Solid Waste in the News

News Archive:

2013: Jan-Mar 2012: Jan-Mar | Apr-Jun | Jul-Sep | Oct-Dec 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 (October to December 2011):

• Businessman says new law is garbage (Oswego Palladium Times, December 29)
  After a federal court judge ruled Oswego County’s Recycling and Solid Waste Local Law unconstitutional, one local businessman and his attorney are questioning the constitutionality of the revised law passed by the county Legislature earlier this month, saying the measure could negatively affect his business.
• Metal theft ravages Britain’s infrastructure (Washington Post, December 28)
  For 40 years, art enthusiasts admired a 7-foot-tall modern bronze sculpture in a leafy park in south London close to a boating lake. But it seems others had their eyes on it, too. “Two Forms (Divided Circle),” by the well-known British sculptor Barbara Hepworth, was stolen last week, and the widespread speculation here is that it will be melted down for cash.
• Michigan landfills find ways to turn garbage into energy (Detroit Free Press, December 27)
  These are not your grandpa's garbage dumps. At modern landfills, gone are the days when trucks simply backed up and unloaded every item a family or business chose to discard. Gone, too, are the days when government officials were wringing their hands over landfills running out of space. These days, landfill operators are trying to turn trash into gold, not bury it.
• North End residents want garbage truck noise to stop (Boston Globe, December 27)
  Many residents of Boston’s North End are tired of being woken up by the nightly parade of garbage trucks and are demanding that trash collection be regulated. State and city officials held a hearing earlier this fall about an “emergency law” that would give the city of Boston the right to control commercial trash pickup. Because officials currently lack the authority to regulate private garbage collection companies, they have asked the state Legislature to pass a law giving them that authority.
• Alternative fuel site launched in Lake County (Arlington Heights Daily Herald, December 26)
  Instead of gasoline or diesel, the recently constructed pump at the Groot Industries Inc., yard in Round Lake Park dispenses compressed natural gas, also known as CNG, which company officials say will offer a better long term alternative for powering its fleet of waste disposal trucks.
• Garbage trucks are filling up with natural gas (Minneapolis Star Tribune, December 24)
  The noisy, smoke-belching garbage truck is getting a makeover that may signal an important shift in how large commercial vehicle fleets are powered. At least four Twin Cities-area garbage haulers, led by Randy's Environmental Services of Delano, are trading in diesel-powered trucks for new ones that run on compressed natural gas, or CNG.
• Bradenton Truck Drivers Given Big Bonus (Orlando Central Florida News 13, December 23)
  Some garbage truck drivers in Manatee County received abigbonus on Friday. That morning,Waste Pro in Bradenton gave four of their employees $10,000 each.The bonus was given to reward the truck drivers for their flawless performances over the last three years.
• OSHA investigating fatal accident at recycling plant (Uniontown Herald Standard, December 22)
  The U.S. Office of Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) said it could take several months to determine the circumstances surrounding the death of a Connellsville man working at a local recycling plant. Mark Fremd, 56, of Connellsville, was killed Monday when three large bales of paper fell on him while he was working at Allen Enterprises, formerly B&R Recycling, located on Bellview Road.
• Republic Services employees play Santa with gifts for Kenmore Elementary children (Bothell Reporter, December 22)
  Republic Services delivered about 125 gifts to children in the Kenmore Elementary Secret Santa program. These are children who would be without gifts this season if people did not step up to help. Republic Services' local offices (Bellevue and Lynnwood divisions) received letters to Santa (Papa Noel) from Kenmore Elementary children. Letters included more than one item on them and many were written in Spanish.
• The heat is on for thermostat recycling efforts (Albany Times Union, December 22)
  An environmental group put a major manufacturer of home thermostats on its holiday "naughty list" for allegedly working to block a state law mandating recycling of older thermostats that contain toxicmercury.
• Man says his mother was person killed in workplace accident (Dayton Daily News,December 21)
  A 53-year-old woman was killed Tuesday night in an apparent workplace accident at the Rumpke Dayton Recycling facility on East Monument Avenue. The victim, identified by family members at the scene as Annette Goode, had worked at the business at 1300 E. Monument Ave. since July, according to Bill Stump, regional safety manager for Rumpke.
• Waste Management employee recognized for vigilance (Central Florida Future, December 20)
  The driver who stopped a burglary at a UCF sorority house last week was recognized by the UCF police in a ceremony Monday afternoon. Richard Beary, the chief of the UCF Police Department, thanked Waste Management driver Richard J. Nacewicz for calling the police in time to stop a burglary he witnessed early Thursday morning, saying that Nacewicz was in "the right place at the right time."
• In North End, worry that later trash pickups could feed rat problem (Boston Globe, December 19)
  For decades, two issues have continually plagued the North End: rats and noise. Legislation that could help improve one of those problems – the noise -- stalled yet again in the State House this year. The reason? It could end up making the rats worse.
• Hero sanitation workers make lifesaving catches of 5 kids jumping from fire (New York Daily News, December 15)
  Two sanitation workers proved to be New York’s Strongest Tuesday — rescuing a group of children from a burning Queens building by having them jump into their arms. Joseph Maneggio, 49, drove his garbage truck near the burning McBride St. home in Far Rockaway about 6:15 a.m., officials said.
• DC Resident Fined Thousands For Not Recycling Cat Litter (Washington DC WTTG-TV, December 14)
  It's the law in D.C. - recycle or face a fine from the Department of Public Works. But is enforcement of the law going too far? Dupont Circle resident Patricia White says she has been fined eight times for throwing homemade cat litter in her trash. The fines total $2,000.
• Recology Kicks Off ‘Coats for Kids’ Drive (Foster City Patch, December 12)
  A waste management company with a dominant San Mateo County footprint launches its annual “Coats for Kids” program today. Recology will collect new and gently used coats for those in need of a warm coat during the cold weather season at six Peninsula drop-offs including at the Foster City location today through Friday.
• Garbage Referendum Off In Rolling Meadows (Des Plaines Journal, December 11)
  Without having firm bids or proposals for garbage outsourcing, Rolling Meadows aldermen on Tuesday, Dec. 6 rejected a suggested referendum. Three residents spoke to the council asking for a referendum allowing residents to voice their opinion on the possibility of using a private company for garbage pickup. Currently, the city runs its own collection service.
• Meet the new member of New York City's sexiest Strongest (New York Daily News, December 10)
  A willowy blonde with perfectly polished nails and Dolce & Gabbana glasses is turning heads as she tosses trash into a truck. Meet Mary Ellen Connolly, one of six women to graduate the city Sanitation Department’s 2011 class. She and 119 other haulers will be sworn in by Mayor Bloomberg Wednesday.
