Echo

Sewage-cooking plant brews debate in Chicago suburbs

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(IL) Chicago Tribune – Once championed as a cutting-edge solution to the region’s waste problems, a towering machine built to cook Chicago’s sewage into fertilizer is scheduled for its first test next month off the Stevenson Expressway in west suburban Stickney. In an odd twist, however, officials at the government agency that contracted to build the project’s 60-foot-tall sludge ovens now quietly hope the machine fails. Cryptically nicknamed the “Black Box,” the project ultimately could cost taxpayers $217 million, but staff at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District recently concluded that the project isn’t needed to dispose of the district’s waste. They have begun exploring ways to get out of the contract and its steep price tag, which keeps growing as consultant fees and other costs pile up. More

Echo

Being environmentally friendly on the farm takes extra effort

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(MI) The Alpena News – As with any business, agricultural producers must be constantly aware of the environment and how their operations have an impact. For the Tolan family, manure constitutes the largest portion of the Sanborn Township dairy operation’s efforts for maintaining environmental compliance. The Tolans’ cows produce about three million gallons of manure per year. The cow stalls are bedded with sand semi annually, which provides a cushion for the cow to lay on as well as benefits for overall cow health. The excess sand from the stalls mix with the manure that the cows produce.

Echo

In the hot seat: Solar-powered bathroom going up along Bay County Railtrail

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(MI) Bay City Times – Anyone who’s ever stepped into a portable toilet knows what it’s like inside on a hot day. Local leaders are turning to solar power to freshen things up in Bay County’s Bangor Township. A 10-by-12 foot block building is being constructed along the Railtrail system along Patterson Avenue, in front of the Bay County Wastewater Treatment Plant.  More

Waste

Michigan may join most Great Lakes states in banning mercury in toys, landfills

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Even though only 1 percent of toys contain mercury, Mike Shriberg says that’s too much of the dangerous element in the hands of vulnerable children. “You’re still talking about millions of products out there,” said Shribert, a children’s health advocate. The Michigan Network for Children’s Environmental Health, where Shriberg directs policy, is pushing a package of bills in the Michigan Legislature to tighten restrictions on mercury-containing products, including toys. The bills passed the house last week and were sent to the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs. Michigan and Pennsylvania are the only two Great Lakes states that haven’t banned the sale of mercury-added “novelties,” a term lawmakers use to cover products as diverse as  toys, games, shoes and yard statues.

Echo

Discarded computers pose recycling risks

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By Andrew McGlashen
Great Lakes Echo

Most college students don’t think about lead or mercury when they sit down at a computer. But in 2007, Michigan State University chucked more than 140,000 pounds — that’s about 50 Volkswagen Beetles —of used electronics. Among the heaps of computers, printers and other unwanted machines were some 1,405 monitors containing, by a conservative estimate, 5,560 pounds of toxic lead that can seriously damage the nervous system, especially in children. The electronics students use each day contain these and other toxic substances known to harm human health, and they have to go somewhere when their universities upgrades to the latest technology. Environmental activists and government officials say much of the so-called e-waste is frequently and illegally exported to developing countries, where it’s often handled improperly, posing serious health risks and degrading the environment.