a trade group based in Washington, D.C., challenged the rule.
• Sandusky recycling dilemma: Save jobs or save money for customers (Sandusky Register, August 9)
  Save jobs or save money for residents?That's the question facing city officials as they struggle to implement a curbside recycling program.According to Lisa Beursken, coordinator of Erie County Solid Waste District, residents could save $1.2 million per year if the city institutes one-hauler, curbside recycling.But the city has 19 haulers, maybe more, and bidding out the program to one hauler could result in others going out of business.
• Recycling soars, trash sinks (Concord Monitor, August 8)
  The purple bags are making a difference. One month into Concord's pay-as-you-throw trash program, recycling in the city has skyrocketed. And the volume of trash is way down.
• The trash is greener: Hamilton trucks running on natural gas (Trenton Trentonian, August 5)
  Mayor John Bencivengo today will announce that Hamilton Township is the first municipality in the state to implement a clean-energy initiative with its garbage collection. Garbage collection has traditionally been carried out by diesel-fueled trucks, but as of today, Hamilton’s trash will begin being picked up by natural gas trucks, according to Frank Fiumefreddo Jr., the owner of Central Jersey Waste and Recycling.
• Councilman suggests 'pay as you throw' trash system (Denver 9 News, August 5)
  A Denver City Councilman wants his colleagues to discuss whether it's time for the city to "pay as you throw" as it relates to trash collection. Chris Nevitt says the current system, where residents don't pay a specific garbage fee, is both financially and ecologically unsustainable in the long run.
• Budget squeezes recyclers (Pacific Coast Business Times, August 3)
  The deep cuts that resolved California’s budget crisis have come to your recycling bin. On July 1, the state pulled back on processing fees that it pays to recyclers and stopped some incentive programs altogether. Recyclers say the move is eating into their revenue at a time when the prices they get for recycled materials are still half of what they were less than a year ago.
• Finally, it's garbage day (Toronto Star, August 1)
  After a day of political theatre, city endorses contentious deal ending record 39-day strike.
• Where Our Garbage Goes (Readers' Digest, August 2009)
  "Waste is a terrible thing to waste," says Bruce Parker, president of the National Solid Waste Management Association. His trade group supports giving trash a second life—and landfills a break—by following Europe's lead and investing in more waste-to-energy plants, which convert trash to fuel.
• Courtesy of state budget: increased garbage fees (Columbus Dispatch, July 31)
  Starting Saturday, central Ohio residents will feel the pinch of the new state budget when they dump trash. Landfills then must begin to charge an additional $1.25 fee for each ton of trash dumped. For the city of Columbus, the surcharge will add more than $300,000 a year to its bill to dump at the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio's landfill.
• Oregon Passes Paint Producer Responsibility Law (Environmental Protection Online, July 31)
  On July 23, Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed into law the nation's first program requiring paint manufacturers to safely manage leftover latex and oil-based paint from consumer and contractor painting jobs. The law is expected to result in the proper management of an estimated 800,000 gallons of leftover paint each year and to provide Oregon governments with service valued at over $6 million.
• Recession cuts pollution but also green investment (Reuters, July 27)
  As the downturn has made people more frugal, landfill volumes have dropped and sales of appliances like air conditioners have plummeted.
• OSHA program to reduce workplace hazards in scrap and waste material recycling (OSHA Release, July 27)
  OSHA Region IV recently launched a regional emphasis program (REP) to reduce workplace exposures to health hazards in scrap and waste material recycling operations. Although the primary focus of the REP appears to be facilities that process scrap metal, all facilities in SIC Code 5093 are potential targets. A copy of the REP is here.
• Waste Management Vows to Nearly Triple E-Waste Recycling, Partners With iGo (DailyTech, July 27)
  Waste Management, an interstate waste/trash company, last year announced partnerships with Zenith, LG, and Sony to allow customers to drop off electronics from these brands, for free, at over 200 eCycling drop-off centers across the country.  Now the company has found another partner -- iGo, maker of power adapters and connectors -- and has announced plans to expand its recycling efforts.
• Cost of garbage removal varies by towns, services (Gary Post-Tribune, July 20)
  "…That's ridiculous," said Bruce Parker, president and CEO of National Solid Wastes Management Association, a trade association for companies like Allied. Parker said private companies take advantage of "economies of scale" and can spread the cost of trash collection across more than just one contract. Problems with public accounting systems, Parker said, also make it difficult to pinpoint the true cost of trash collection in a community.”
• County to Expand Energy From Trash (The Washington Post, July 19)
  For about 10 years, methane gas from the landfill at Independent Hill in Prince William County has powered buildings on site, converted into a renewable energy source by a power plant. Last week, the operation was expanded. The Board of County Supervisors voted unanimously to extend the gas use agreement from 2018 to 2028…
• Wal-Mart index to tour eco-friendly products (Little Rock Democrat-Gazette, July 17)
  Wal-Mart Stores Inc. outlined an ambitious, multiyear plan Thursday to develop a product scorecard aimed at eventually informing consumers about the environmental impact of the products they buy.
• Cuts curb pickups of trash (USA Today, July 17)
  A growing number of cities are reducing trash collections to once a week, to save money in tight budget times and encourage recycling. Baltimore and Williamsburg, Va., are the latest to make the reductions this month. Dallas has been gradually introducing a new schedule; and East Brunswick, N.J., aims to go to once weekly in September.