• Biweekly trash pickup: Get to know your garbage (Portland Oregonian, December 10)
  As of the end of October, Portland is now on a once-every-two-weeks garbage pickup schedule, giving residents more time to get to know their garbage. The argument is that continued weekly pickup of recycling, and added weekly pickup of food scraps/yard debris, leave Portlanders with so little actual garbage they can easily live with a fortnightly formula.
• Student's art lands on Waste Management truck (Walton Sun, December 9)
  Elise Fogg jumped for joy after removing a blue tarp from a Waste Management truck. This fifth-grader at Van R. Butler Elementary School had just won first place in Walton County for Waste Management’s “Think Green” art contest and was surprised Dec. 2 with her winning picture on the side of the truck, where it will remain for a year.
• Waste Pro helps keep St. Luci parks clean (Stuart TC Palm, December 8)
  The St. Lucie County Board of County Commissioners received an early Christmas present this year, after Waste Pro volunteered to handle the garbage collection at six county parks. Due to a reduction in the Parks, Recreation and Facilities Department staff, the Solid Waste Director Ron Roberts reached out to the county’s waste hauler to see if the private company would be willing to help empty trash cans at select parks.
• Millburn Privatizes Garbage and Recycling Pickup (Milburn Patch, December 7)
  Recycling and garbage pick up will no longer be conducted by the township, but instead will be privatized, potentially saving the township millions over the next five years. The Millburn Township Committee Tuesday night awarded a $2-million 3-year contract for garbage and recycling pickup to the Giordano Company of Newark.
• Minneapolis thinks it has the best trash-hauling system around (Minneapolis Post, December 6)
  Garbage Day in Minneapolis can be like a shopping trip to the free store. This summer, I walked past a curbside stack of terra cotta flower pots thinking I could go home, get the car and come back. No chance. Two minutes later, they were gone.
• Report: Organized criminals infiltrating N.J. garbage, recycling industry due to failing regulatory system (Newark Star Ledger, December 6)
  Organized crime has re-established a foothold in New Jersey’s garbage and recycling industry, and the departments charged with regulating the businesses are failing to keep up, according to a report issued today by the state.
• Healdsburg council raises garbage rates (Santa Rosa Press Democrat, December 6)
  It's going to cost a little more in Healdsburg to have your trash hauled away. The City Council on Monday night unanimously approved a garbage rate increase of approximately 3 percent for residential customers.
• Taking out the trash - for $20 million (Ocala Star Banner, December 5)
  According to state environmental regulators, the average price in Florida to dump Class I refuse — or primarily household garbage — in a landfill is about $41 a ton. A report released in October by the National Solid Wastes Management Association in Washington, D.C., pegged the national average at $44 per ton.
• Medina County still trying to solve recycling problem (Akron Beacon Journal, December 2)
  Medina County has persuaded about a dozen churches and nonprofit groups to stop recycling newspaper with AbitibiBowater Inc. — the company that uses the bright green and yellow bins… Last summer, the county said it is losing hundreds of thousands of dollars to AbitibiBowater and threatened to sue local recycling programs to force them to stop using the green and yellow bins.
• Once waste, metal now worth big bucks (Portland Press Herald, December 2)
  Scrap metals that were buried in ecomaine's ash landfill as long as 20 years ago will be dug up by an Ohio-based company that will pay the trash disposal agency per-ton fees for reclaimed metal that can be resold. Those fees, and the fact that the metal's removal will open up landfill space, translates into an economic benefit projected at nearly $500,000.
• Occupy Landfills! Trash from Occupy L.A. not recycled (Los Angeles Times, December 2)
  Remember the 25 tons of material left behind by Occupy L.A. campers after they were evicted from the park in front of City Hall early Wednesday morning? It went to the dump.
• Lansing Council approves new trash contract (Leavenworth Times, December 2)
  After more than a year of discussions and meetings, the Lansing City Council approved a new contract with its current solid waste provider. But there could still be some changes coming to trash collection in the city starting March next year.
• Flow Control (Storage and Destruction Business, December 1)
  Flow control is back in the headlines. How such ordinances could affect information destruction firms is unclear, as most of the companies seeking legal action against these ordinances tend to be haulers and recyclers.
• Council questions Coleman’s recycling plan (Columbus Dispatch, December 1)
  A proposed curbside recycling plan drew lots of questions from Columbus City Council members tonight in a hearing that left it unclear whether a key priority for Mayor Michael B. Coleman has the support it needs.
• Trash fee to decline starting next month (Franklin Daily Journal, December 1)
  Trash and recycling fees will decrease in Whiteland beginning Jan. 1. Beginning Jan. 1, residents will pay $9.90 per month for trash and recycling, a decrease of 46 cents per month. The service days and items collected will remain the same with the new contract.
• City moves forward with new trash deal, may bill customers for code enforcement (Destin Log, December 1)
  After Monday night’s unanimous vote, the city council is one step closer to hammering out a deal with Waste Management to bill and collect for trash service in Destin.
• Trash contract to reduce cost (Harrisburg Patriot News, December 1)
  In a time when it seems that the cost of every product and service is rising, Upper Allen Township residents are going to see their cost for trash disposal drop under a new three-year trash disposal contract. Township commissioners on Nov. 16 awarded a contract to York Waste Disposal after a second round of competitive bids for the service. The average customer will pay $12.95 per month or $38.85 a quarter.
• Minneapolis recycling goal isn't so simple (Minneapolis Star Tribune, November 30)
  Making household recycling simpler in Minneapolis will boost tonnage significantly, but that alone won't meet Hennepin County's 35 percent standard for cities, according to a report by a city consultant.
• Garbage leads to meth-making investigation (Smyrna Daily News Journal, November 30)
  A garbage pickup worker noticed plastic bottles with tubing believed used in methamphetamine production, leading to an investigation Tuesday by the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office, police said. This is the second meth-related call in two days to the Sheriff's Office, according to a news release from Sheriff Robert Arnold.
• Vandals in Demolition Derby at White Marsh Landfill (Essex Patch, November 30)
  Someone broke into the Eastern Sanitary Landfill late Friday and severely damaged several pieces of equipment after taking them for a ride, police said.
• Eaton adds second increase to refuse rate (Eaton Register Herald, November 30)
  Residents in the City of Eaton will see refuse rates increase again, after city council approved an ordinance to amend refuse collection charges at its regular meeting on Monday, Nov. 21.
• Garbage rates going up in Montgomery (Aurora Beacon News, November 29)
  Residents will see some changes in the way they dispose of trash and recyclable items next year. The village has approved a contract with Allied Waste to continue as the waste hauler for the village.
• Foster City increases garbage rates (San Mateo Daily Journal, November 29)
  The Foster City Council approved a 6.4 percent increase to garbage rates last night in a special Proposition 218 public hearing. The hearing allowed residents to officially protest the increase and if a majority did, the council would have had to figure out another way to pay Recology the money it lost this year and expects to lose next year based on residents migrating to smaller 32- and 20-gallon cans.
