Pennsylvania Court Upholds Ban on Fees
The State Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has upheld a ban on administrative fees charged per ton on garbage in several Pennsylvania counties. The County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania and the state Department of Environmental Protection argue the fees are necessary to continue non-mandated recycling programs. The Pennsylvania Independent Waste Haulers Association challenged the fees as an illegal hidden tax and the court agreed. State legislators are now considering legislation to allow the fees...Read More »
Report on Toxic Effects of 1.5 Billion Pounds of Pollutants
U.S. Public Interest Research Group released a report stating that in 2004 U.S. industrial facilities released 1.5 billion pounds of toxic pollutants linked to serious health effects. The report entitled "Toxic Pollution and Health," uses information from the federal Toxic Release Inventory. The EPA recently authorized industrial facilities to withhold previously reported pollution information...Read More »
Washington Begins to Address E-Waste Problem
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who has already cosponsored Senate Bill S510, which offers tax incentives for recycling, now wants to address the e-waste problem. He is seeking a "sensible national policy" to address what he terms is a patch-work quilt of various state laws that make it difficult for manufacturers to provide solutions to the ever growing problem. Currently, states including California, Maryland, Maine and Washington have enacted laws covering e-waste. Each varies significantly from one another, with some placing the burden on retailers while others seek producer responsibility in ensuring that the products are properly recycled and disposed...Read More »
Deloitte Canada to Pay $50 Million to Settle Philip Services Suit
The Canadian unit of Deloitte & Touche LLP recently agreed to pay US$50.5 million to settle an investor lawsuit stemming from its audits of Canadian waste management firm Philip Services. Ontario-based Philip Services declared bankruptcy in 1999 after saying it would restate financial results for three years over rogue copper trading. Investors accused Deloitte of failing to disclose that Philip Services' financial statements did not comply with U.S. and Canadian accounting principles...Read More »
Another Guilty Plea in Mob Tax Scandal
The ongoing prosecution of Automated Waste Disposal, Inc. and Mob influence of the waste business in Connecticut and New York has netted another guilty plea. Richard Caccavale, 48, of Stormville, N.Y., pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in New Haven to one count of conspiring to violate the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. He admitted that he and others conspired to perpetuate a so-called "property rights system" in which carters agreed not to compete for customers in order to artificially inflate their prices...Read More »
Waste Management Plans to Release First Quarter Results April 27
Waste Management (NYSE: WMI) said that it plans to release first quarter 2007 financial results at the opening of the markets on Friday, April 27, 2007. Management has scheduled a conference call to discuss those results on that day at 10 a.m. ET...Read More »
Fate of a Tulsa Burn Plant Hinges on Legal Opinion
Tulsa could lose its burn plant of twenty years. At issue is the legal question of whether the Tulsa Authority for the Recovery of Energy can directly negotiate a new sole-source contract with the Walter B. Hall Resource Recovery Facility when cheaper landfill disposal options exist. A legal opinion is pending from the Oklahoma attorney general. Granting an extension in the contract is being debated until the opinion is given. However, even if the negotiations are allowed the issue may be moot because of the flow-control issue stated in Carbone...Read More »
Small Town Attempts to Thwart Landfill by Purchasing the Land
Webberville, small village east of Austin Texas, has offered almost $20 million to buy land owned by Austin that may be used in the future for a landfill. Two of Travis County's landfills, also located in East Austin, are nearing capacity and are looking to expand...Read More »
Covanta Announces New NOx Emission Control Technologies
Covanta Holding Corp. announced that they have developed and tested two new technologies that significantly reduce the emissions of Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) that typically results from waste-to-energy production. Both technologies, for which patents are pending, have been tested at existing Covanta facilities and are now ready for full scale commercial application. "We are excited about the new Covanta VLN technology because it gives us a competitive advantage when pursuing facility expansion or greenfield energy-from-waste opportunities," said Covanta's Chief Executive Officer Anthony Orlando...Read More »
Company Grinds Tires to Produce Substitute for Petro-Chemicals
Naples Florida based Lehigh Technologies has engineered a rubber powder (called PolyDyne) which is made from finely ground scrap tires that can substitute for oil in the production synthetic rubber and other petro-chemical products. "These industries account for about one-third of all oil-derived products" says Dennis J. Gormley, CEO of Lehigh. Lehigh claims that PolyDyne will save manufacturers money and lead to manufacturing process improvements...Read More »
Industrial Services of America Posts Increase in Profits
Industrial Services of America Inc., a provider of waste and recycling management services, recently posted fourth-quarter increase in profit despite lower sales, owing to reduced its overhead expenses. Fourth quarter net income was $730,000 or $0.20 per share, compared with $416,000 or $0.12 per share for the fourth quarter of 2005. Total revenues for the fourth quarter of 2006 were $14.6 million compared with $19.7 million in the prior year quarter...Read More »
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