Lead-Acid Batteries Recycled At Almost 100% Rate
Battery Council International has released a report indicating that the lead-acid battery industry, along with consumers and retailers, has recycled 99.2 percent of used battery lead from 1999 to 2003. The lead-acid battery continues to be the United States' most highly recycled consumer product, leading steel cans (60 percent), green waste (56.3 percent), and paper and paperboard (48.1 percent), according to EPA figures...Read More »
New Texas Law Does Not Require Public Meetings on Landfills
Legislation recently signed into law by Texas Gov. Rick Perry (www.governor.state.tx.us) allows Texas regulators to decide whether to hold public meetings on new landfills or hazardous landfills. State officials said the new law will not affect public policy-nearly a third of the recent public meetings have been unattended, and meetings can be called if a state lawmaker or the public requests one. But critics have said the bill should not restrict automatic opportunities for the public to learn of new or expanding facilities...Read More »
California Contributes to Closure of Toxic BKK Landfill
The state of California has contributed $1.2 million for the city of West Covina to shut down the toxic waste portion of the BKK Landfill. The funding allows crews to begin covering the landfill with nearly 8 feet of dirt, a project that should have been paid for by the owners of BKK. Those owners have said they do not have the funds. The state's contribution will cover about 5 feet worth of soil; the city will need to find money for the remainder...Read More »
Proposed Salt Lake Developers Could Sell Megalandfill Site
Promontory Landfill LLC of Salt Lake City, Utah has invested $2 million and three years to develop a 2,000-acre facility to handle all of the state's waste. But the company has not begun construction on the landfill, and as a result is having difficulty securing financing and commitments to send waste. The company faces a Sept. 15 review of its permit, and if it does not have firm plans in place by then, the permit could be revoked. The company has discussed selling the facility to Box Elder County for $5 million...Read More »
Virginia DEQ Releases Latest Figures on Out-of-State Waste
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has released its latest findings regarding the state's importation of hazardous wastes. The total amount of out-of-state waste of all types dumped in Virginia landfills has grown from 6.6 million tons in 2003 to 7.8 million tons last year. Most of the increase in out-of-state waste-920,000 tons-was taken in at a C&D landfill in Goochland County. Maryland, New York, Washington, D.C., New Jersey, and North Carolina were responsible for the vast majority of out-of-state waste...Read More »
New Jersey Could Face Disposal Crisis without Additional Recycling
Guy Watson, head of New Jersey's Bureau of Recycling and Planning, has said that the state faces a solid waste disposal crisis within ten years if it cannot improve its recycling rate. The state generated 19 million tons of waste in 2003, and the bureau projects that amount will grow to 33 million tons by 2015, an amount the state's facilities cannot handle. The state currently recycles about 33 percent of its waste; Watson seeks to increase that to 50 percent...Read More »
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