• San Dimas City Council approves 3.4 percent hike in trash-hauling rate (Contra Costa Times, November 29)
  At the request of its contracted trash hauler, Waste Management, the City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a 3.4 percent hike in trash rates, effective Jan.1 - the fourth increase in three years. For the average household, the increase pencils out to an additional 86 cents per month.
• Sheboygan Common Council creates garbage fee to cover 2012 budget deficit (Sheboygan Press, November 29)
  Proposals recommended to the council were privatizing the garbage service for a savings of $1.6 million…On Monday night, however, the privatization proposal died a quick death on a 12-3 vote. Aldermen, meeting as the Committee of the Whole, had recommended its approval on Nov. 9 on a 7-5 vote.
• Uintah Basin garbage trucks carry anti-drinking ads (Salt Lake City Deseret News, November 28)
  Getting trashed. It’s slang for getting drunk. But it has taken on a new meaning in Duchesne and Uintah counties, where a popular ad campaign to end underage drinking has hit the streets. K&K Sanitation, which provides garbage services for most people living in the two counties, has wrapped seven of its trucks with messages provided by ParentsEmpowered.org. "We thought if this would help anybody, or one youth, that it would be well worth it," said K&K Sanitation President Elvin Kettle.
• More garbage is being tossed, and that may be a good thing (Minneapolis Star Tribune, November 25)
  Minnesotans are throwing more stuff away, and some see that as a sign of an improving economy. Garbage brought to landfills and incinerators is up 4 percent this year, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency reported Friday based on nine months of trash-related tax collections in 2011.
• Billings exploring use of city landfill by other towns, counties (Billings Gazette, November 23)
  It may not be an attraction you’ll ever see advertised by the Chamber of Commerce, but cities and counties elsewhere in Montana and in Wyoming are looking to Billings as a possible destination for their garbage. With the blessing of the City Council, Public Works Director Dave Mumford is officially open to the possibility.
• San Fran Collects Millionth Ton of Food Scraps (Earth 911, November 23)
  San Francisco’s urban composting program reached a milestone Nov. 22, as Recology, the city’s solid waste and recycling collection company, picked up its millionth ton of food scraps – more than two times the weight of the Golden Gate Bridge. Since its launch in 1996, the City by the Bay’s compost program has saved 2.7 million cubic yards of landfill space and produced 600,000 cubic yards of finished compost.
• Peoria hikes garbage fee, rolls out Toter program (PeoriaJournal Star, November 23)
  Starting Jan. 1, all Peoria Disposal Co. residential customers within the city's limits will be paying more on their monthly water bills to support garbage hauling. By July, they will get a new garbage Toter.
• Sky-High Metal Prices Lead to a Grave Situation (Wall Street Journal, November 22)
  When a man walking among the graves at the Mount Emblem Cemetery in this Chicago suburb suddenly jumped into his car and sped off one day in August, a worker jotted down his license plate number and called police. A few days later, police say, they tailed the blue Ford Focus to another cemetery and watched as the man collected 51 bronze vases attached to grave markers in about 15 minutes. He then drove to a scrap-metal yard, where police say he had already sold hundreds of vases with a replacement value of up to $600 each.
• State relaxes rules on landfills (Port Huron Times Herald, November 22)
  A new Michigan law will make it less costly to expand use of the bioreactor technology piloted at the Smiths Creek Landfill. Gov. Rick Snyder signed House Bill 4875 into law Nov. 10, removing the double-polyethylene liner requirement for landfill research and development projects such as the bioreactor at the Smiths Creek dump.
• New Plastics Recycling Website for Recycling Professionals  (Waste Management World, November 22) Numerous organizations dedicated to increasing plastics recycling have launched a new website (www.RecycleYourPlastics.org) to aggregate the extensive but often far-flung information on plastics recycling that exists on the Internet. The site is designed to offer an easy-to-use gateway for information on plastics recycling, in an effort to help enable expanded collection and recycling of plastics across the United States.
• San Mateo approves new garbage rates (San Jose Mercury News, November 22)
  The San Mateo City Council voted unanimously last night to increase garbage rates for Recology customers by 9.9 percent next year. The city only received 159 Proposition 218 notifications to oppose the rate increase. There are about 26,000 parcels in San Mateo, however, meaning more than 13,000 protests needed to be received to prevent the council from raising the rate.
• Trashy Politics: Why Dallas Is Dealing in Garbage (Wall Street Journal, November 19)
  Local governments have a creative new revenue-raising method: take over from a profitable private enterprise.
• Waste Management Association Sues City Over "Anti-Free Enterprise" Flow Control Ordinance (Dallas Observer, November 18)
  Saw this one coming; so too did the city council. After all, in mid-September the council met behind closed doors with city attorneys to review "legal issues regarding proposed resource flow control ordinance" -- which, as I am sure you recall, is the ordinance directing all solid waste collected in the city limits to city-owned facilities, chief among them the McCommas Bluff Landfill in far southeastern Dallas.
• City holds firm on 2010 solid waste ordinance, backs off on out-of-town competition (Prescott Daily Courier, November 18)
  Nationwide, tight finances are forcing state and local governments to get creative. In my hometown, city officials have decided the road to fiscal improvement is paved with trash—plus disregard for the competitive marketplace and for the mostly poor residents of South Dallas.
• Air Force wages war against waste (Air Force News, November 16)
  On Nov. 15, the Air Force joined the rest of the nation in observing America Recycles Day, a nationally recognized initiative dedicated to encouraging people to recycle more at home, at work and on the go.
• Waste Connections official is community minded (El Dorado Hills Telegraph, November 16)
  Jeff England is in charge of Operations and Customer Service for El Dorado Disposal/Waste Connections. He’s also the president of the Rotary Club of El Dorado Hills and works closely with community outreach programs. In the past, he worked in logistics and operations in the grocery and dairy industries. He was the transportation manager for Crystal Dairy in Sacramento for 11 years.
• Annapolis Council OKs private bids for trash collection (Annapolis Capital Times, November 15)
  Some wore green union T-shirts and held signs of solidarity, as blue-collar workers hunkered down in City Hall last night. They came to oppose the privatization of the city's solid waste program. But despite their strong showing, the City Council voted to open the city's trash collection service to bids by outside vendors.
• Laws, not flow control, protects public health (Waste & Recycling News, November 14)
  EPA says enforcement of laws, not flow control, protects public health In his opinion column, "Other voices: Flow control effective at keeping public safe," Curtis Harris, president of Inergy Plus Technologies, argues that flow control is the "only effective defense mechanism against illegal solid waste disposal activities."
