10 Things You Need to Know For the Waste & Recycling Industry Today (June 25, 2014)10 Things You Need to Know For the Waste & Recycling Industry Today (June 25, 2014)

Feds: EPA lost or misplaced test results on Bridgeton landfill “The Environmental Protection Agency is having trouble finding evidence the land around the West Lake Landfill in Bridgeton is safe. That revelation was in a letter residents received from the Army Corps of Engineers after asking for the proof of the EPA’s claims over testing done in 1995. The EPA had previously said that some areas around the landfill are safe.” (KMOV.com)

DHL launches waste management service “DHL has launched Managed Disposals, an end-to-end waste management service for healthcare organisations, as part of its Envirosolutions product suite which focuses on environmental compliance and helping businesses find the most appropriate use for their waste through recycling, re-use and re-sale. The new service draws on DHL’s expertise in the healthcare sector, combined with its managed disposals and waste management experience, to offer healthcare organisations trusted options ranging from revenue recovery to complete breakdown and recycling of redundant medical equipment.” (SHD Logistics)

Sims Metal Management to restructure Sims Recycling Solutions “Sims Metal Management Ltd., with corporate headquarters in Sydney and New York City, has announced restructuring initiatives that it says are designed to streamline Sims Recycling Solutions, its electronics recycling business. The review has determined that certain loss-making assets are outside of the company’s strategic long-term interests. These operations include a substantial portion of Sims Recycling Solutions operations in the United Kingdom and all of the company’s operations in Canada.” (Recycling Today)

Public comments heard on proposed German waste shipments to Savannah River Site “One million graphite spheres containing highly enriched uranium from German research reactors could be shipped to Savannah River Site. Scientific breakthroughs at Savannah River National Laboratory uncovered disposal methods for the waste embedded inside the spheres – each about the size of a tennis ball. Returning the German waste to the United States would fulfill an agreement under the Atoms for Peace program, said Maxine Maxted, the used fuel program manager at SRS.” (The Augusta Chronicle)

Senate advances plan to close all NC coal ash ponds “With unanimous support, the North Carolina Senate tentatively passed sweeping legislation Tuesday to close every coal ash pond in the state and ensure North Carolina has the strictest regulations on coal ash in the nation. The bill sets a firm 15-year deadline for dewatering and closing all unlined coal ash ponds in North Carolina and designates four sites (Dan River, Asheville, Riverbend and Sutton) to be excavated and closed as quickly as practicable — and no later than 2019. It also stops the disposal of wet coal ash and requires future coal ash to be put to a beneficial use or into a lined facility.” (MyFox8.com)

Recycling industry has impact of $13 billion in South Carolina “A new study shows that the recycling industry has a $13 billion impact on South Carolina's economy. A study by the College of Charleston showed that the impact of the recycling industry doubled from $6.5 billion in 2006 to $13 billion last year. Professor Frank Hefner says the number of companies dealing with recycling in South Carolina increased from 340 in 2006 to 524 this year.” (Daily Journal)

Albertsons to pay $3.3M to end waste disposal case “The Albertsons supermarket chain will pay $3.3 million to settle allegations that its California stores illegally dumped hazardous waste, including over-the-counter medication, pool chemicals and batteries. The settlement was announced Tuesday by the various government agencies that sued the Idaho-based chain in Orange County Superior Court.” (Associated Press)

Oyster shell recycling program starts for New Orleans area restaurants “A year after the Shell Oil Company donated $1 million to start an oyster shell recycling program, the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana officially has launched its program collecting shells from metro New Orleans area restaurants and returning them to Louisiana coastal waterways. The coalition on Tuesday announced that it had collected more than 19,000 pounds of shell from New Orleans area restaurants over the weekend.” (NOLA.com)

Lawmakers Mount Another Push to Keep ‘Fracking’ Waste Out of State “The Legislature is once again trying to ban waste generated by drilling operations for natural gas in neighboring states from being dumped in New Jersey. The Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee yesterday approved a bill (A-2108) that would prohibit waste from hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") -- a process that extracts natural gas from shale formations -- from being disposed of in New Jersey.” (NJSpotlight.com)

Sacramento zoo seeks yard waste to feed giraffes, other critters “Sacramento homeowners struggling to stuff all their yard waste into the city’s green bins now have a new place to send it: the Sacramento Zoo. Two weeks ago, zookeepers started dropping off door hangers in the nearby neighborhoods of Land Park and Hollywood Park. The tags ask for donations of yard waste, and list the types of trees and shrubs that various zoo animals find tasty.” (The Sacramento Bee)