10 Things You Need to Know For the Waste & Recycling Industry Today (July 29, 2014)

Miller Brands $600m Waste Plant's Output 'Fiction' “The Bahamas Electricity Corporation’s (BEC) executive chairman has branded as ‘fiction’ and ‘far-fetched’ the assertion by Stellar Energy that its waste-to-energy plant could produce 75-80 Mega Watts of power daily, telling Tribune Business: ‘The capacity just isn’t there’. Leslie Miller, in a recent interview with Tribune Business, again denied that he knew of Stellar Energy and its proposal, despite sources close to the company suggesting that he and the BEC Board had been aware of it from just two months after the May 2012 general election. They indicated that Stellar Energy gave a presentation to most of BEC’s directors in the Corporation’s Boardroom in July 2012, but Mr Miller denied this ever happened.” (Tribune242.com)

EPA to Add Treatment Technology to Nassau Landfill Site “The EPA has announced that it will be add additional treatment technology to the Dewey Loeffel Landfill site in Nassau, New York by November 2014 to address the long-term treatment of 1,4-dioxane, a stabilizer and solvent that is a component of some cosmetics, detergents  and shampoos. The plant began operations in January 2014 to treat liquids seeping from the landfill, called leachate, and contaminated groundwater.” (Environmental Leader)

Neighbors worried about radioactive waste in landfill “Federal experts admit it may take another decade to clean-up radioactive waste at an old landfill in the Town of Tonawanda. The waste came from the first atomic bomb that was developed seventy years ago at the end of World War II. Scientists don’t know for sure where the waste came from or how it ended up in the landfill. In fact, no one even knew it was buried beneath the soil until 1990. The 55-acre landfill sits just north of I-290 on the edge of town. A neighborhood in the City of Tonawanda is immediately to the north. The radioactive waste is limited to a five-acre portion of the landfill.” (WIVB.com)

Developing San Diego’s Zero Waste Plan “San Diego has set an ambitious goal to be waste free by 2040. Currently, 68 percent of the city's waste is diverted away from landfills for recycling. San Diego city officials are proud of the current level of recycling. But there is concern that the city is stuck at that number. The recycling rate hasn't improved in three years.” (KPBS.org)

Authorities: 5 treated at Northampton recycling plant after foul odor detected “Something nasty dropped into someone's recycling bin likely sickened five people Monday at Greenstar Recycling in Northampton and triggered a massive emergency response. Shortly after 11 a.m., dozens of ambulances and fire vehicles and officials with federal and county agencies converged on the plant at 799 Smith Lane. The incident began when workers who sort recyclables from homes, schools and businesses detected an odor. After workers complained the odor was causing respiratory problems and nausea, the plant was evacuated and authorities set up a mass decontamination unit at the plant where affected workers were washed ‘head to toe’ and provided clean clothing, authorities said.” (MCall.com)

San Jose Bomb Squad Detonates Suspicious Device at Recycling Plant “The San Jose Police Department's bomb squad has responded this afternoon to a suspicious device found at a recycling facility in the northern part of the city, a police spokesman said. The device was reported at 2:04 p.m. at the California Waste Solutions facility in the 1000 block of Timothy Drive, San Jose police spokesman Officer Albert Morales said.” (ABC7News.com)

Quinn says state EPA will block PCBs from Clinton landfill “Toxic PCBs will not be stored in a central Illinois landfill sitting atop an aquifer that provides water to 750,000 people, Gov. Pat Quinn's office announced Monday. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency agreed to bar PCBs from being dumped in the Clinton Landfill near Clinton after learning that local approval of the landfill in 2002 didn't include PCBs. The agency initially signed off on a plan by landfill-owner Area Disposal in Peoria and a subsidiary to store the chemical.” (SJ-R.com)

Deal to privatize county landfill operations now before cities “The fate of a long-sought deal to privatize the operation of Sonoma County’s landfill now rests with the nine cities that are being asked to commit their garbage to the operation for the next 25 years. Negotiations between the cities and the county over potential future landfill liabilities have dragged on for more than a year, delaying plans for Arizona-based Republic Services to take over the troubled Meecham Road facility long-term.” (The Press Democrat)

Staff: Pueblo’s trash woes cost city $790K per year “With local trash haulers listening in the audience, Pueblo city staff told City Council it costs about $790,000 a year to clean up illegal dumping and other trash problems. It was an accounting that haulers have waited to hear this summer as they have charged the city can’t account for the solid waste fees it collects from the Southside Landfill.” (The Pueblo Chieftain)

Fayetteville Recycling, Trash Facility To Expand “The city's Recycling and Trash Collection Division has plans to nearly triple the size of its offices at 1560 S. Happy Hollow Road over the next year and a half. Planning commissioners on Monday unanimously signed off on the plans.”  (NWAOnline.com)