Waste

Joliet seeks hike in EPA radium limits

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(IL) Chicago Tribune – Joliet is pushing the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to more than double the concentration of cancer-causing radium it’s allowed to dump onto farmland in the south suburbs, expanding the potential for deadly radon gas in these increasingly urban communities. Radium is a naturally occurring radioactive element abundant in deep-water wells in northern Illinois and throughout the Midwest. Cities such as Joliet that rely on these deep wells spend millions of dollars each year to remove radium from their drinking water. Some communities pay to dump radium in a landfill, but Joliet and others use a cheaper alternative, mixing it with waste material that is sold to farmers as fertilizer. More

Waste

Report: Trash in Michigan landfills decreasing

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(MI) Detroit Free Press – The amount of trash in Michigan landfills is shrinking. While that might sound like good news, the numbers are so low that state officials warned today it means there’s not enough revenue to cover landfill inspections to make sure they meet requirements. The state’s solid waste tracking and inspection is funded by a fee of 21 cents per ton on the trash that gets dumped in Michigan landfills. More

Waste

Lansing on ‘precipice’ of single-stream recycling

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(MI) Lansing State Journal – Lansing’s curbside recycling dropped in 2009, but the city’s attempt to collect recyclables should become more efficient, convenient and bountiful in 2010, officials say. After introducing plans more than a year ago to start single-stream recycling, which minimizes the need for separating materials, Lansing plans to debut key aspects of its program next summer. More

Waste

Global warming history course offers ideas for recycling

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(MI) Grand Rapids Press – For those resolving to do better by the environment in 2010, one way to do so is by taking a class such as “Global Warming: Changing Course” starting Jan. 6 at the Grand Rapids Public Library. The discussion course will examine the history and science of global warming, and how individuals can change their personal habits to reduce their impact on the environment. “With a new year a lot of people are looking to make a fresh start and make some changes in their lives,” said Kristen Krueger-Corrado, library spokeswoman. “We thought this course dovetailed nicely with looking at their lifestyle differently.” More

Waste

Haworth zero-landfill goal becoming reality

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(MI) Holland Sentinel – The facilities manager at Haworth Inc. was behind the move to get the company’s 10 U.S. manufacturing facilities and one distribution center to zero-landfill status. That status is the tip of a sustainability iceberg that ends at the holy grail of environmentalism: zero waste. More

Waste

Bills would allow grass in Michigan landfills

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(MI) The Detroit News – After close to 20 years of separating lawn clippings from trash, bills under consideration in Lansing would roll back Michigan’s 1990 yard waste ban in an effort to convert grass to gas. Bills in the House and the Senate would exempt an estimated more than 20 landfills from the ban to increase production of landfill gas, a renewable energy source that can be sold to utility companies. More

Waste

Few Great Lakes power plants even look for this toxic contaminant in their waste

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By Sarah Coefield
Dec. 17, 2009

Gibson Lake, built by one of the world’s largest coal-fired power plants to store wastewater, has attracted birds and fishermen to its shores for years. But after years of wastewater discharge, the Indiana lake contains high levels of selenium that threaten hundreds of species of birds, including the endangered least tern, and render fish unsafe to eat. Selenium is an essential nutrient, but in wildlife and people excess amounts can be dangerous. As with mercury, selenium monitoring and regulations are spotty across the Great Lakes region.

Waste

Pickup lines: Will curbside recycling work in Detroit?

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(MI) Metro Times – When it comes to curbside recycling in Detroit, city officials and activists looking to boost participation in a pilot program are hoping children can help lead the way to a greener future. It’s help that is definitely needed. In place since July 1, Detroit’s pilot program offers curbside recycling to about 30,000 households in select neighborhoods on the city’s east and west sides. The $3.8 million yearlong effort will be used to help determine curbside recycling’s future.  More

Waste

Report: Michigan could create up to 13,000 recycling jobs

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(MI) MLive – Michigan could add as many as 13,000 new jobs if the state boosted its recycling rate average to equal rates in neighboring Great Lakes states, a new report concludes.  
The report from Lansing-based Public Sector Consultants finds that Michigan’s recycling rate of 20 percent lags behind its Great Lakes state neighbors, which average 30 percent. The state has 2,242 recycling and reuse industry establishments that collectively employ nearly 62,000 workers, the research firm said. More

Waste

Michigan landfill fees lowest in Great Lakes; state lawmakers propose hike to boost recycling

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By Hyonhee Shin
Nov. 7, 2009

LANSING — Some Michigan lawmakers are seeking an increase in solid waste disposal fees to help reduce landfills and incineration. The current fee is 21 cents per ton. Most other Great Lakes states charge more — 50 cents in Indiana, $2.22 in Illinois, $4.75 in Ohio, $7.25 in Pennsylvania and $13 in Wisconsin, the highest in the nation. A proposal by state Rep. Daniel Scripps, D-Leland, would establish a $7.50 per ton state tipping fee on solid waste dumped at Michigan landfills and municipal incinerators.