• County cuts trash tipping fee (Elyria Chronicle Telegram, November 16)
  As of last week, trash from Cleveland again began flowing to the Republic Services landfill off Oberlin-Elyria Road. The company has signed a contract with Cleveland and about 20,000 tons of garbage a month is expected to be deposited in the 1,400-acre landfill.
• More options, less expense for waste removal in Mentor (Willoughby News-Herald, November 16)
  Waste removal in Mentor will soon be less expensive for recyclers, non-recyclers and the city itself. At Tuesday evening's meeting, city council unanimously agreed to a five-year contract with Waste Management of Ohio Inc. for curbside removal of residential solid waste, recycling and yard waste. City administrators said the estimated 4,000 residents who currently recycle will save about 32 percent on their monthly bills.
• Trash contract OK'd for 3 boroughs (Reading Eagle, November 16)
  Residents in three western Berks County boroughs will have half the trash collection days and double the recycling collection days under a new waste contract. The Robesonia-Wernersville-Womelsdorf Council of Government voted unanimously Monday to award a $1.5 million contract to Kreitzer Sanitation.
• Officials award pact to Future Sanitation (Freehold News Transcript, November 16)
  Members of the Township Committee voted 5-0 on Nov. 9 to award a two-year contract to Future Sanitation, Farmingdale, for the collection of solid waste and recyclables in Manalapan. The contract will become effective on Jan. 1.
• County Recycle Contract goes to Hometown (St. James News, November 16)
  Watonwan County Commissioners heard bids from three competitors for the county’s Recycling Program at the November 15, 2011 Meeting. In the end the decision came down to dollars and cents with Hometown Sanitation of Windom winning with the low bid for the five-year contract in the amount of $899,500.00.
• Increased Recycling Could Create 1.5M Jobs (Earth911, November 15)
  Just in time for America Recycles Day, a new report finds that a national recycling rate of 75 percent would create 1.5 million jobs and reduce carbon emissions by 276 million metric tons by 2030…If the U.S. could intensify its waste-diversion efforts and hit a 75 percent recycling rate, the recycling and waste industry would boast over 2.3 million jobs by 2030 – 1.5 million more jobs in this sector than in 2008, the report determined.
• Biodegradable Plastics Standard to Bust Landfill Waste (Design News, November 14)
  The Plastics Environmental Council (PEC) is sponsoring research to produce the first standard specification for landfill biodegradation of petroleum- and natural gas-derived plastics treated with additives to speed up anaerobic biodegradation. Such a standard would be a huge help in coping with the estimated 29 million tons of post-consumer nonrecycled plastics that end up in landfills.
• Sheboygan council committee votes to privatize garbage collection (Sheboygan Express, November 11)
  After a wide-ranging discussion that lasted nearly two hours, Sheboygan aldermen voted Wednesday night as the Committee of the Whole to recommend that the city go to private garbage collection — which would be more than enough to bridge a projected budget gap of about $660,000.
• Atlanta solid waste division cracks down on absenteeism (Atlanta Journal Constitution, November 11)
  On any given workday this year, only three of five employees in the solid waste division of Atlanta's Department of Public Works were on the job.
• Cost of garbage bumped (Willows Journal, November 11)
  Willows residents will see a bump in their garbage rates going into 2012. The City Council on Tuesday approved the increase at the request of its contracted hauler, Waste Management Inc., which has been feeling the pinch of increasing fuel rates since the 2006 franchise agreement with the city was signed.
• Rockton garbage rates to increase in 2012 (Rockford Register Star, November 10)
  Garbage collection fees will climb 41 cents a month for Rockton households beginning Jan. 1. The Village Board approved the rate increase Monday in response to the rising cost of services from Waste Management Inc.
• Garbage rates puzzle council (San Mateo Journal, November 10)
  The Belmont City Council is working to lessen a one-time garbage rate hike of more than 22 percent that the city’s residents are facing in 2012 by considering a range of “financial mechanisms” that will spread the increase over multiple years. The trouble is, the mechanisms the city considered last night were often a puzzle to the council and new ideas emerged that caused even more division between councilmembers. A rate increase is necessary because city residents have migrated to smaller garbage cans as they recycle more, causing the city’s waste service provider, Recology, to lose money.
• Paper Recycling Conference: Less News, Less Quality? (Recycling Today, November 10)
  A sudden and steep decline in old newspapers (ONP) has caused several dilemmas, according to three executives representing large-volume recycling companies. At the opening session at the 2011 Paper Recycling Conference held in Chicago in late October, Al Metauro of Toronto-based Cascades Recovery, noted that in one major city in which Cascades operates, ONP has dropped from making up 81 percent of “blue box” post-residential material seven or eight years ago to just 38 percent today.
• Trash amendment prevails in Buxton (Westbrook Keep Me Current, November 10)
  Buxton voters overwhelming approved amending its solid waste ordinance to limit curbside trash pickup to public roads. The tally Tuesday was 1,769 to 602. The language of the change will require residents on private roads to carry trash to an intersection with the nearest public road or as directed by the town.
• Editorial: Election also was a poll on landfill (Greensboro News-Record, November 10)
  If the results of Tuesday’s elections were a referendum on the White Street landfill — and most likely they were — the majority of Greensboro citizens want that facility to remain closed.
• Palo Alto voters approve composting measure by a large margin (Palo Alto Peninsula Press, November 9)
  With all of the votes counted, Palo Alto has approved the ballot measure to re-designate city parklands as a composting site. The initiative, known as Measure E, passed by almost two-thirds of the vote. It pitted environmentalists against one another. Composting proponents faced off with park advocates.
• In Maplewood garbage debate, pro-trash choice candidates in charge (St. Paul Pioneer Press, November 9)
  Maplewood voters came down on the side of trash choice Tuesday night. Incumbent city council member John Nephew, a proponent of citywide garbage collection services, came in dead last among four candidates. Council member Marvin Koppen, who prefers residents continue to be allowed to choose their hauler, was re-elected.
• MIT project tries to turn trash into a game (CNN, November 9)
  Here's the problem with recycling: It's boring. But maybe it doesn't have to be. A Boston company called Greenbean Recycle is trying to make the act of keeping bottles and cans out of the landfill into a fun, competitive and engaging game for students at MIT.
• Solano County leaders approve landfill capacity document (Vacaville Reporter, November 9)
  Solano County has more than enough capacity in its landfills to meet state requirements that it have room for at least 15 years of solid waste dumping. Supervisors voted 4 to 1 Tuesday to approve an updated "Siting Element," a document verifying that the county has landfill capacity through 2025, as mandated by state law. In addition, they approved a negative declaration, saying the landfill capacity will not have significant environmental impacts.
• Crothersville Residents’ Trash Collection Charges Going Up 5.5% (Crothersville Times, November 9)
  Crothersville residents will see a 50¢ a month increase in weekly trash collection fees after the town learned at last Tuesday’s town council meeting its costs paid to Rumpke of Indiana will increase the first of 2012. Currently local residents pay $9 monthly for weekly trash pick up. That fee will increase to $9.50 in January, an increase of 5.55%.
