10 Things You Need to Know For the Waste & Recycling Industry Today (July 23, 2014)

This Grocery Store Will Be Powered By Its Own Waste “Globally, more than a billion tons of food are wasted every year, with people in North America and Europe wasting about 220 pounds each. A grocery store chain in England is hoping to cut their contribution to this food waste dilemma by generating electricity from food no longer fit for sale. Food waste comes from many places: crops are damaged in transit; restaurant goers have more on their plates that they can chew; grocery stores can't sell everything they put on the shelves. At the end of the day, food past its sell-by date is sometimes donated to charities, or given to animals. Sainsbury's, a grocery chain in the UK, is adding one more step to step to that food use ladder: they're feeding what's not fit for animal consumption to microbes.” (Smithsonianmag.com)

Pizza Hut franchisee selects recycling management company “Quest Resource Management Group LLC has been selected by Pizza Hut’s largest franchisee, NPC International Inc., to manage its landfill diversion and municipal solid waste management programs. According to a news release, NPC International currently operates 1,261 Pizza Hut restaurants, delivery units in 28 states and 90 Wendy's units in three states.” (PizzaMarketplace.com)

W.Va. solid waste programs get $360,000 in grants “Grants totaling $360,000 are headed to 29 solid waste authorities across West Virginia. The grants approved by the Solid Waste Management Board are designed to assist local authorities on properly managing solid waste.” (SFGate.com)

Pinellas County hit with a lawsuit over waste-to-energy plant “The company that operates Pinellas County's waste-to-energy plant has filed a lawsuit claiming county staff cheated the firm out of the chance to bid on a new contract. GCS Energy Recovery of Pinellas Inc. alleges that the county ‘exhibited substantial bias against GCS, engaged in misrepresentations relating to GCS … and failed to follow the requirements of its own procurement procedure,’ according to the complaint the county was served with on Tuesday.” (Tampa Bay Times)

Vancouver moves to ban all food scraps from landfills “On Tuesday, city council agreed to include privately-serviced multi-unit residential buildings, hotels, restaurants, grocery stores and other commercial and industrial waste generators in a plan to divert all compostable materials from the city’s landfill and transfer stations as of Jan. 1, 2015. Vancouver began food scraps recycling two years ago for single-family dwellings and some city-serviced, multi-unit buildings, but that only accounts for a third of all organic waste in the city. The program is similar to one carried out in many other Metro Vancouver municipalities.” (The Vancouver Sun)

Labadie Residents Win Legal Challenge Against Ameren's Coal Ash Landfill ― For Now “Residents of Franklin County have won a legal challenge against Ameren's plans to build a coal ash landfill in Labadie. Now it will be up to the Missouri Supreme Court to decide the landfill's fate. On Tuesday, a Missouri Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Labadie Environmental Organization (LEO) and Labadie residents who challenged the Franklin County Commission's decision to change county zoning regulations to allow coal ash landfills.” (StlPublicRadio.org)

Dealing with Illegal Dumping at Princeton Recycling Center “City leaders in Princeton, Illinois, are looking to take measures to help prevent illegal dumping and catch those who break the rules. It is an ongoing battle at the city's 24-hour recycling center. After a quick glance around on Tuesday afternoon, we found a good deal of trash that should not have been there, everything from shoes and clothes to small appliances. At other times, the recycling center has been cluttered with TVs, mattresses, tires and couches - even deer carcasses on one occasion.” (KLJB.com)

Illegal Dumping Impedes Recycling Program “A recycling center in Lackawanna County has been the scene of illegal dumping, and now authorities in Roaring Brook Township are out to find the people responsible. Roaring Brook Township’s recycling program is a volunteer effort, but people leaving junk at the site is now using up township time and money. Police are planning to prosecute any more illegal dumping cases.” (WNEP.com)

Waste Management closing Paso Robles Recycling Center “Waste Management announced Wednesday that it will be closing the Paso Robles Recycling Center at its 3350 Riverside Ave. location on July 3. ‘We appreciate the public’s loyal support in all the years the recycling center was in service,’ said Dan Harris, district manager for Waste Management. ‘Our entire team is focused on assisting the public with their recycling needs during this transition so that our customers may continue with their recycling efforts.’” (Paso Robles Daily News)

Indianapolis recycling plan discussed at council committee hearing “City-County Councillor John Barth will tell you Indianapolis hasn’t done enough to promote recycling in Indianapolis. On Tuesday evening, he led a council committee hearing for a discussion of a recycling proposal offered by Mayor Greg Ballard’s office.  Barth is not a fan of that plan. Scott Holkeber spoke in favor of the proposal. He is Regional Vice President for Covanta, the company that runs the city’s trash incinerator in southwestern Marion County. He told the committee his company wants to build a recycling plant next to the incinerator.” (WISHTV.com)