Weyerhaeuser Sells Recycling Unit to International Paper for $6 Billion
Weyerhaeuser has agreed to sell its containerboard unit to International Paper for $6 billion. The deal between the giants also represents a quantum jump in the ongoing consolidation of the materials recovery industry. It includes 19 recycling facilities, 10 containerboard mills, and 72 packaging manufacturing locations involving 14,300 employees which collectively process more than 6 million tons of paper each year. Weyerhaeuser, which had been considering a sale of the unit for some time in an effort to focus on core timber, wood-products and real-estate operations, said it plans to use the proceeds to that end and to pay down debt. The recycling operations at issue gather recovered paper for the company's use in making new packaging products and are located in Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington. For International Paper, the acquisition helps the company to diversify itscustomer base, expand into new geographic regions and improve economies-of-scale...Read More »
New York City Mayor and Council Reach Compromise on E-Waste
The New York City Council reached a compromise with Mayor Michael Bloomberg whom had threatened to veto legislation requiring manufacturers to recycle certain electronics. Instead, the Council split the initial proposal in half thereby giving the Mayor the option to at least approve those elements more palatable to him. According to the Mayor, "We are separating the issue into two bills so we can move forward on the broad areas where we have reached consensus, instead of letting our differences stop all progress." The second bill, which is destined for the mayor's veto, has specific requirements, including benchmark percentages the manufacturers would have to meet and a fee structure. The standards would increase incrementally, eventually requiring a manufacture recycle 65 percent of its electronic merchandise, by weight, by 2018. Bloomberg regards the measure as unconstitutional in requiring a manufacturer recycle when it is a wholesaler that sells it to the public. He has said he would not enforce the measure...Read More »
Illinois has 19 Years of Landfill Capacity; Up from Only 12 in 2003
A recent report released by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency declares the state to have 19 years or one billion cubic yards of remaining landfill capacity as of Dec. 31, 2006. Expansions of existing facilities more than made up for the closure of others and significantly added to capacity which at the end of 2003 was 12 years worth. Between 2003 and 2006, a handful of landfills around Illinois reached capacity, shut down and then reopened after expansion. Those include the McLean County Landfill near Bloomington and the Livingston Landfill in Pontiac, both owned by Allied Waste Industries, Inc. The Livingston landfill now ranks among the highest in the country in terms of both volume and remaining capacity...Read More »
Vista International to Develop Waste to Energy Project in New York City
Vista International Technologies plans to develop a waste-to-energy project at a transfer station in New York City. The company signed a deal with Elmont, New York-based Liberty Ashes, Inc. which owns the transfer station in Jamaica, Queens and would provide up to 1000 tons of municipal solid waste per day as feedstock. Barry Kemble, CEO of Vista International Technologies Inc. commented, "This opportunity to showcase our gasification technology in a market such as New York City and work with a company like Liberty Ashes allows us to address serious waste disposal issues and will serve as a model for future projects in the area. It will utilize VVIT's Thermal Gasifier technology, and will demonstrate the technology's usefulness in dealing with the growing problem of overcrowded landfills." Vista also said it is developing a similar project in Kostinbrod, Bulgaria...Read More »
Alter NRG Signs $40 Million Private Placement Deal
Canadian based alternative energy company Alter NRG Corp. signed a $40 million financing deal with a syndicate of underwriters led by Raymond James Ltd. in connection with a "bought deal" private placement of about 9 million common shares at a price of $4.40 per share. Net proceeds of the financing will be used for project development and general working capital purposes. Other members of the syndicate include Wellington West Capital Markets Inc., Canaccord Adams, Paradigm Capital Inc., Blackmont Capital Inc. and Genuity Capital Markets...Read More »
Covanta to Co-Develop Vancouver Waste-to-Energy Project
Covanta Holding Corp. will partner with Vancouver-based Green Island Energy to develop a waste-to-energy project at Gold River on Vancouver Island. The project atop the site of a former pulp and paper mill will generate about 90 megawatts of electricity for BC Hydro beginning in 2010. Green Island said that it expects to finalize the design of the project and negotiate with municipalities for a steady supply of municipal solid waste, a key component of the project's viability. Covanta has converted waste to energy for 20 years and today owns and operates 32 such facilities mostly in the US...Read More »
Army to Deploy Experimental Biomass Refineries to Iraq
The Army is preparing to deploy to Iraq two 4-ton biomass refineries that will convert waste to electricity. Each unit is capable of producing enough power to light a small village for 20 hours per ton of waste. The machines were built by defense contractors and Purdue University scientists to help the Army reduce its reliance on diesel fuel, the stores of which have been targeted by insurgents. Dubbed "tactical biorefineries," the machines will be tested over six months in harrowing conditions that include windblown dust and 120-degree temperatures. The contractor in the deal is Defense Life Sciences LLC of McLean, Va...Read More »
Clean Harbors Buys Universal Environmental
Clean Harbors Inc. bought Universal Environmental Inc., a privately-held environmental services company based in Benicia, Calif. Universal, which also has a site in Sparks, Nev., employs 100 people in the remediation, processing, transportation and disposal of special wastes, which generated $15 million in revenues in 2007. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed...Read More »
PG&E Will Generate Electricity from Manure Methane
Northern California's Pacific Gas & Electric utility and Bakersfield-based BioEnergy Solutions have teamed up to produce pipeline-grade biomethane from manure. The initial project involves a dairy farm near Riverdale, CA. According to BioEnergy COO Tom Hintz, "It's the first facility ever to combine a biologic process to remove hydrogen sulfide (yielding pure sulfur that can be sold as fertilizer) and pressure swing absorption (PSA) for carbon dioxide removal, yielding a high-grade fuel with no hazardous waste and no need for a hazardous waste permit."...Read More »
Perma-Fix Completes Sale of Dayton Facility for $2.1 Million
As part of its previously announced plans to divest of its industrial waste operations, Perma-Fix said that it had completed the sale of its Dayton Ohio operation for $2.1 million. The buyer is OGM, LTD., an environmental services company located in Columbus, Ohio...Read More »
Avalon Holdings' Fourth Earnings Are Down
Avalon Holdings Corp. posted fourth quarter net income of $196 thousand or $0.05 per share, compared to $343 thousand or $0.09 per share in the last year quarter. Net operating revenues rose modestly to $10.4 million, from $10 million in the fourth quarter of the prior year. For fiscal 2007, net income of $1.5 million or $0.38 per share, compared to $1.3 million or $0.35 per share in the year-ago. Net operating revenues increased to $45.4 million from $39.3 million in the previous year...Read More »
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