• Swansea Board of Selectmen vote to leave trash fees unchanged (Swansea Herald News, November 8)
  The Board of Selectmen voted Tuesday night to maintain solid waste rates at their current pricing structure. Residents will continue to pay a $70 pick-up fee per year, along with bags sold at 80 cents for small and $1.50 for large.
• Fiscal Court rejects garbage bids (McCreary County Record, November 8)
  In a turn of events that stunned many in attendance, McCreary County magistrates voted 3-1 yesterday to reject all three bids for the county’s garbage collection franchise and approved a proposal negotiated just that morning between current franchise holder Scott Solid Waste and District 2 Magistrate Roger Phillips.
• First trash-to-energy project nears completion at landfill (Sparks Business Weekly, November 7)
  When a guy somewhere in northern Nevada turns on his coffeemaker a few weeks from now, he’ll be using electricity generated from a byproduct of the decomposition of the used coffee filter he tossed in the trash earlier this year.
• Richmond's new trash trucks are 'great' (Richmond Pal-Item, November 7)
  A new day has dawned in the world of trash pickup in Richmond. The Richmond Sanitary District this year bought three new, fully automated trash trucks for use on residential routes in the city. The trucks are more fuel efficient, safer to operate for employees and have a higher capacity for trash, which will cut down on trips to the Richmond Landfill.
• Council Approves New Garbage Contract (San Rafael Patch, November 7)
  The Fairfax Town Council approved a ten-year franchise agreement with Marin Sanitary Service (MSS). The agreement covers all aspects of resource recovery, getting to zero-waste, and other special issues such as household hazardous waste, medical waste, paper-shredding and many other programs.
• Norfolk report faults safety lapses in worker's death (Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, November 6)
  Managers and employees in the city's waste management department had a poor understanding of safety and made "unacceptable risk decisions" that contributed to the death of a sanitation worker, according to an internal review.
• Boulder's CHaRM handling the tough stuff for 10 years (Boulder Daily Camera, November 6)
  It's the stuff no one wants any more, but no one knows what to do with. Busted computers, blown inner tubes, a cracked swimming pool, Styrofoam wraparounds for that obsolete VCR, that obsolete VCR, shattered cell phones, rancid cooking oil, a hardcover copy of an "Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators" book from 1979.
• Pinal County recycling program privatized (Gold Canyon Today, November 5)
  The Pinal County Board of Supervisors recently voted to award Right Away Disposal (RAD) a multi-year contract to provide recycling services in Pinal County. County trucks and labor will no longer service the recycling sites around the county but the terms of the contract with RAD will not cost county taxpayers a penny.
• Lawsuit: Arcata recycling center claims Humbuldt Waste Management Authority sabotaged its business (Arcata Times Standard, November 4)
  The Arcata Community Recycling Center has filed a lawsuit against the Humboldt Waste Management Authority alleging that the authority sabotaged its business in order to purchase the Samoa processing plant at a discounted price. Fortuna attorney Thomas Herman filed the complaint on behalf of the ACRC on Oct. 24 -- eight days before the ACRC announced it was closing its doors in January.
• Smithsonian trash talking documentary picks up what people put down (New York Daily News, November 4)
  "Trashopolis,” a new Smithsonian series that debuts Sunday at 8 and will study trash in five of the world's major cities, starts in New York for a good reason. Among other things, large parts of New York are literally built on trash. Right into the 19th century, almost everyone who lived here dumped trash into the rivers. So where lower Manhattan originally ended at Wall St., eventually this newly created “land” pushed out to where it is today.
• 45 Percent Garbage Fee Increase Hits Residents Where it Hurts (Albany Patch, November 4)
  Many readers have written in this week, surprised and angered by the 45 percent rate increase announced in this month's Waste Management bill. The average monthly fee jumped from about $25 up to $36, bringing quarterly payments to more than $100.
• Austin unveils Zero Waste Initiative (Austin KVUE-TV, November 4)
  In a city growing by the day, one can’t help but try and see what Austin’s future holds. For Austinites, part of that future could look a lot like the Wheatsville Co-Op of today. The business focuses on locally-grown products with a sustainable attitude. Even those eating outside see marked recycling bins.
• Don’t trash idea of garbage truck party (Columbia State, November 4)
  From clowns to cowboys, themed birthday parties for kids are nothing new. But they have been getting more elaborate in recent years, with spa days for pre-teens and high tea for tots in tiaras. Forget bouncy houses and Batman appearances, though. Say hello to the garbage party: cardboard and crushed can flowers, and Twizzlers in mini-trash cans.
• Summit County may ban trash ‘exports’ (Breckenridge Summit County Voice, November 3)
  The long-term paradox is that, by design, the county is funding recycling and diversion programs with revenues from trash tipping fees — while simultaneously developing programs to reduce trash. That probably isn’t sustainable in the long run, Noll said.
• Man dies after fall at C. Ind. recycling business (Chicago Tribune, November 3)
  Authorities say a 38-year-old man has died after falling from a raised skid at a central Indiana business. Edinburgh Fire Chief Allen Smith says the man died Wednesday at an Indianapolis hospital, a day after he was taken there following the fall at Tri County Converters and Scrap Metal Recycling.
• Talking Trash: City to Reward Recyclers With $3 Discount (Boise Weekly, November 2)
  "It's always a great day when you get a big check," said Boise Mayor Dave Bieter as Dave Fisher, Republic Services general manager, told hizzoner that Republic (formerly Allied Waste Services) had realized $195,000 in extra recycling revenue in July, August and September, passing the savings back to the city.
• Could ‘Smart’ Textiles Prove Toxic? (New York Times, November 2)
  The growing practice of weaving electronics into the fiber of clothing could add to the already monumental challenge of e-waste disposal. Some fifty million tons of electronic waste already accumulate annually in “soaring mountains” of refuse, the United Nations says.
• NSWMA files brief in support of solid waste transfers (American Recycler, November 1)
  The National Solid Wastes Management Association (NSWMA) filed an amicus brief in the Court of Appeal for the State of California supporting Potrero Hills Landfill and Solano County in their legal battle over Solano County’s Measure E, a local voter initiative that effectively bans solid waste and recyclables originating outside Solano County from being imported to facilities located in the county.
• Hazelwood's Trash Process to Change Tuesday (St. Charles Patch, October 31)
  After a summer of contemplating and reviewing various options, Hazelwood City Council finally came to a decision about renewing the city's contract with Allied Waste Services.
• Portland food composting Q&A: Portland City Hall roundup (Portland Oregonian, October 31)
  City officials are bracing for a confusing first week, as roughly 145,000 customers switch to weekly food and yard debris pickup but only every-other-week garbage service.
