Republic Proposes More Aggressive Measures for Countywide Landfill
Republic Services, which has faced withering problems at its Countywide Landfill including larger than-expected expenses and a threat to rescind its operating license by the county health department, has proposed more aggressive measures to staunch the purported underground fires there. A new plan, which has not yet been approved by the OhioEPA, involves the excavation of 385 thousand cubic yards of buried waste to create a firebreak. Furthermore, they will have to move quickly to minimize odors. Performing a winter operation would help too. A new barrier would be created between the old 88-acre site and the 170-acre expansion...Read More »
EPA Resisting New Model to Measure Greenhouse Gas Credits for Recycling
Waste and recycling industry advocates and the US EPA are struggling to develop a protocol for quantifying greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction credits for recycling activities that could ultimately be traded in a future cap-and-trade system. Waste firms as well as municipalities across the country want to receive GHG offsets for their recycling efforts which they argue reduce energy consumption and harmful emissions. EPA officials are concerned that the industry seems to be embracing the EPA's Waste Reduction Model (WARM) which they feel is not quite ready for prime time. In September, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) formed a new working group to look at the implications of climate change for recyclers. ISRI and other advocates are working with various members of Congress to add recycling amendments to the Lieberman-Warner climate change bill now before committee...Read More »
E-Waste Bill Proposed for Wisconsin
Wisconsin is likely to join the growing ranks of states that have passed legislation to regulate waste electronics (e-waste). State Sen. Mark Miller plans to introduce a bill that establishes a manufacturer funded state-wide recycling program modeled from and similar to that which was recently passed in neighboring Minnesota. The Wisconsin DNR projects that there are 3.8 million computers in the state and nearly 7.5 million televisions. A DNR survey in 2002 revealed that 10,000 tons of monitors, 3,000 tons of other computer equipment, and 24,000 tons of televisions were buried in landfills. Ever shorter product lifecyles increases the environmental burden from e-wastes which typically contain cadmium, lead and mercury. The EPA estimates the recovery rate of e-waste nationwide to be less than 12%...Read More »
Green Waste-to-Energy Project Eyed in Southern California
The Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA) is said to be shopping for a regional municipal solid waste (MSW)-related power project. The regional approach would add economies-of-scale and accommodate a project in the 10-15 MW range. However, it is more likely to be a green waste or biomass-fed operation rather than regular MSW. In California it is unclear whether the green waste used for electricity generation can also be counted as landfill diversion. SCPPA would likely have to pursue a bill in the legislature to make the project more feasible. To comply with global climate change limits, any so-called green waste power plant would have to use a chemical process with the clippings to avoid combustion and GHG emissions...Read More »
PlascoEnergy Gets Big Investment from Private Equity Group
Ottawa-based Plasco Energy Group which is currently operating a pilot plasma waste gasification plant has raised $35 million in private funding and secured a commitment next year of another $115 million from a major American fund manager. Greenwich, Conn.-based First Reserve Corp., an energy-focused private equity firm with about $12.5 billion under management, said Plasco will use the funds to commercialize its energy-from-waste technology and construct new facilities. Other investors include Black River Asset Management, a subsidiary of Cargill, and Hera Holdings SA of Barcelona, Spain, and both exercised warrants to buy another $14.3 million in Plasco common shares. Plasco's Ottawa pilot project is capable of converting 100 tons per day of MSW to electricity via high temperature gasification. The resulting synthetic gas is then burned in a high-efficiency engine to produce electricity...Read More »
A&WMA To Hold Conference in Portland, OR June 24-28, 2008
The Air & Waste Management Association (A&WMA) plans to host its 101st annual conference and exhibition in Portland, OR from June 24-27, 2008. According to A&WMA executive director Adrianne Carolla, "I can't think of a better place to kick off our second century than a city known worldwide for its commitment to environmental responsibility." Featured speakers hail from Toyota, Intel, and the Climate Institute...Read More »
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