Environmentalists. Every Day. America's Solid Waste Industry

Institutes of the National Solid Wastes Management Association (NSWMA) recently submitted comments regarding proposed rules by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). NSWMA’s Landfill Institute offered comments on EPA’s proposed rule regarding amendments to the mandatory reporting of greenhouse gases, and NSWMA’s Healthcare Waste Institute recently submitted comments regarding OSHA’s blood-borne pathogens standard. Read full release here.

NSWMA published a new position paper today on “zero waste.”

In it, we state, “We see America transitioning slowly but surely to a zero waste society. This does not mean that no waste will be produced in the future. Instead, it means that the amount going to disposal will continue to progressively decline. We support this transition. The objective of zero waste is to reduce the waste stream to the point at which no commercially achievable economic value exists for the remaining residue of the waste reduction process. Experienced, knowledgeable environmental services companies with proven and permitted collection, processing and disposal activities will lead the way in this transformation ”

See news about this release here.

In its September 28 issue, Newsweek ranked the Greenest Big Companies in America. For more than a year, the magazine worked with leading environmental researchers KLD Research & Analytics, Trucost, and CorporateRegister.com to rank the 500 largest U.S. companies based on the actual environmental performance, policies and reputation.  A number of EIA members companies are on this list: Caterpillar was ranked 73. Cummins was ranked 91. Waste Management was ranked 109. Deere was ranked 141. PPG Industries was ranked 335. And Navistar International was ranked 424.

In an article titled,  “Methane from Landfills Localities are finding new ways to use a potent greenhouse gas,” Governing Magazine’s September issue quotes NSWMA’s President and CEO Bruce Parker.  “Methane can be used for multiple purposes,” says Bruce J. Parker, president and CEO of the National Solid Wastes Management Association. What’s more, Parker says, it’s reliable. “Unlike sun and solar power, you have continuous access. A landfill is taking gas out 24/7.”

Republic Services has published a new sustainability report. “The sustainability report was an opportunity to identify and discuss what we already do to protect the environment and to set a course to do more,” CEO James E. O’Connor said. “Being green is not just a philosophy at Republic. We’ve been doing it for years.” The report is available at www.republicservices.com/sustainability.

On May 5, NSWMA joined the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) in submitting comments on the EPA’s proposed revisions to AP-42, Fifth Edition, Volume I, Chapter 2.4 Municipal Solid Waste Landfills and the Background Information Document for Updating AP-42 Section 2.4 for Estimating Emissions from Municipal Solid Waste Landfills. These emission standards are very important to the landfill industry because they affect federal, state and local air quality permits. NSWMA and SWANA expressed concern on the following issues:

- The rejection of non-methane organic compounds concentration data from NSPS/EG Tier 2 studies using the geoprobe method; and
- The rejection of data submitted in 2000 and 2001 and the failure of EPA to advise of the rejection until 2009.

The two associations hope that through the further review of new data submitted by their members and a thorough review of current published technical literature, EPA can revise the draft AP-42 and background information document accordingly.

NSWMA’s Bruce Parker was interviewed by Zach Shtogren Big Think’s senior editor.  It is an interesting exchange about environmental issues related to the solid waste industry.

The EIA Women’s Council has scheduled its first 2009 education program for April 9. This lunch and learn webinar/teleconference (offered at no cost for NSWMA and WASTEC members) will examine the developing standards in accounting for greenhouse gas emissions and illustrate how they apply to the solid waste industry. Topics that will be presented include the types of reports, determining what needs to be reported, the reporting process, methods for quantifying GHG emissions, and a sample of some of the sector-specific reporting requirements for solid waste operations.

The host of Green Earth Radio Patty Kovaks interviewed Waste Management Int’l VP Lynn Brown regarding Waste Managment’s dedication to environmental issues, their approach to landfills, plans for recycling and goals for public education. This interview may be downloaded from the Green Earth Radio archive.

Officials from the Waste Management landfill and the LaFarge cement plant have signed an agreement to use piped-in methane gas from the landfill to aid in the cement-making process.

The plan could save both companies thousands of dollars and eliminate the equivalent of 450,000 tons of coal a year from LaFarge’s manufacturing process, company officials said.

Read more…