• Erosion uncovers garbage at Norfolk golf club (Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, October 30)
  Built atop an old city landfill, Lambert’s Point Golf Club has sprung an ugly leak. Erosion fed by Hurricane Irene’s rain and wind has peeled away a shoreline section along Hole No. 7 and exposed a swath of 50-year-old garbage, some of which has spilled into the Elizabeth River.
• Seattle Mariners Partner with Composting Company to Improve Recycling Rate (Biz of Baseball, October 30)
  It's not news that MLB teams place an emphasis on recycling. That's been the case for years, particularly since 2005, when MLB became the first professional sports league to partner with the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Yet even with the adoption of recycling and other 'green' practices, teams recognize there are improvements they can make and goals they can achieve.
• Trash fee hike could pinch towns (New Jersey Herald, October 28)
  An announcement about landfill fees made this week is sending ripples through town budget-preparing circles and could probably affect private household budgets as well. The Sussex County Municipal Utilities Authority, which operates the county landfill in Lafayette, announced it will raise its fee for dumping household-type waste by $7 a ton, effective Jan. 1, if the authority's board approves the increase late next month.
• New solid-waste program expands service at lower cost (Hagerstown Herald-Mail, October 2011)
  Hagerstown’s new solid-waste contract approved this week will expand services for residents at less cost than what the city pays now. The five-member Hagerstown City Council Tuesday unanimously approved a new, three-year contract with Waste Management of Pennsylvania starting on Jan. 1, 2012.
• CleanScapes picks up Issaquah garbage contract (Issaquah Press, October 27)
  The next hauler for Issaquah garbage is CleanScapes. In a unanimous decision Oct. 17, City Council members selected the Seattle-based garbage hauler to serve Issaquah neighborhoods other than Greenwood Point and South Cove. CleanScapes offered additional curbside recycling options, a local storefront, wildlife-resistant containers and other features to land the $3.8-million-per-year Issaquah contract.
• City Council approves one-year contract for garbage collection with WM (Twinsburgh Bulletin, October 27)
  The city wants to shop around for the best deal on garbage collection, but in the meantime, they need to be sure someone is still picking up the trash. Council last night approved 6-0 a one-year extension to the city's current contract with Waste Management Inc.
• Recycle, Reuse and Employ: Jobs in the Recycling Industry (Tech News World, October 27)
  It might not be as glamorous as some industries, but recycling is booming. The industry supports more than 450,000 jobs for Americans and generates US$10.3 billion in revenue for federal, state and local governments -- making it larger than the forestry and fishing industries combined, according to a recent study released by the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries.
• Hypodermic Needles Injuring Workers At Recycling Facility (Sioux Falls KDLT-TV, October 27)
  Hypodermic needles showing up at a recycling facility in Sioux Falls have become a reoccurring problem. So much so that 12 employees at Millennium Recycling have been stuck and have had to undergo treatments. Of the 5,000 pounds of medical waste Millennium Recycling receives every year, the company says they're seeing more and more hypodermic needles at their facility each week.
• Shelby County Commission approves garbage fee increase (Birmingham News, October 26)
  The Shelby County Commission tonight approved a 3 percent rate increase requested by Waste Management, which has the contract to provide garbage service to residents who live in unincorporated parts of the county. The increase, which is tied to the Consumer Price Index, will also apply to smaller towns served under the county's garbage contract, which includes Wilton, Westover, Harpersville and Wilsonville.
• Safe Pill Collection huge success (Utica Observer Dispatch, October 26)
  Fourteen RSVP volunteers helped collect 305.22 pounds of waste medications, including 10.3 pounds of narcotics, for proper disposal from 137 Madison County families during the Safe Pill Collection that took place on Sept. 24 at the Buyea Road landfill site in the town of Lincoln.
• Cumberland Garbage and Trash Service employee killed in accident (Fayetteville Observer, October 26)
  A sanitation worker was killed Tuesday when he fell off the back of a garbage truck and was run over by the driver, the Highway Patrol said. Twenty-year-old Jordan Nanney, an employee of Cumberland Garbage and Trash Service, was killed about 8:25 a.m., Sgt. D.L. Mobley said.
• U.S. Shores Brace Themselves for 20 Million Tons of Tsunami Debris (The Maritime Executive, October 26)
  Hawaii is bracing themselves for 20 million tons of debris floating to hit their shores this winter, according to a University of Hawaii research team who says the remains are traveling faster than originally anticipated.
• City approves private garbage pickup (Toronto Star, October 25)
  Starting next August, a private company will be collecting household garbage from 165,000 homes west of Yonge St. to the Humber River and from Lake Ontario to Steeles Ave…The company, which collects garbage in Hamilton and Oshawa-Whitby, beat out other competitors by offering to do the work for seven years at a $78.4 million saving, or about $11.2 million a year less than unionized city workers.
• Trash war! Merchants blast city for removing garbage cans along 18th Avenue (Brooklyn Daily, October 24)
  Merchants along 18th Avenue say that the city’s removal of dozens of trash cans on one of Bensonhurst’s main drags has turned the area into a garbage dump, but officials are calling the test program — to reduce litter on the street by having fewer pails to attract it — a huge success that they will extend through the winter.
• A Counterintuitive Trash Plan: Remove Bins in Subway Stations (New York Times,October 24)
  If cleanliness is next to godliness, then the New York City subway has long been in need of a few prayers. So trash-weary officials at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority are trying something new: in a counterintuitive plan, a pair of subway stops, one in Queens and one in Greenwich Village, have been entirely bin-free for the last two weeks.
• Local Trash Landfill Powers Nearby Town (Pittsburgh WPIX-TV, October 23)
  A Pennsylvania landfill is generating enough methane gas to power the entire community, and company officials said that's a win-win example of turning garbage into renewable energy. But some environmental groups believe such assumptions are mistaken. Waste Management operates a landfill for Tullytown Borough in Pennsylvania, and it now sends enough gas to a power plant to supply electricity for the entire town, which counted 1,872 residents last year.
• City plan could put small haulers out of running (Lee’s Summit Journal, October 21)
  George Constable knows trash. It’s been the family business for nearly 90 years. In fact, his great-grandfather hauled trash via a horse drawn wagon. But if the city of Lee’s Summit’s citywide solid waste and curbside recycling plan comes to fruition, Constable said he’s done. “It would shut us down,” Constable said, saying he can’t even bid on the RFP.
• Trash pickup to get more expensive for SLO residents (San Luis Obispo Tribune, October 21)
  San Luis Obispo residents will pay 4.6 percent more for their garbage pickup staring in November. On Tuesday, the City Council unanimously approved the rate increase — the first since January 2009.
