Environmentalists. Every Day. America's Solid Waste Industry

In the article From Trash to Nature Trail, the Washington Post highlights how one former landfill was turned into a beautiful spot for hiking. “A landfill is probably the last place one would look for a pastoral midday hike, but the Blue Mash Trail near Laytonsville is just that. The 550-acre Oaks Landfill was open from 1982 to 1997, and with the exception of a sign, there is little to hint of the grassy hill’s former use. Hiking at what was once a landfill is to have a front-row seat to Mother Nature reclaiming what is hers.”

Over the past week, there have been at least 6 fatal accidents involving garbage trucks. In most of the accidents, it appears that collection employees failed to follow well known rules (i.e., setting the brake before stepping out of the truck, not getting on the riding step when the truck is moving). Solid waste managers and supervisors are urged to remind employees about the importance of following these and other important safety rules. Drivers, helpers and others need to follow these rules – all day, every day. It’s the holiday season, and we want all the hard working men and women in the solid waste industry to be celebrating the holidays at home with their families, not in a hospital (or worse!).

NSWMA has a variety of safety tools for helping companies and local governments reduce their fatalities, accidents and injuries.  These include our weekly safety newsletter (Safety Monday), the Be Safe, Be Proud video series, OSHA compliance assistance and more.  Contact David Biderman at safety@nswma.org for more info.

The NSWMA just issued the following in a release:

“Like most of Mr. Obama’s other nominees, the people chosen to head these important agencies have extensive knowledge and experience of the challenges this country faces, and we look forward to working closely with them,” said Bruce Parker, president and chief executive of the National Solid Wastes Management Association (NSWMA).

“The solid waste management industry deals every day with the most practical aspects of solving this country’s environmental and energy issues, and we are delighted with the President-elect’s emphasis on pragmatic solutions,” he said.

“We especially look forward to working with the new team on achieving the huge potential benefits from increased recycling and greatly expanding the development of clean, renewable energy from landfill gas,” said Parker.

Read full release here.

Four Michigan State University students produced an award-winning YouTube video that encourages people to recycle glass. The video took first place in the Glass Packaging Institute’s Recycle Glass Day video competition.

In a NBC Evening News segment by NBC chief environmental reporter Anne Thompson called “Downtown Gives Red Light to Going Green,” NBC looked at the collapsing value of recycled materials, caused by the global economic crisis. NBC News anchor Brian Williams asked, “What happens when our recycled stuff loses its value?” Watch the segment on the NBC News site here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/#28118786

In separate stories today, The New York Times and the Associated Press published news about the negative impact that the global financial crisis and recession has had on markets for recycled materials. The articles describe how municipalities, nonprofit groups and companies are being hit with additional costs. The articles discuss how the U.S. recycling infrastructure could be jeopardized if markets for recycled materials don’t soon recover.

PTR Baler and Compactor, the largest manufacturer of vertical balers in the world, is featured in an article in Philadelphia Weekly (Jig and Real: Tony Santos found his calling at PTR, the United Nations of ironworking). The article describes the company as a great place to work and one of the few surviving companies to employ iron workers in Philadelphia.