Waste Management and Teamsters Dispute Pension Assets
Waste Management and the Teamsters representing its Milwaukee, WI area workers are at loggerheads over the Union's deteriorating pension fund. Last week, 240 employees represented by the Teamsters Local 200 walked off the job. At issue is Waste Management's desire to separate its workers' pension assets from those managed by the Teamsters-managed multi-employer Central States Pension Fund which is said to be in "critical status" due to investment losses and reductions of workers paying into the fund. The fund started 2008 with a $12 billion shortfall and has since lost another $3 billion in the first six months of this year. The company is frustrated that 60% of the money it currently pays into the fund goes to current expenses rather than toward future retirement benefits of company employees. Waste Management says it has offered the Teamsters alternative proposals that would secure and protect Waste Management employees' retirements. Representatives from the Teamsters union and Waste Management Inc., along with a federal mediator, will meet again Sept. 9 in another effort to reach an accord on a new labor contract and to end the strike. In the interim, Waste Management has resumed service in the area using "experienced" employees...Read More »
Casella Waste Considers Sale of Maine Energy Recovery Facility
Casella Waste Systems said it is weighing the possible sale of its Maine Energy Recovery facility, located in Biddeford, to real estate firm Mattson Development LLC. Local officials have recently been critical of the facility and a former mayor from nearby Saco, ME is suing Casella over odors emitted from the plant. An agreement in March of 2007 between the host town of Biddeford and Casella called for discussions of mutually beneficial options regarding the future of the facility provided that potential transactions create value for Casella's stakeholders...Read More »
URS Wins $80 Million Contract to Build Texas Rail-Enabled Waste Facility
Construction and engineering company URS Corp. has been awarded an $80 million contract to design and build waste disposal facilities in Andrews County, Texas. Under terms of the 3-year contract, awarded by Waste Control Specialists LLS, URS will design, engineer, procure and manage the construction of new facilities and infrastructure improvements, including the addition of a rail loop and rail offloading facilities, construction of a waste byproduct landfill and a low-level radioactive waste disposal facility. "This contract is a critical win that expands our construction presence in the waste management industry and positions the Company for future projects," said Tom Zarges, President of URS' Washington Division...Read More »
Agresti Biofuels Gets Okay for First Waste-to-Ethanol Facility in the US
Indianapolis, IN-based Agresti Biofuels announced negotiations with Pike County, KY for the first commercial-scale municipal waste to ethanol facility in the United States. The county is searching for an alternative to its 400-ton-per-day landfill which is nearing capacity. Once complete, the 20 MMgy Central Appalachian Ethanol Plant could process up to 1,500 tons of MSW per day which could open the door to neighboring counties. The plant would not generate any air or water pollution provided that plastics, rubber and metals are separated out for recycling. Pike County Judge Wayne T. Rutherford, who championed the project, said "it's a win-win situation for every party involved. This plant will not only improve the environment, but it will bring more than a hundred new jobs to Pike County." Agresti is also competing for a similar project in Lake County, IN...Read More »
BioGold Fuels Partners with Kansas County for Clean MSW Project
BioGold Fuels Corp. said it reached a 30-year agreement with Harvey County, KS to process the county's waste, tires and other materials at a Bio-refinery the company will build next to the county's transfer station, on a 32-acre site to be leased from the county. Concurrently, BioGold is negotiating with ICM, Inc. to design and build the facility. Under the agreement, BioGold will receive $35 per ton of waste it receives from Harvey County, estimated to be 33,500 tons per year, and in return the county will receive 5% of net profits from the sale of products made by BioGold. BioGold can also bring in additional waste from neighboring counties...Read More »
Allied Waste Proposes Way for California Collective to Save $42 Million
Allied Waste said it could upgrade an existing facility that would save a group of municipalities in northern California $42 million over their existing plan. The 12 Member communities of the South Bayside Waste Management Authority (SBWMA) have been considering constructing a brand new $53 recycling facility. Instead, Allied proposes to upgrade its existing site in San Marcos to single-stream capability at a cost of only $7.6 million. Moreover, it could be on line in less than a year. Their plan calls for the construction of a 10,000-square-foot extension of the existing 50,000 square foot Shoreway Recycling and Disposal Center facility in San Carlos...Read More »
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