• Recycling task force ups the ante in Lake County (Arlington Heights Daily Herald, October 20)
  Options and requirements for recycling could expand in the not-too-distant future as Lake County officials look to cut the amount of trash going to landfills. Collecting food scraps, targeting specific materials such as carpeting, and even enacting mandatory ordinances if volunteer efforts don’t work, are among 36 recommendations by a task force charged with finding ways to significantly boost recycling.
• Employee trapped in Minnetrista garbage truck and killed  (Minneapolis Star Tribune, October 20)
  An employee at a west-metro trash hauling business was killed when he became trapped in a garbage truck, authorities said. The man died shortly after 8 a.m. Wednesday at Blackowiak & Son on Sunnyfield Road in Minnetrista, according to police.
• City employees try to beat out private contractors for recycling work (Chicago Sun Times, October 19)
  Thanks to routing changes and perfect attendance, city employees are holding their own against private contractors in the high-stakes competition for the right to collect Chicago’s household recycling. City crews were apparently so efficient coming out of the gate that they started the first week of the competition with 22 trucks but needed just six by Friday. That freed 16 trucks for routine garbage collection.
• DEQ issues order for Milford landfill (Milford Observer & Eccentric, October 19)
  After years of navigating through bureaucratic red tape and anticipating word from state officials, Milford has received a Department of Environmental Quality administrative order for the Old Plank Road landfill. The order, which addresses ongoing monitoring of the long-closed landfill, must be adopted by the three responsible parties — the Village of Milford, Milford Township and CSX Railroad — before details of the document are made public, explained Arthur Shufflebarger, Village of Milford manager.
• $100 garbage fee would plug city deficit (Shawano Leader, October 19)
  Shawano property owners would pay $100 a year for garbage collection under a proposal that would keep the city in the sanitation business and plug the hole in next year's projected budget deficit. The city Finance Committee held a lengthy, number-crunching session Tuesday aimed at weighing whether the city should continue garbage collection or privatize the service. Committee members concluded the best route may be to maintain the city service and charge a fee.
• Commissioner concerned about impact fee regulation (Williamsport Sun-Gazette, October 19)
  Lycoming County Commissioner Jeff C. Wheeland on Monday predicted a flurry of activity focused on getting legislation enacted that would authorize the imposition of a gas industry impact fee. Wheeland, who spoke during a luncheon host by the Williamsport Rotary Club at the Genetti Hotel, said he has read a draft of the legislation.
• 4 new garbage trucks to run on natural gas (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 18)
  A new state grant will help Pittsburgh continue its efforts to make public works trucks environmentally friendly, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said Monday. With a $500,000 grant from Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority and matching funds provided by the city, officials will purchase four garbage trucks that run on compressed natural gas. The trucks will fill up at EQT Corp.'s fueling station on Smallman Street in the Strip District.
• Automated trash collection rolling along in Egg Harbor Township (Press of Atlantic City, October 18)
  As Egg Harbor Township's automated trash-collection system enters its fourth week, officials say the switch has been mostly successful. Public Works Director Alan Simerson said after some initial confusion, most residents have adapted to the new system and the number of phone calls has dropped significantly.
• Lakeland's Alley Garbage Pick Up Will Continue Without Rate Increase (Lakeland Ledger, October 18)
  Alley garbage service for an estimated 2,000 Lakeland customers will continue, with the money to pay for it coming from city reserves. City commissioners voted 5-1 on Monday to keep alley garbage service and delay any additional costs to those customers for the next two years. Commissioner Don Selvage was absent from the meeting.
• Tuscumbia increasing garbage fees (Birmingham Business Journal, October 18)
  The Tuscumbia City Council passed a $7.1 million budget Monday night that includes a $1 per month increase in monthly residential garbage fees. According to the Times Daily, the budget for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1 comes on the heels of a tight 2010-11 fiscal year that was based on a similar budget the previous year.
• Decatur recycling generates more than $200,000 in revenue in less than year  (Decatur Daily, October 17)
  Decatur’s recycling program has yet to complete its first year of operation, but already has generated more than $200,000 in revenue for the city.  In 7½ months, the program has brought in $222,924.31 by selling 1,040 tons of refuse. And this winter, the center, located at the Morgan County Landfill in Trinity, plans to save $4,500 on its monthly power bills by heating the facility with hot water, a byproduct of its 1-megawatt, methane-powered generator.
• Williams residents appeal rulings allowing Chrin expansion (Williams Township Morning Call, October 17)
  A group of Williams Township residents who filed a lawsuit to stop the expansion of the Chrin Bros. Sanitary Landfill are appealing a judge's decision to toss out their case. The residents filed appeals Thursday in Commonwealth Court of two of Northampton County Judge Emil Giordano's rulings from September.
• San Francisco Garbage Helps Make Vineyards Thrive (Wall Street Journal, October 13)
  San Francisco's trash increasingly is ending up in an unusual dumping ground: Wine Country vineyards.Recology Inc., the city's trash hauler, is on pace this year to ship a record amount of compost that it partly derives from San Francisco waste to vineyards in Napa and Sonoma counties, among other places.
• Chicago Mayor Trashes Politics of Waste Removal (Wall Street Journal, October 13)
  At 6:45 on a recent morning, three burly men in yellow slickers piled into a city garbage truck for a two-mile ride to a weed-choked alley where a row of 96-gallon trash bins awaited. Over the next few hours, the men emptied scores of black containers, hopping on and off their truck as they lumbered from block to block. It's a tough job but quitting time usually comes early. Total time worked on a typical shift: about 5½ hours, according to a city audit.
• 'Heads are Going to Roll' Following Death of Sanitation Worker (EHS Today, October 13)
  Jerry Holton climbed into the back of his garbage truck Feb. 3 to clear debris from the blade that compacted trash. He never climbed out.
• One killed, two injured at recycling plant (Bakersfield Californian, October 13)
  A 16-year-old Arvin boy was confirmed dead and two others males were taken to a hospital Wednesday after apparently inhaling hydrogen sulfide in a drainage tunnel at a recycling company in Lamont. Two male workers were reported unconscious at 11:33 a.m. at Community Recycling and Resource Co., Kern County Fire spokesman Sean Collins said. The victims were at the bottom of an eight-foot underground shaft linked to a drainage system.
• Alton's trash pickup will cost less (St. Louis Post Dispatch, October 13)
  The City Council on Wednesday approved contracting with Allied Waste Services for trash pickup, recycling and yard waste removal for nine more years. Allied Waste has held the city's contract for at least 10 years and officials say the new agreement will save the city more than $400,000 over the next few years.
• California to Recycle 75% by 2020, Oregon Hits 50% (International Business Times, October 12)
  Governor Brown signed a bill that commits California to recycling 75% of its waste by 2020, Assembly Bill 341. Florida set the same target in 2010, making those two states the strongest in the country in recovering and reusing waste. California's first recycling law, implemented 21 years ago, has created 125,000 jobs.
