Lousy IPO Market Expected to Rebound; Good News for Advanced Disposal
The Wall Street Journal speculates that the market for initial public offerings (IPOs) is poised for a comeback beginning after Labor Day. Among the companies mentioned is Advanced Disposal which earlier postponed its IPO plans amid weak market conditions. The IPO market in general has been weak and 2016 is on track to be the worst since the financial crisis. It has frustrated stock-fund managers clamoring for new offerings which can often provide quick lifts to performance. This year the market has been beset by a series of global economic and financial hiccups that have led many companies to delay their debuts, or in some cases abandon them in favor of outright sales, although the stock market has been surprisingly resilient. More surprising is the market rebound since the U.K.'s unexpected decision to leave the European Union, which initially roiled the markets. The current prolonged calm and the recent rise in stocks is expected to bring prospective companies back to the table. And since companies typically spend four to five months preparing paperwork for a public listing, September's calendar will likely include many that started the process in the spring or before, like Advanced Disposal, for example...Read More »
EPA Promulgates Final Landfill Methane Rules
EPA's regulations that seek to limit methane emissions from new and existing landfills are slated to be promulgated in the Federal Register Aug. 29. This begins the 60-day clock for any parties to challenge the rules in court. The rules, released on July 15, include a regulation for new and modified municipal solid waste landfills under section 111(b) of the Clean Air Act and a rule for existing landfills under section 111(d). Both measures strengthen standards that were issued by the Clinton administration in 1996. The final standards retain stricter emissions thresholds for when facilities have to begin capturing landfill gas. However, they are not expected to draw significant opposition from the landfill sector...Read More »
Teamsters Union Likes NYC Sanitation Reforms Where They Could Have Influence
The Teamsters Union is endorsing New York City's plan to deploy a zoned commercial waste collection system that aims to reduce traffic and cut pollution. The Teamsters and other proponents of the plan say it will also boost recycling and be more protective of sanitation workers. But opponents of the plan, including Laborers Local 108, which represents many workers at current carters, say the zoned system will drive small operators out of business and cost jobs.
Teamster support for the zoned system may derive from the fact that choosing carters that bid for the exclusive rights to service a city commercial zone is subject to political vetting that could be influenced by lobbying efforts from unionized labor. The Teamsters have resources that would give it an advantage over non-unionized or even non-Teamster unionized carters.
It's expected to take two years to set up a zone system, and the City Council will have to sign off on legislation...Read More »
Anaheim, CA Considering Food Waste-to-Biofuel Plant
The City of Anaheim, CA is considering an anaerobic digestion plant that would convert food waste into biogas as a renewable energy source. Anaergia is proposing to build what it would call "The Anaheim Sustainability Center" which would generate 4 megawatts of energy, enough to power 5,000 homes, and sell that to Anaheim Public Utilities. A byproduct of the process results in pellet-sized digestate that can be used as fertilizer. Anaergia would team up with Republic Services, Anaheim's waste hauler, which would sort the trash and transport the organic waste in a sealed truck to the 3,600-square-foot, state-of-the-art digestion plant...Read More »
Enerkem Waste-to-Bio-Fuels Plant wins Certification, Ready for Full Production
Enerkem Inc. (Montreal, QC), a waste-to-biofuels and chemicals producer, said it obtained certification from the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) system for Alberta Biofuels facility in Edmonton, AB. This makes it the first ISCC certified plant in the world to convert municipal solid waste into biomethanol...Read More »
Big Data Could Help Reduce Food Waste
Frank E. Celli, CEO of BioHiTech Global Inc., thinks that big data could tackle food waste. Each year, approximately 1.3 billion tons of food waste is created globally. In the United States alone, approximately 34 million tons of food is delivered to landfills, which accounts for more than 35% of total landfill waste. Food waste in landfills results in methane gases that potentially harm the environment. According to Celli, the best solution is to use big data to reduce waste at the point of sale in the supermarket. Stores could deploy, for example, an on-site eco-friendly aerobic digester equipped with cloud-based data programs that would report on the timing and weight of the food put into them. The stores could use these real-time metrics along with point-of-sale data to develop a sophisticated model to achieve maximum efficiency and profitability with the least food waste possible...Read More »
POTWs Want EPA Help Dealing with Effluent from Oil and Gas Facilities
Municipal wastewater utilities are asking EPA to broaden its planned review of centralized waste treatment (CWT) plants, saying that some treatment plants have inadequately characterized and treated wastewater often containing metal-bearing, oily, and organic wastes from oil and gas facilities. Some publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) -- municipal treatment plants -- "have experienced problems related to waste from CWTs, resulting from inadequate characterization and treatment of the wastes received," according to the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) that represents POTWs. The group says that hauled wastes from CWTs that handle industrial wastewater can be taken to multiple POTWs and in multiple states, making tracking and trouble-shooting difficult for POTWs. "Additional federal standards for this category could help prevent pass-through and interference for POTWs."...Read More »
Navy Seeks Vendor to Dismantle First Nuclear-Powered Aircraft Carrier
The Navy is seeking a contractor to dismantle the reactor plants on its first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Enterprise (CVN-65) and to dispose of all low-level radioactive waste. According to a request for information issued Aug. 1, work would begin fiscal year 2019 on the inactivated and defueled former the Enterprise. "This work would be accomplished either before, during, or after demilitarizing, dismantling, and recycling of the remaining non-radioactive sections of the ship," the RFI reads. The Navy will provide the vendor waterborne delivery of a floating center section of the ship containing the reactor plants to the contractor's chosen site. After CVN-65 was inactivated at Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia, the ship was towed to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Washington. There the ship would be dismantled and the Navy would begin to dispose of the eight reactor compartment packages at an Department of Energy site in Hanford, WA...Read More »
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