Bloomberg Reactivates Staten Island Railroad for Shipping Waste
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently reactivated a dormant branch of the Staten Island Railroad. It is a $75 million component of his intricate overhaul of the city's waste management system and part of the 20-year plan approved amid some controversy last summer. As with other aspects of the plan which calls for increased reliance on rail and barge for shipping waste out of the region, the revived Staten Island railway will facilitate the shipment of waste from there to New Jersey in lieu of trucking it. The project is expected to create 330 new jobs at the recently completed Staten Island Transfer Station that sits atop the old Fresh Kills landfill...Read More »
MedServe Acquires Rival Medical Waste Services Firm
Houston-based MedServe Inc. recently acquired rival medical waste services provider InEnTec Medical Services California, L.L.C. This is the fourteenth acquisition in the last two years and is part of the company's aspiration to be the number two player in this consolidating arena. "With this transaction, we add more than 1,000 new customers to our 10,000-customer base and expand service to all parts of California," said MedServe President Mike Fields. He added, "This acquisition also adds new permitted medical waste facilities in the San Diego and Bay areas of the state." InEnTec had been a subsidiary of Integrated Environmental Technologies LLC, an engineering company that developed a process for gasifying waste using plasma arc technology. MedServe is headed by industry veteran Roger Ramsey, a former founder and CEO of Allied Waste Industries and co-founder of Browning-Ferris Industries. Mike Fields is former president of BFI Medical Waste...Read More »
Bradley Landfill Closure Begs the Question: What Next?
Los Angeles residents are celebrating the closure of the Bradley Landfill which recently accepted its last shipment of waste after half-a-century of operation. The question remains as to whether Waste Management, which had operated the landfill, can build a transfer station, recycling and processing center there in its place. Neighbors are understandably uncomfortable with the idea which is otherwise a sensible solution to the looming waste problem...Read More »
Leading waste equipment provider and Beachwood, Ohio-based Wastequip has acquired Toter Inc. of Statesville, N.C., the largest producer of plastic garbage and recycling carts in the U.S. While terms of the deal were not disclosed, Wastequip, right on the heels of its purchase of Cascade Container in January, said that the Toter deal is its largest ever. Toter makes carts in Statesville and in Acuna, Mexico. It also has a warehouse and light assembly plant in Del Rio, Texas, and a warehouse and sales office in Sanger, Calif. "This is exactly the partner we wanted," said John Scott, the President and CEO of Toter who will continue to lead his team within the Wastequip universe...Read More »
$8 Million in Wilson Bridge Funds to Help Reclaim Old Landfill
$8 million in environmental funds that are part of the project to build a new Wilson Bridge across the Potomac River in Washington DC will be used to remediate an old 50-acre landfill along the eastern bank of the river. Debris will be removed and relocated to an upland site that meets current environmental standards. Michelle Holland, a spokeswoman for the Wilson Bridge Project said that the effort will include reforestation of 14 acres and the planting of 20 acres of woodlands...Read More »
Casella Waste to Develop Gas-to-Energy at its Pine Tree Landfill
Casella Waste Systems announced that it plans to develop a landfill gas-to-energy project at its Pine Tree Landfill in Hampden, Maine. Casella already operates similar projects in New York and Vermont. While gas extraction systems have been in place for over five years, much of the collected gas has to date been flared off. The facility will employ three 20-cylinder combustion engines to generate electricity into Bangor Hydro-Electric Co. lines...Read More »
Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. Joins Chicago Climate Exchange
Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. (Nasdaq: SSCC) recently joined the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX). To qualify, the company committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 6% by the year 2010. "Smurfit-Stone demonstrates environmental responsibility everywhere we operate," said Patrick J. Moore, Smurfit-Stone chairman and CEO. "We intend to be at the forefront of environmental issues." Smurfit-Stone is the industry's leading integrated manufacturer of paperboard and paper-based packaging and one of the world's largest paper recyclers. The Chairman and CEO of the CCX is economist and financial innovator Dr. Richard L. Sandor, who was named a Hero of the Planet by Time magazine for his work in founding the CCX...Read More »
Sen. Clinton Wants Army Corps of Engineers To Reassess Radioactive Waste in Tonawanda Landfill
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) is urging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a new study of a controversial landfill in the Town of Tonawanda, NY to determine if it is posing health risks to nearby neighborhoods. The site contains remnants of radioactive materials left over from the Manhattan Project. In a letter to Lt. Col. John S. Hurley, district commander of the corps, Clinton asked for an additional assessment to make certain that the site will not endanger nearby residents...Read More »
Air & Waste Management Assoc. 100th Annual Conference in June
The Air & Waste Management Association will host its Annual Conference & Exhibition from June 26 - 29 in Pittsburgh, PA to celebrate 100 years of environmental stewardship. Featured will be a keynote address by former EPA administrator Christine Todd Whitman. The event attracts a diverse audience of industry parishioners, scientists, engineers, regulators, academics, lawyers, and many others. Conference agenda include professional development courses, a comprehensive technical program, and opportunities to explore new developments, methodologies, and topic areas in the environmental business...Read More »
Earthworks to Sell 50% Interest in California Landfill Project
Earthworks Industries has agreed to sell a 50% stake in its Cortina landfill project, called Cortina Integrated Waste Management, Inc., to Cortina Landfill Company (CLC) for a sum of $4 million. CLC is a subsidiary of North Bay Corporation. Earthworks will also receive royalties of $2 for each ton disposed in the landfill over the life of the project. CLC also has the option to acquire another 10% for $2 million exercisable for the first year of the landfill's operation. CLC will also supply $12 million to cover ongoing costs of development and construction...Read More »
Waste Services Expands Credit Facility and Closes U.S.A. Recycling Deal
Waste Services, Inc. (Nasdaq: WSII) said that it has increased its credit facility by $50 million and that it has finalized its acquisition of U.S.A. Recycling in Florida. The company also plans to release first quarter financial results at the close of markets on Tuesday, April 24, 2007 and host a conference call to following day at 8:30 a.m. EDT to discuss and answer questions...Read More »
WCA Waste Corp. to Release First Quarter Results on May 3
WCA Waste Corp. said that it will release first quarter 2007 financial results at the close of markets on May 3, 2007. The company will host a conference call the following day at 8:30 a.m. EDT to discuss the results and answer questions following the management presentation...Read More »
American Ecology to Release First Quarter Results April 24
American Ecology Corp. said that it will release first quarter 2007 financial results at the close of markets on Tuesday April 24, 2007. The company will host a conference call the following day at 11 a.m. EDT to discuss the results and answer questions following the management presentation...Read More »
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