Minnesota lawmakers learn that past borrowing from landfill cleanup fund brings pile of debt “Taking from the trash has wound up costing Minnesota big bucks. Custodians of the state treasury forked out $61 million this year — and owe about $40 million over the next few years — to repay a loan half that size from the state's Closed Landfill Investment Fund. The fund is administered by pollution regulators to pay for programs that ensure proper environmental attention is given to more than 100 closed landfills.” (StarTribune.com)

Our E-Waste Problem Is Ridiculous, and Gadget Makers Aren’t Helping “Chances are high that you’ll be getting or giving new electronics this holiday season: an iPhone upgrade for mom perhaps, or maybe a new Windows 8 ultrabook. Device upgrades have become increasingly frequent for many of us. Unfortunately, too many people give virtually no thought to what becomes of all these discarded gadgets.” (Wired)

Baltimore Mayor Correctly Vetoes City Ban on Plastic Bags “Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake deserves all the praise she receives for vetoing the politically-motivated plastic bag ban the City Council recently passed with no debate or public discussion. Looming over this issue was a lingering question on the mind of Rawlings-Blake and the collective mind of the plastics industry: where have the voters been in this process?” (InTheHopper.org)

DOE says state Hanford requirements would cost $18 billion “New Hanford deadlines the state of Washington has asked a federal judge to approve would require an extra $18 billion over the next 14 years, jeopardizing other Department of Energy cleanup projects, according to the federal government.” (Tri-City Herald)

Markell highlights Delaware’s progress in recycling “Gov. Jack Markell has highlighted Delaware’s significant progress in recycling as the state sunsets a four-cent recycling fee established to enhance the state’s recycling rate and the diversion of recyclables that would otherwise be sent to landfills.” (CapeGazette.com)

Nearly 900 comment on CWM expansion application “The state Department of Environmental Conservation has received 883 comments from area residents and officials about the proposed expansion of the CWM Chemical Services landfill on Balmer Road. In addition, DEC spokesman Peter Constantakes said the agency received four requests for ‘party status,’ the right to take part in the eventual hearings on whether a state permit will be granted. Those came from local governments and environmentalists and from a member of the Canadian Parliament.” (The Buffalo News)

Electronics recycling in Washington down slightly “Unwanted televisions and outdated computers provide tons of work for a business here called E-Waste. It amounted to two tons, plus or minus a few pounds, this year alone, said Sam Kim, a co-owner of the business. That's the collective weight of electronic products dropped off for free recycling through a state-run program known as E-Cycle Washington. E-Waste is one of 340 participating drop-off sites for the program, which since 2009 has collected 250 million pounds of TVs, computers and other electronics.” (The Associated Press)

With landfill fund loan, state costs piled up “Taking from the trash has wound up costing Minnesota big bucks. Custodians of the state treasury forked out $61 million this year — and owe about $40 million over the next few years — to repay a loan half that size from the state's Closed Landfill Investment Fund. The fund is administered by pollution regulators to pay for programs that ensure proper environmental attention is given to more than 100 closed landfills.” (The Associated Press)

WasteCare installs battery sorting system “WasteCare, co-owner of BatteryBack, which is one of the United Kingdom’s largest compliance schemes for household batteries, is partnering with Refind Technologies to install an automatic system for sorting discarded batteries. The system will allow WasteCare to sort more than 3,000 metric tons of batteries per year, of which 2,400 metric tons will be sorted automatically.” (Recycling Today)

New Hampshire company accused of illegally dumping human waste, dairy waste “The Vermont Attorney General’s Office has filed multiple charges against a New Hampshire company accused of transporting and dumping solid waste in the Green Mountain State and in Keene without a valid permit. Expert Drain Care LLC, which also does business as Roto Rooter and Monadnock Septic Service, faces six charges in connection with incidents dating mostly to 2013, including a charge that the company deposited nearly 25,000 gallons of raw sewage at a property on Brattleboro’s Canal Street.” (SentinelSource.com)