• Using Garbage to Measure Consumption (The Wall Street Journal, July 17)
  …In a forthcoming paper in the Journal of Finance titled “Asset Pricing with Garbage,” University of Chicago graduate student Alexi Savov makes the case that the amount of rubbish we produce is a better (i.e. more volatile) measure of consumption than traditional tools, and that helps explain why investors demand such a high premium for stocks over bonds.
• State Budget will raise landfill fees (Tomah Journal, July 14)
  “The taxes will cost local governments $15-20 million a year that won’t be reimbursed by the state,” said Jason Johns, a lobbyist for the NSWMA. According to the NSWMA, the new funds will go toward paying for agricultural grants, state debt and other spending unrelated to landfills. The new budget scales back state grants to local governments for their recycling efforts.”
• Effort under way to save curbside recycling in Muskegon (Muskegon News, July 14)
  Those passionate about retaining curbside recycling in the face of budget cuts in the city of Muskegon are close to pulling off a community-organizing coup…Organizers need more than 500 households to sign up for the $42-a-year service to keep the recycling trucks on the streets uninterrupted after Aug. 1. The recycling activists are working hard this week to find about 100 more who will join the voluntary program.
• Garbage to power up to 900 homes (Missoulian, July 7)
  “Electricity enough to energize nearly 1,000 houses will be generated at the Flathead County landfill, where gases from rotting garbage are fueling a 1.6-megawatt power plant. We're basically mining the methane out of the county dump,” said Ken Sugden, “and turning it into electricity.”
• Covanta to Acquire Veolia's North American Energy From Waste Business (PR Newswire, July 6)
  Covanta Holding Corporation, a world leader in the development, ownership and operation of Energy-from-Waste (EfW) facilities and other renewable energy projects, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire from Veolia Environmental Services North America Corp., most of its North American EfW business.
• One man’s trash is another’s fuel (Delaware County Times, PA, July 6)
  The floor can hold around 10,000 tons of garbage at one time and backhoes work incessantly to shovel the trash onto huge conveyor belts toward the incinerators…“It’s a power plant, just the fuel is different,” explained Facility Manager Timothy Gregan. The fuel is trash, collected from homes across the county, as well as trucked in from Philadelphia, New York and Northern New Jersey…The burning garbage heats water to steam, which turns a giant turbine and produces around 737 million kilowatt-hours annually – enough electricity to power approximately 70,000 homes.
• Recycling program's kickoff a success, waste officials say (Des Moines Register, IA, July 6)
  Greater Des Moines solid waste officials tout the early success of a new recycling program rolled out last week in several metro-area communities…Nearly 75,000 carts for the new "single stream" recycling program have been distributed. The first day of collections in five communities brought in 45.9 tons, a 50 percent increase over the old system that required residents to sort their own material.
• World's largest plant to convert garbage gas to fuel to open soon in Altamont Pass (Contra Costa Times, CA, July 5)
  Later this summer, gas produced by smelly garbage will be transformed into clean-burning fuel. The Altamont Landfill, operated by Waste Management, is putting the finishing touches on a plant that will take landfill-generated methane gas and turn it into liquefied natural gas to fuel garbage-collection trucks. The plant will be the first of its kind in the United States, and the largest in the world.
• Recycling Program A Possibility In Las Cruces (KFOX-TV, July 5)
  The Las Cruces City Council on Monday will discuss creating a regional recycling program. The council will consider a resolution creating the program with the South Central Solid Waste Authority administering the program that would include Las Cruces and all of Dona Ana County.
• Pay to throw arrives (Concord Monitor, NH, July 5)
  Like it or not, pay-as-you-throw is here. Beginning tomorrow, Concord residents will need to pay to throw out their garbage. The new policy will save the city money while helping the environment. But it could also cost more for the average homeowner.
• Recycling to get coordinated (The Spectrum, UT, July 3)
  Bringing together cities throughout Iron County, Tom Stratton, public works director for Brian Head Town, is working with several other organizations, including Pure Recycling, to develop a coordinated effort for recycling…The process includes picking up the recyclable materials from drop-off points at Cedar Breaks National Monument, Brian Head Town and other possible cities like Enoch and Parowan to take to Pure Recycling in Cedar City.
• Man killed when car slams into garbage truck (KTRK-TV, July 3)
  One man was killed and another injured after their SUV slammed into the back of a garbage truck Friday. It happened on the frontage road of the North Beltway near JFK. It started when a vehicle spun off the side of the road. The driver of a garbage truck pulled over to help, and a few minutes later the SUV slammed into the back of that truck, killing the passenger. The driver was taken to the hospital to be treated. Two others in another vehicle had minor injuries.
• Arnold couple in critical condition after Greensburg Road accident (Pittsburgh Tribune, July 3)
  A husband and wife remain hospitalized in critical condition after their car collided with a garbage truck yesterday afternoon.
• GE Energy’s gas engines generating electricity at one of California’s largest landfill gas-to-energy plants (environmentalexpert.com, July 2)
  One of California’s most powerful landfill gas-to-energy projects to open in the last five years has started supplying renewable electricity to the San Francisco Bay region as the state continues implementing new anti-greenhouse gas initiatives. The output of the plant is enough to provide electrical power for 7,500 to 10,000 average U.S. homes and will be sold to existing customers and project partners, the City of Palo Alto and the City of Alameda. The plant is twice as powerful as other landfill gas projects in northern California.