Group Demands Recycling Requirement For All Styrofoam In NYC “An environmental advocacy group on Monday called on Mayor Bill de Blasio and city agencies to expand recycling requirements for polystyrene foam. The Coalition to Put a Lid on It NYC called for the mayor and the Department of Sanitation that would cover 100 percent of products made by polystyrene foam – usually known by the Dow Chemical brand name Styrofoam – rather than the 10 percent now covered.” (Associated Press)

Lawsuit Alleges California Battery Recycling Plant Caused Health Problems “Years of contamination at a Southern California lead-acid battery-recycling plant caused severe health problems for local residents, including cancer and kidney failure, according to a new lawsuit. The suit, brought against directors and officers of Exide Technologies was filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court.” (The Wall Street Journal)

DEP gets early outpouring of opposition to landfill expansion “State regulators have already received an outpouring of opposition to Keystone Sanitary Landfill’s proposed expansion — even though the formal public comment period does not begin until Jan. 3. As of Monday, approximately 150 people had contacted the state Department of Environmental Protection about the nearly half-century expansion plan, said agency spokewoman Colleen Connolly.” (CitizensVoice.com)

Why is Waste-to-Energy So Confusing for Americans? “Our cluelessness as to what happens after the waste bag is placed on the curb is nowhere more evident than in the fuzzy logic of our waste-to-energy (WTE) debate. Environmentalists themselves are divided on WTE plants. Early in 2014, a group of concerned New York environmentalists, public health advocates and business groups wrote to the U.S. Department of Energy opposing the classification of WTE as a renewable energy. Any over-reliance on WTE, these groups argued, would limit progress towards a zero-waste future. In other words: Renewable energy cannot be dependent on trash, as trash should not be a renewable resource.” (Triple Pundit)

Upstate Shredding to build heavy media plant in New York “Upstate Shredding – Weitsman Recycling, Owego, New York, has announced plans to build a heavy media plant at its Owego facility. The company says it initially looked at locating the media plant in western Pennsylvania but opted to build it at its shredder facility in Owego.” (Recycling Today)

Oregon Expands Its Electronics Recycling Program “Oregon is expanding its electronic waste recycling program. Starting Jan 1, Oregon e-waste collection facilities will start accepting printers, computer keyboards and mice for recycling. For the past six years, the Oregon E-Cycles program has collected computers, monitors and televisions for recycling at 270 drop-off sites across the state.” (OPB.org)

New Recycling System Proposed for Mahoning “The week after Christmas is the busiest week for recycling of the year, and it could the last holiday season for Mahoning County’s current method of picking up materials. The Mahoning County Green Team said they have all hands on deck to try to keep up with all the recycling coming in. But they are also considering a new system for collecting recyclable material in the area.” (WKBN.com)

E-waste market growth in India to surpass China's: Report “The E-waste market in India is expected to grow at a higher rate than in China in the next few years, said a report. According to a research report, the E-waste market in India is expected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 26 per cent during 2015-2019, while the E-waste management services market in China is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 19.41 per cent over the period 2013-2018.” (The Economic Times)

Vermont town to install solar array on its closed landfill “A Vermont solid waste management district says it has 11 proposals to build a solar array on a closed landfill in Brattleboro. The Windham Solid Waste Management District says four of the proposals are from Vermont companies.” (Portland Press Herald)

Sewer-landfill deal approved “The Gloversville-Johnstown Wastewater Treatment Facility and the Fulton County Department of Solid Waste recently approved a new, two-year contract extension to their leachate-sludge agreement that eliminates a provision requiring the sewer plant to periodically pay the county a $500-per-day surcharge.” (The Leader-Herald)