• Wichita City Council approves pay-as-you-throw trash plan (Wichita Eagle, October 11)
  Wichitans spoke loudly to City Hall on the subject of their trash: Let the free market rule. On Tuesday, the City Council said OK, voting 6-1 for a plan that puts more trash disposal options and pricing on the table while mandating curbside recycling. Michael O'Donnell voted no.
• HEMET: Council approves refuse deal (Riverside Press Enterprise, October 9)
  City-run trash service is going away in Hemet as of Dec. 1, when the city will transition to using CR&R to haul waste. The deal will net Hemet $95 million over 20 years.
• Will new trash plan in Wichita cut costs? (Wichita Eagle, October 9)
  Wichita may soon have a new residential trash plan, but it's more about creating options than mandated changes for residents. Want to pay less by using a smaller container? Your choice. How much less? Hard to say. Like to have curbside recycling? You decide. What is firm about the proposed trash plan is that haulers licensed to operate in Wichita would be required to offer those options, which isn't the case now.
• Towns May End Free Disposal (Vermont Public Radio, October 11)
  More than a month after Tropical Storm Irene turned many Vermont houses into piles of rubble, a couple from the Upper Valley are still picking up their neighbors' debris and hauling it to the local transfer station. But Hartford, like many other towns, can no longer afford to waive the disposal fees.
• Governor vetoes bill to stop Gregory Canyon dump (Escondido North County Times, October 10)
  Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a bill on Sunday that would have prohibited the construction of the Gregory Canyon landfill near the Pala Indian reservation. In explaining his veto of Senate Bill 833, one of about 600 bills the governor had to consider before a Sunday deadline, Brown wrote that he was torn about the decision because a local Indian tribe has said the dump is planned on sacred land.
• Garbage be gone! Let us praise the trashmen (Santa Cruz Sentinel, October 9)
  I watch the sanitation workers come by our house each week to collect our garbage and I almost cry for joy. What saints they are! What pure souls. And how important they are to our community hygiene. At one time no one paid any attention to garbage -- I can remember when roll-down windows in cars were designed so we could throw out our garbage on the road. And everybody did it.
• Columbus council rethinks residential recycling (Columbus Dispatch, October 9)
  City Council President Andrew Ginther is having second thoughts about a curbside recycling service that Mayor Michael Coleman has been promising for nearly two years. Starting a program might not be prudent, Ginther said last week, with state budget cuts looming and a tight economy that shows no sign of releasing its grip.
• DEP blocks Pa. counties from collecting recycling fees  (Allentown Morning Call, October 9)
  On Saturday, cars filled with old cans of paint, half-empty bottles of pesticide and used motor oil flocked to Northampton Community College to unload the toxins. Chucking the materials out with trash destined for landfills is environmentally disastrous — not to mention illegal. That's why Northampton County and others across the state organize hazardous waste drop-off events and recycling education programs.
• Struggling suburbanites turn to scrap metal for money (Arlington Heights Daily Herald, October 7)
  Alyce Dunn has been collecting scrap metal to take to recycling centers for close to 25 years. The first time she went to a scrap yard she was helping other people turn in a large bag of cans. Just by saving their own beverage containers over the winter, they made $150.
• Privatized recycling (Sebring Highlands Today, October 7)
  In 2008, Highlands County residents recycled 9 percent of their trash. However, the state wants counties to recycle 40 percent by 2012, and 75 percent by 2020. How to get there is what the county commission will be discussing on Oct. 18. "With our current progress, we can't achieve either one of those goals," County Administrator Rick Helms said in March. Ramon Gavarrete has prepared a request for proposals, modeled after Polk County. If the commissioners adopt it, the county engineer expects bids from Choice, Republic and other recyclers. A contractor will be chosen early next year.
• Capitol's Rubbish Is Headed for Trash-Burning Power Plants (New York Times, October 7)
  After being composted and sent to landfills in recent years, Congress' trash is now bound for a new final destination. The Architect of the Capitol this morning announced that up to 90 percent of the Capitol Complex's nonrecyclable solid waste would be sent to local waste-to-energy facilities.
• COG increases trash collection fee (State College Centre Daily Times, October 6)
  Regional trash and recycling collection customers can expect a 15- cent increase in their monthly fee next year, for an unlimited rate of $15.30. The increase is based on a jump in the average diesel fuel cost for the trucks, something the Centre Region Council of Governments considers annually, with requests from service provider Veolia Environmental Services.
• C&D recyclers enjoy opportunity with green building but face threat with flow control (C&D Recycler, October 6)
  Green building targets and scorecards have provided more material for C&D recyclers in the past few years while a pending lawsuit addresses a potential threat to access to those materials. Attendees of the C&D Recycling Forum, held in Baltimore in late September, heard presentations addressing each topic at a session called “A World of Change.” Speaker Joanne Wiley, compliance officer with C&A Carbone, West Nyack, N.Y., provided insight into that company’s history of litigation contending flow control measures enacted by New York counties and towns.
• Most of waste from Rock the Green avoided landfill  (Milwaukee Business Journal, October 4)
• A color-coded bin labeling system from Veolia Environmental Services, the title sponsor of Rock the Green, helped send 1,100 pounds of recyclable material to a nearby Veolia facility.”
• National e-recycling strategy ignores export component (American Recycler, October 4)
  The latest major development aimed at controlling electronic waste disposal occurred at a press event in late July in Austin, Texas. There, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and major manufacturers of electronics signed an agreement to encourage certified recycling and support the best practices for end-of-life products.
• Blue cart recycling competition begins between city and private firms (Chicago Sun Times, October 3)
  City crews and private contractors went head-to-head on Monday for the right to collect Chicago’s household recycling, with Phase 2 looming: a grid system that will set the stage for a similar, higher stakes competition for routine garbage.
• City of Atlantic Beach facing landfill tipping costs (Jacksonville WOKV-TV, October 3)
  The City of Atlantic Beach is fighting back after a last minute decision made by City Council at last night’s budget meeting. “From now on, they need to understand we’re going to be in the drivers seat. We’re not going to be sitting back waiting for them to turn around and play games,” says Mayor of Atlantic Beach Mike Borno when asked about his position on the landfill tipping costs.
• Recycling plant worker injured at Northampton facility dies  (Northhampton Express Times, October 3)
  A 40-year-old recycling plant worker, who was injured Friday while working at the Greenstar Recycling facility in Northampton, died Sunday from his injuries.
• Modern Disposal switches to ‘green’ fuel for truck fleet (Buffalo News, October 2)
  Modern Disposal Services, a trash-collection and disposal company that takes pride in its “work to enhance the quality of the environment,” is putting its motto where its trucks are. The company announced that it is changing its fleet of diesel-fueled trucks to cleaner-burning compressed natural gas.