Expert: Keystone landfill deals less attractive over time “Yet over time, the actual value of the host municipality fees in today’s dollars could be worth only a fraction of the totals they are projected to generate over the coming decades, economists told The Sunday Times. University of Scranton economist Riaz Hussain, Ph.D., analyzed Dunmore’s haul from the recent contract agreement with Keystone and concluded that a deal that could pay the borough around $192 million may actually be worth more like $33.5 million.” (The Times Tribune)

Newark man killed in landfill accident “A Newark man was struck and killed by a tractor while working at Cherry Island Landfill in Wilmington on Friday afternoon. State police identified the victim as Jose Luis Garcia-Hernandez, 42.” (Newark Post)

Savannah preps for $17 million landfill expansion “End times are near for Savannah’s 30-year-old landfill on Dean Forest Road. City of Savannah staffers expect the 130-acre trash heap to be able to accommodate our garbage for another five years before there is one banana peel too many. To make sure there is still room for our table scraps, used diapers and Styrofoam to-go boxes, the city plans to begin a 99-acre westward expansion of the landfill next year at a cost of $17 million.” (Savannah Now)

Brattleboro landfill solar attracts 11 proposals “There is no shortage of interest in developing a large-scale solar array on Brattleboro's former landfill. Windham Solid Waste Management District has received 11 proposals — including four from Vermont companies — for building a photovoltaic system that is expected to generate as much as 5 megawatts of power as well as revenue for the district and its 19 member towns.” (Brattleboro Reformer)

Residents file lawsuit against Waste Management “A group of residents have filed a lawsuit against Waste Management, seeking an end to the odors from the Tullytown landfill. ‘I understand a lawsuit was filed last week in the federal district court in Philadelphia,’ said John Hambrose, communications manager of Waste Management of the Greater Mid-Atlantic Area in an email Monday. ‘I can assure you that we continue to do our best to control odors at the landfill and to operate our landfill as a good neighbor.’” (CentralJersey.com)

"Treecycling" in San Francisco, Mulching Christmas Trees for "Zero Waste" “The event is held to announce the official dates of the city's Christmas Tree Collection Program. That program will help the city make progress towards its goal of achieving zero waste by 2020. Zero waste means sending nothing to the landfill or the incinerator. Last year, San Francisco recycled more than 539 tons of Christmas trees, according to the San Francisco Department of the Environment.” (NBC Bay Area)

In diminishing numbers, Franciscan nuns push ahead with environmental activism “You wouldn’t necessarily know they were nuns. After all, the women who pray at a vacant former Phillips 66 lot in Bridgeton have been forced recently to bundle up in heavy coats that obscure any religious paraphernalia. But twice a month for more than a year, the women religious have gathered at the empty lot holding signs that carry slogans such as ‘Caution Ahead: 47,000 tons of radionuclide waste.’” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

Waste site planned for Blanchard “Plans are underway to develop a full-service solid waste collection site in Blanchard, Bonner County Planning Department records show. The county is seeking a conditional use permit to create the site near the corner of Highway 41 and Paisley Road. The site would be outfitted with eight 8-yard Dumpsters, four to five 50-yard roll-off containers and four 8-yard recycling containers. Bear-resistant Dumpsters are being considered for the site.” (CDAPress.com)

EPA not intervening with landfill “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will not get involved with Keystone Sanitary Landfill’s proposed expansion at this point. ‘The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is responsible for permitting and regulation of all municipal solid waste landfills in Pennsylvania,’ EPA Regional Administrator Shawn Garvin wrote in a letter to Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey. ‘EPA does not have authority over the permitting of this landfill or the approval of the proposed expansion.’” (CitizensVoice.com)

Fail to recycle and face city fine in Seattle “Fail to recycle in Seattle and you can get a ticket from the garbage collector. The city says it will start enforcing new recycling requirements on Jan. 1 with warnings tags. Careless residents will start seeing fines July 1 on their bills - $1 per violation, $50 for a commercial or apartment building.” (Associated Press)