Joliet Landfill Closure Sets Off Illinois Political War
Chicago's landfills have become the centerpiece of political controversy in the state after Gov. Rod Blagojevich shut down the Land Reclamation Services landfill several weeks ago. The landfill reopened this week after a judge required that the landfill remove all illegal waste by Jan. 31 and provide the state with a list of its customers. Blagojevich ordered the landfill closed after he allegedly received word that a distant cousin of his wife boasted that his family connections allowed him to take any materials at the site. Fallout from the closure has led to charges and counter-charges between the governor's political director and a Chicago alderman who is also Blagojevich's father-in-law...Read More »
WCA Acquires Gecko Investments, LLC
WCA Waste Corporation (Nasdaq: WCAA) has completed the acquisition of Gecko Investments, L.L.C., including the Eagle Ridge Landfill and associated collection company in Bowling Green, Mo. The landfill has approximately 18 years of life remaining in its currently permitted cell, with more available through expansion. WCA's operations now include 15 landfills, 12 transfer stations and 20 collection operations...Read More »
Virginia, National Waste Meet In Court Over Landfill
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (www.deq.state.va.us) and National Waste Services are facing off in circuit court over the operation of a Page County landfill. The state shut down the landfill nearly a year ago, alleging the facility was taking in too much waste. But the company charges that the state made procedural errors, and wants the landfill reopened...Read More »
N.J. County Caught In Middle of Waste Management, Union Labor Battle
Burlington County, N.J. landfill officials have found themselves in the middle of a labor dispute between Waste Management (www.wm.com) and Teamsters Union Local 701 (www.teamster.org). The dispute has cut into the county's landfill revenues, and has cost the county up to $200,000 in the last two weeks. Burlington has already been operating the facility at a loss. The union is seeking wage increases, but has rejected management's offer of a 3 percent increase, arguing that health care costs have risen by 7 percent...Read More »
National Gypsum, Gypsum Recycling Enter Into Reclamation Agreement
National Gypsum Company (www.nationalgypsum.com) has entered into an agreement with Gypsum Recycling International (www.gypsumrecycling.biz) to purchase wallboard waste reclaimed from new construction sites in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, starting in the fall of 2005. National Gypsum will recycle the reclaimed material into new wallboard at its Portsmouth, N.H. plant. Gypsum Recycling International, a Danish firm which developed the recycling system, will collect the waste wallboard and crush it. GRI has had a similar system operating successfully in conjunction with wallboard manufacturers in Scandinavia for the past three years. National Gypsum expects to divert up to 30,000 tons of waste gypsum annually to the Portsmouth plant alone. Following the completion of the pilot program, the companies will evaluate opportunities in other areas of the United States...Read More »
TSP Ends Efforts to Build Texas Industrial Landfill
TSP Development Ltd. has ended efforts to open what would have been Texas's largest industrial landfill in Chambers County (www.co.chambers.tx.us). Opponents of the 800-acre site contended that it would have polluted surrounding regions, and after eight years, the company's application for a state permit was rejected because the company's option to buy the land had expired...Read More »
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