This Week in Waste: Top Stories April 4 - 8, 2022

1. Episode 148: Ya Fav Trashman Humanizes Workers
Liz Bothwell

Who better to learn from than a sanitation worker who was on the frontlines during the pandemic? This is a true behind-the-scenes look at how one sanitation worker can make a difference. Meet Terrill Haigler, who served as a sanitation worker for The City of Philadelphia’s Sanitation Division, which collects waste and recycling from 540,000+ households.

Listen to the podcast here.

2. A Year in Review of Industry and Government Action on PFAS
Arlene Karidis

The past year has been busy in the space of action around polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—from the proposal or adoption of federal and state policies, down to individual companies’ moves away from reliance on these toxic chemicals. Here's a review of what’s been happening this 12 months or so around PFAS in both the private and public sectors.

Read the story here.

3. Marijuana Positivity Rate Reaches Five Year High in Workforce Drug Testing
Stefanie Valentic

America's workplaces are setting their highest positive workforce drug test rates since 2001, according to new data from Quest Diagnostics. The diagnostic lab testing corporation with nearly 47,000 employees and $7.7 billion in revenue released its annual Drug Testing Index, which includes analysis on safety-sensitive positions and post-accident statistics.

Read the article here.

4. Waste and Recycling Issues Make Progress in Congress and State Legislatures
Jim Riley

President Joseph R. Biden unveiled his FY2023 budget on March 28, barely two weeks after he signed a $1.5 trillion omnibus appropriations bill into law to fund the federal government through the end of FY2022. This is just one example of how Congress has been late to act on matters, with another being a $10 billion coronavirus aid package that is close to being finalized. One area where we have seen Congress begin to move forward in a bipartisan manner is on waste and recycling issues.

Read the story here.

5. Hauler Battles in Court After Allegedly Disposing Recyclables at Landfill
Barry Shanoff

When you hire an attorney, you should be able to do so with confidence.  Clients expect their lawyers to be attentive, knowledgeable, skillful and honorable. Beware of first impressions, however, which can be deceiving.  From decades ago, the film “My Cousin Vinny” comes to mind. Sometimes, however, things go wrong. When lawyers are faulted based on what they did or didn’t do, the complaints ordinarily come from former clients.  A quirky case from California, however, illustrates a situation where an attorney was hauled into court, not by the party he represented in a legal proceeding but by the other side.

Read the story here.