10 Things You Need to Know For the Waste & Recycling Industry Today (August 8, 2014)

Eighty percent of world's e-waste finds its way to Delhi “New Delhi: The Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) is fast turning into the world’s e-waste dumping yard with the capital alone getting 86 percent of waste generated in the developed world, a report said. ‘Delhi-NCR is emerging as the world's dumping yard for e-waste and is likely to generate to an extent of 95,000 metric tonnes (MT) per annum by 2017 from the current level of 55,000 metric tonnes per annum growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 25 percent,’ The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) said here Thursday citing their latest study.” (The News Minute)

San Angelo's Mayor Offers Hearty Defense of New Trash Contract “Mayor Dwain Morrison defended the City of San Angelo’s decision to award a 10-year contract to Republic Services. The decision to go with Republic over competitor Texas Disposal Systems is a significant milestone in the San Angelo trash controversy. Losing bidder Texas Disposal Systems CEO Bob Gregory said that the contract’s value was approximately $466 million. Critics have said that the city’s staff and council acted too quickly and ignored the desires of commercial trash customers who wanted to resolve the alleged overcharging of commercial dumpster customers before the contract was signed.” (SanAngeloLive.com)

New 'trashy' reality TV show focuses on New Jersey-based recycling company “A new show wants to redefine the meaning of trashy television. ‘Human Resources,’ which debuts Friday on the Pivot network, will focus not on hard-partying beachgoers but on a socially conscious recycling company. The ‘reality docu-drama’ chronicles what it is like to work at the Trenton-based company TerraCycle Inc. Founded in 2001 by then-20-year-old Princeton University student Tom Szaky, TerraCycle collects hard-to-recycle items, from potato chip bags to cigarette butts, and transforms them into colorful consumer products. It donates a portion of its proceeds to charity.” (Associated Press)

$50M Funding Opened Up for Waste to Energy & High Value Products Project in Hawaii “Gainesville, Florida based biotech firm, BioTork could receive special purpose revenue bonds not exceeding $50 million for an agricultural waste to high value products and biofuels facility in Hawaii. The company explained that funding has been made possible thanks to recently passed legislation in the State of Hawaii aimed at assisting a zero-waste project that converts crops, crop residues, dedicated energy crops, and agricultural waste into economically and environmentally sustainable biofuels and value-added co-products.” (Waste Management World)

Falcons Performing Vital Service at NJ Landfill “With her keen eye, Isabella is a trained soldier, zeroing in on her targets as they swarm above the garbage at the Monmouth County Reclamation Center. At just over $450,000 a year — or an average of $45,000 each — Isabella and her fellow winged predators cost Monmouth County more than some of its human employees. But no one ever said mercenaries come cheap. It’s a price to pay to keep those seagulls, which used to flock to the landfill by the thousands, at bay. The mere presence of the 10 peregrine and hybrid falcons is enough to drive away the gulls, which feast on garbage and create a public health concern with their droppings.” (Associated Press)

Recycling Waste into Homes for the Homeless of San Francisco “Not having a home means you have to haul all your valuables with you wherever you go, which makes it difficult to lead a decent life while guarding what little you have left. Kloehn creates mobile shelters for the homeless in order to give them a secure and private place to sleep, wash and store their goods. These homes range in size and include elements of everything from bicycles to furniture, but remain small and mobile. However, the most fascinating part of his work is the resourcefulness – everything is salvaged from dumpsters!” (SustainableCitiesCollective)

Riverview settles lawsuit over landfill odor complaints “A lawsuit filed on behalf of area residents who complained of noxious odors emanating from the Riverview Land Preserve has prevailed in court. At a January City Council meeting city officials publicly stated that the city had agreed to settle the lawsuit, but attorneys for those who filed the complaint said the announcement was a bit premature, since several other steps had to be taken to bring it to completion.” (The News-Herald)

Cleveland adding 30 recycling bins downtown “Cleveland will add 30 recycling bins downtown, the city announced Thursday. There are already 40 bins downtown, the city notes, which have collected more than 15 tons of recyclables since they were added in February this year.” (NewsNet5.com)

Ireland now ‘recovering’ more waste than it dumps - EPA “The volume of municipal waste “recovered” through incineration and recycling has exceeded than the tonnage being sent to landfill for the first time since records began, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. In its 2012 National Waste Report, the EPA said 59 per cent of municipal waste was recovered that year, compared to 41 per cent consigned for disposal at landfill sites — largely as a result of the increasing use of incineration.” (The Irish Times)

Company ordered to close Shreveport landfill “tate environmental regulators have ordered Harrelson Materials Management Inc. to extinguish fires at its Shreveport landfill and ultimately close the facility. Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Peggy Hatch signed the order Thursday and approved a fire mitigation plan that focuses on extinguishing fires that have plagued the area for years. DEQ estimates the fire mitigation plan should be completed in about six months.” (KNOE.com)