Waste Connections Beats Analysts' Expectations of Second Quarter Results
Waste Connections exceeded analysts' expectations with the release of its second quarter earnings this week. The Folsom-based company earned $25.3 million, or 3 cents per diluted share, in the three months ended June 30. That was a 32 percent increase from $19.2 million, or 27 cents per diluted share, in the second quarter of last year. Although, net income in the prior year included $3.8 million in costs from insurance claims. Second-quarter revenue increased by 16.5 percent to $241.1 million from $207 million last year. Chairman and CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt attributed the strong performance to a strong pricing environment combined with "a notable increase in disposal volumes." He said he expects "these trends to continue into the third quarter, putting us on track to exceed the upper end of our original outlook for the year."...Read More »
GE Acquires One of Nation's Largest Landfill Gas Projects
GE Energy Financial Services, a unit of General Electric Co. bought a 90 percent stake in one of the country's largest landfill waste-to-energy operations. It is the company's sixth U.S. landfill gas investment, although financial terms were not disclosed. The project is located on the 1,300 ton per day Scholl Canyon Landfill based in Glendale, CA outside of Los Angeles. It sends 10 million cubic feet of methane per day to a 250 megawatt power plant nearby. Company officials said Scholl Canyon Landfill, an affiliate of Palmer Capital Corp., will continue to manage facility operations. The acquisition fits with GE's Ecomagination commitment and is inline with the company's goal to "of investing $4 billion by 2010 in renewable energy," according to Kevin Walsh, managing director of renewable energy at GE Energy Financial Services...Read More »
STB Decision Stirs Debate on Who Can Regulate Waste Sites on Rail Property
In the ongoing debate over who has the power to regulate waste facilities located on railroad property, the Surface Transportation Board (STB) upped the ante by ruling on a proposed transloading operation in Massachusetts. In considering a rail-shipment transload business proposed by New England Transrail, the STB decided that waste handling and even temporary storage is "integrally related" to transportation and therefore covered by federal preemption. The board took exception to the shredding of wastes which it deemed outside the purview of transportation and conceded that its decision did not completely eliminate the application of state and local police powers, even though it limited them substantially. The decision is only preliminary as NET's proposed project will not be considered for final approval until environmental and public interest safeguards are met...Read More »
New Hampshire Bars Landfill Development along its Rivers
The Governor of New Hampshire signed a law that prohibits landfill development along the state's rivers. The Rivers Management and Protection Act (RSA 483) which takes effect September 11, 2007, will increase the distance from the state's 14 rivers from which landfills can be sited. The law also ends the consideration of a landfill along the Merrimack River in Canterbury that a 27-town cooperative proposed two years ago...Read More »
D.C. Circuit Court Deals Cement Kiln Recycling Coalition a Setback
The Cement Kiln Recycling Coalition was dealt a setback by a D.C. Circuit Court which denied a petition to review an EPA regulation that governs the permitting process for facilities which burn hazardous waste as fuel. The court ruled that the agency's regulation set forth an identifiable permitting standard, that the agency's interpretation of the regulation was neither plainly erroneous nor inconsistent with the regulation, and that the agency satisfied the Administrative Procedure Act in developing its rules...Read More »
Dell boasts that it is Ahead of Schedule in Recycling Goal
Computer maker Dell Inc. boasted that its environmental goals are ahead of schedule. Chief Executive Officer Michael Dell again chastised other computer manufacturers to follow suit and offer free recycling to consumers. The company claims in its latest report to be ahead of schedule in its goal of recycling 275 million pounds of computer equipment by 2009. The company claims to have recovered more than 78 million pounds of e-waste last year which represented a 93 percent increase over 2005...Read More »
Ze-gen, Inc. Opens Trial Waste Gasification Facility in New Bedford MA
Ze-gen, Inc. cut ribbons to open its waste gasification demonstration facility in New Bedford, MA. The plant is based on a proprietary technology to convert waste streams into synthetic natural gas and low emissions electrical energy. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) awarded Ze-gen with operational permits at the end of 2006, which allow the demonstration plant to operate for 12 months. This expected to give Ze-gen enough time to collect the data needed to design a full-scale facility...Read More »
Las Vegas Teamsters Ratify New Contract with Republic Services
The Teamsters Local 631 which represents 1,200 Waste and Recycling Workers in Las Vegas announced the ratification of a new five-year contract with their employer Republic Services. The contract secures nearly $9 an hour in increases to wages, health and welfare, and pension benefits over the term of the contract, the economic aspects of which are retroactive to June 1. Each six months of the contract's term, employees receive a 75-cent per-hour increase that is split among wage increases, health and welfare costs, and pension contributions. It underscores the larger trend of increasing costs throughout the industry...Read More »
Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies Expects Small Loss in 2Q
Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies Inc., which makes building materials from recycled polyethylene plastic, said it expects to report a "small" loss for the second quarter. Unaudited sales for the quarter ended June 30 were $25.9 million, down 10.6 percent from the same period in 2006. The Springdale-based company said it expects to report a net income loss for the quarter. A full report on second quarter earnings is scheduled for August 6...Read More »
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