10 Things You Need to Know For the Waste & Recycling Industry Today (August 5, 2014)

Oakland's plan to hire local trash hauler could get messy “Oakland's plan to award a 10-year contract valued at $1 billion to a local recycling company with no experience in the garbage industry is one of the riskiest ventures the city has ever undertaken. The City Council blew through warnings from city staff, who said California Waste Solutions - an Oakland company that provides recycling services for about 75,000 Oakland homes and 170,000 San Jose homes - isn't equipped and may not be ready to collect garbage when its contract kicks in next summer.” (SFGate.com)

Washington Landfill Trash Can Stay, Pending Soil Test “A landfill in Washington, Mo., is overflowing, but the city might not have to move the excess trash, after all. City administrator Jim Briggs says after how bad the odor was in Bridgeton, he really doesn’t want to have to move it. ‘The city was very concerned that, in light of what’s happened up in North St. Louis County, that we would have a similar problem if we start opening up this landfill to move waste,’ Briggs says. ‘We don’t know what we’re going to encounter. Obviously, we think it’d be a lot of odors because some of that waste has been in there 10, 12 years.’” (CBS St. Louis)

Could Transporting Waste in Pipelines Transform Bioenergy Economies? “A scientist at the University of Alberta, Canada is research to determine whether it’s effective to use pipelines to transport agricultural waste used in biofuels. According to the university, Mahdi Vaezi, a PhD student in the Faculty of Engineering, is looking at agricultural wastes such as straw and corn stover which are used as feedstock for bio-based energy facilities. Vaezi’s lab is claimed to be the only one in the world conducting this kind of research on biomass slurries. The university explained that biomass material derived from food and non-food organisms has traditionally been transported by truck, at great expense. However, when done at a large scale, transporting biomass materials by slurry pipeline could help make the cost of biorefineries competitive.” (Waste Management World)

City’s Covanta deal discourages rival recycling programs “The city of Indianapolis faces financial penalties if it launches alternative recycling programs, under a pending deal with incinerator operator Covanta. The Indianapolis Board of Public Works will vote Wednesday on an agreement that’s worth more than $112 million in revenue to Covanta, which would become the city’s main residential recycling provider for the next 14 years.” (Indianapolis Business Journal)

Prince William County announces its recycling rate dropped “Prince William County’s official recycling rate for 2013 was 40.5 percent. The Prince William County Public Works, Solid Waste Division Recycling Office received confirmation from Virginia Department of Environment Quality of the rate in June. By comparison, the 2012 rate was 41.3 percent. Virginia requires each city, county, town or region to maintain a minimum recycling rate. It is 25 percent for Prince William County. Based upon the criteria established by the state, the county exceeded the mandated recycling rate again this year.” (InsideNova.com)

Audit criticizes handling of waste tire program “An audit says the Department of Environmental Quality hasn't properly collected fees in a program designed to keep tires from being dumped illegally. The review was released Monday by the legislative auditor. Louisiana residents pay a fee when they buy new tires to help cover the cost of disposal of old tires. The business that sells the tires is supposed to submit a report and the money to DEQ monthly.” (Daily Comet)

Waste Management closes Hillsdale transfer station “Trash-disposing company Waste Management has closed its Hillsdale facility and borough officials need to find funds to cover the cost of sending garbage out of town. The company stopped using the Brookside Place transfer station in February after heavy snow caused part of its roof to collapse, according to Waste Management spokesman John Hambrose. Mayor Max Arnowitz said they informed the borough last week that they would be formally closing the facility Aug. 1, though Hambrose wrote in an email that the company is continuing to evaluate whether they will reopen the Hillsdale station.” (NorthJersey.com)

Recycling, trash problems cost Frisco more than $500K “The problems surrounding the final months of trash and recycling collection by Community Waste Disposal cost the city of Frisco more than half a million dollars. The city chose in February to switch to a new service provider that would start on Aug. 1 when CWD’s contract expired. But beginning in late March, CWD saw staffing shortages that resulted in missed pickups for hundreds of recycling carts each week.” (Dallas News)

RJN Group Performs Flow Monitoring Study in Memphis “In September 2014, RJN Group Inc. is set to conclude a flow monitoring study for the city of Memphis, Tenn. The study is needed to determine peak flows for the sizing and design of a siphon replacement project that is downstream of an 84-in. interceptor. The city is also using the flow monitoring to investigate flows downstream of a chemical production facility to determine the impact city wastewater flows have during wet-weather events in relation to the chemical facility.” (Water & Wastes Digest)

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)