EPA to Regulate Greenhouse Gases under Clean Air Act
The US EPA said it will regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from power plants, factories and oil refineries under the Clean Air Act if Congress fails to pass specific climate change legislation. EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson unveiled the proposal in a speech before the California Governor's Global Climate Summit. The proposed regulation would apply to large-scale industrial sources that emit at least 25,000 tons of greenhouse gases annually and require them to obtain construction and operating permits covering those emissions using "best available control technologies" and energy efficiency measures to minimize emissions. The permits would be required whenever a new facility is built or when an existing facility is significantly modified. The approach mimics how the EPA forces power plants and factories to install "scrubbers" and other means of limiting many types of air pollutants under "MACT" standards...Read More »
Waste Services Buys Miami Assets from Republic for $48 Million
Ontario-based Waste Services, Inc. said it is making two acquisitions in the Miami-Dade, FL market from Republic Services Inc. and DisposAll Inc. for a total of $48 million. The company said that some of the assets, including some operating facilities will be redundant and sold to lower the overall investment price leaving those that are expected to add $28 million in annual revenue and $12.5 million in fully integrated EBITDA. It will also contribute 5 cents to 10 cents per share profit which will put the company near the top of its forecasted profit of 38 cents to 40 cents per share for the year. "We are very pleased to announce the completion of these two highly accretive acquisitions. Our strategic assets in the region allow us to internalize disposal from the acquired businesses and to realize significant operating cost savings," CEO David Sutherland-Yoest said...Read More »
Republic Services Pays $10 Million Settlement for Landfill Fire
Republic Services agreed to pay a $10 million fine to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to resolve past violations related to its troubled Countywide Recycling landfill in Stark County. Earlier this year and under the guidance of the US EPA as well as Ohio EPA, the company completed a $6 million excavation and firebreak that separates an older 88-acre tract where underground fires had been discovered, from a newer 170-acre area that can still accept waste. Under the agreement, approved by a Stark County judge, $3 million of the fine will go towards nearby affected communities while the remaining $7 million will be added to a fund to remediate ''orphaned'' landfills. "The agreement is part of a long process and result of a lot of hard work from a lot of people," said Republic Services spokesman Jeff Kraus. "We look forward to moving forward and continuing to execute remediation plans. We feel we have the team in place at Countywide that can continue all necessary work intothe future."...Read More »
IESI Unveils State-of-the-Art Recycling Facility; LEED Certified
IESI-BFC recently unveiled a new state-of-the-art single stream recycling facility in McKinney, Texas. The 28,000 square foot facility is being touted as the first of its kind and is expected to be LEED-certified by the US Green Building Council. A star-studded cast of experts was brought to bear in its development. The Nader Design Group provided architectural design, Pogue Engineering did civil engineering, MYCON Construction did the general contracting and HDR Engineers provided the LEED consulting work. Once operating, the facility is expected to process more than 144 million pounds of non-hazardous materials including glass, plastic, paper, aluminum, tin and cardboard...Read More »
Republic Services Opens Two New Landfill Gas Projects
Republic Services announced two new landfill gas-to-energy (LFGTE) projects: one at its Keller Canyon Landfill in Pittsburgh, CA, the other at its Cherokee Run Landfill, in Bellefontaine, OH. The Keller Canyon project was designed and built by Ameresco and generates about 3.8 megawatts of electricity, enough to power nearly 2,220 homes in the San Francisco Bay area. The Cherokee Run project, designed and built by DTE Biomass Energy and The Shaw Group, will generate about 4.8 megawatts of electricity, enough to power nearly 2,800 homes in western Ohio...Read More »
Scientists Report that Converting Waste to Biofuel Could Cut CO2 Emissions by 80%
A team of researchers from Singapore and Switzerland argue that converting waste otherwise destined for landfills into cellulosic ethanol biofuel instead would reduce global carbon emissions by up to 80%. "Our results suggest that fuel from processed waste biomass, such as paper and cardboard, is a promising clean energy solution," said researcher Hugh Tan of the National University of Singapore. The researchers estimated the waste generated by 173 countries using the United Nation's Human Development Index and then estimated the amount of gasoline consumed in those countries from the Earthtrends database. Their calculations indicate that 82.93 billion liters of cellulosic ethanol could be generated from landfill waste, which when substituted for gasoline would reduce carbon emissions by 29-86% for every unit of energy produced. "If this technology continues to improve and mature these numbers are certain to increase," said another member of the team, Lian Pin Koh from ETH Zurich in Switzerland...Read More »
Veolia Environmental Launches New Web Portal
Veolia Environmental Services North America (VESNA) launched a new web portal (EnvironmentalPassion.com) to communicate the company's environmental priorities, and encourage brand awareness. "Our aim was to … help people understand how our passion for the environment drives the top priorities for our company," said Curtis Mabry, VESNA's VP for sales, marketing and communications, in a press release. "Additionally, the site will help visitors learn more about how we embrace the business of turning waste into a resource."...Read More »
Waste Connections to Report Third Quarter on Oct. 26
Waste Connections, Inc. said it will report third quarter financial results after the close of the stock market on October 26 and host an investor conference call the following day at 8:30 a.m. (ET)...Read More »
IESI-BFC to Report Third Quarter on Oct. 29
IESI-BFC Ltd., formerly BFI Canada and IESI, said it plans to announce third quarter financial results after the close of the market on Thursday, October 29. The company will host a conference call to following day at 8:30 a.m. (ET) to discuss those results and answer investor questions...Read More »
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