Electronics Companies Form Recycling Joint Venture
Consumer electronic giants Panasonic, Sharp and Toshiba have formed a US-based collection and recycling venture called Electronic Manufacturers Recycling Management Company, LLC (MRM). The new firm will also serve other electronics manufactures and will roll out in Connecticut, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas and Washington late this year with plans to do likewise in other states as it expands its national presence. "Forming an independent company to manage collective electronic recycling programs is the best way to achieve economies of scale and efficiencies necessary to create a sustainable recycling system for used electronics," said David Thompson, the company's president...Read More »
Supreme Court Declines Review of Superfund Ruling against Canadian Mining Giant
In a closely watched case, the US Supreme Court declined to intervene in a case involving Canadian mining giant Teck Cominco which has been held subject to U.S. Superfund law for polluting the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest. Last year, a federal appeals court ruled that the company, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, would have to pay a share of an estimated $1 billion to clean up Lake Roosevelt, a 150-mile stretch of the upper Columbia River behind the Grand Coulee Dam. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has charged that for nearly 90 years, the company's lead and zinc smelter complex 10 miles north of the US border leached heavy metals and slag into the river. Teck Cominco asked the justices to overturn the appeals court ruling, arguing that US Superfund law does not apply to a Canadian company discharging hazardous waste unless it had "arranged" for the contamination to end up in the United States...Read More »
Court Orders Former Waste Management Exec to Pay $4M for Securities Fraud
A federal district court judge ordered former Waste Management Inc. chief financial officer James E. Koenig to pay $4 million after a jury found that he committed 60 securities laws violations over a five-year period. The final judgment, entered on Dec. 21, requires Koenig to pay more than $4 million in disgorgement, prejudgment interest and civil penalties and permanently bars him from acting as an officer or director of a public company. The Securities and Exchange Commission alleged in its complaint that from 1992 to 1997, Koenig and others engaged in a "systematic scheme to falsify and misrepresent Waste Management's financial results with profits being overstated by $1.7 billion." Part of that scheme involved overstating the expected life of landfills and other assets so that current amortization and replacement costs would appear much lower. The jury found Koenig liable for securities fraud, falsifying company books and records, lying to auditors and aiding and abetting the company's violations...Read More »
Casella Expands Management Echelons
Casella Waste Systems announced an expansion of its management ranks with the appointment of Jim Bohlig as president of the company's renewables group and Paul Larkin joining the company as president and chief operating officer. With Bohlig's appointment, Chairman and chief executive officer John Casella is putting more focus on day-to-day performance and results. Bohlig will also lead company efforts to expand into new businesses and expand existing opportunities, technologies, and relationships. Larkin, who hails from Office Depot where he held various operating positions, and most recently served as vice president for international strategy, will be responsible for leading all integrated operating divisions and functions within Casella...Read More »
Landfill Developers Seeking $25 Million from North Carolina
Four waste management firms seeking to build landfills in North Carolina have asked for nearly $25 million in compensation for the state's decision last year to bar landfills in certain areas. As a caveat of the more stringent regulations, lawmakers allowed companies with pending landfill applications to recoup costs for affected projects. Waste Industries USA is seeking $13.6 million related to costs of developing its 1,000 acre Black bear landfill in Camden County. Waste Management and Riegel Ridge Partners filed separate requests totaling $8.6 million for a proposed landfill project in Columbus County. Alligator River Recycling is seeking $2.4 million to recoup expenses related to a its proposed construction debris landfill in Hyde County. Since August of 2006, North Carolina's legislature imposed a moratorium on any new landfill projects several of which were in process, especially in the eastern parts of the state. The fear which continues with the resent extension of the moratorium as well as more stringent siting restrictions stems from concern that the state might become a large importer of waste, particularly from the Northeast...Read More »
Covanta Delaware Valley Facility Gets to Increase Daily Volume
Covanta Holding Corp. said that the Pennsylvania DEP approved a permit modification that allows the company's Delaware Valley waste-to-energy project to increase its daily receipt of solid waste and extend its operating hours. Under the approved changes, the Chester-based facility will increase its maximum daily volume of waste from 5,250 to 5,700 tons, but not increase in its maximum weekly volume...Read More »
Newalta Announces $135 Million Capital Expenditures for 2008
Canadian industrial waste management and environmental services provider Newalta Income Fund announced its $135 million capital expenditure plan for 2008. The company plans to spend about $25 million in maintenance capital expenditures, and $110 million on numerous internal growth projects across the country. "In 2008, we will continue to capitalize on opportunities to expand services, add processes ... to improve productivity [and] pursue acquisitions to enter new markets," said Al Cadotte, Newalta's President and CEO...Read More »
Fortistar Completes Purchase of 6 Landfill Gas to Energy Projects
Fortistar LLC, an energy company based in White Plains, closed on its acquisition of Algonquin Power Income Fund's six landfill gas-to-energy projects in California and New Hampshire. The $11.3 million deal closed Dec. 21. The projects expand Fortistar's presence in states that aggressively support expansion of green and renewable energy...Read More »
Ze-gen Plant Visited by Ghost of Election Past
Bedford, MA-based waste-to-gas-to-energy company Ze-gen got a visit from former presidential hopeful Senator John Kerry. Last July, Ze-gen opened its pilot plant in Bedford, MA to convert waste into synthetic natural gas. The plant can accept municipal waste, construction material and scrap tires. The visit from Senator Kerry is seen as an endorsement and show of Massachusetts' commitment to fostering the growth of renewable energy generation...Read More »
AERC Announces Acquisition of Secure Data Destruction and Disposal Operations
Recycling and secure document destruction company AERC Recycling Solutions announced its acquisition of DynTek, Inc.'s Secure Data Destruction and Disposal System (SDDS) operations, contracts and management software. According to AERC's CEO Peter J Jegou, the acquisition represents "a logical step in our growth that calls for expanding our footprint, strategic acquisitions, business combinations, and joint ventures."...Read More »
March 4-5, 2008 - The 8th Massachusetts Organics Recycling Summit is a professional conference and vendor exhibit, focused on food waste composting and diversion efforts in Massachusetts. Last year's Summit attracted over 225 professionals from 14 states, and continues to grow.
October 16-17, 2008 - The Waste-to-Energy Research and Technology Council (WTERT) annual meeting at the Earth Engineering Center of Columbia University. The two-day meeting features invited speakers presenting on some of the foremost technologies and developments in the world; plus an update on the research efforts of WTERT and the Earth Engineering Center to advance the goals of sustainable waste management worldwide...Read More »
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