Piling It On 

Michael Blumenthal Rubber Manufacturers Association Washington, D.C.

SCRAP TIRE PILES may be a pet peeve of solid waste managers, but three reuse markets are available to help alleviate the eyesores and potential health...

Seeking Shelter 

By Kim A. O'Connell

THE WASTE INDUSTRY witnessed an important truth in 2002: Sometimes markets do matter, even when it comes to trash. What some call the three W's worries...

Reaching New Heights 

Kim A. O'Connell Contributing Editor Arlington, Va.

IN CITIES LARGE AND SMALL, whether residents put one bottle in their recycling bin or 50, the recycling contractor is paid the same amount. Most municipalities...

Rock (Bio) Solid 

By Ron Delo

LIKE MANY COMMUNITIES IN THE NATION, New York's Rockland County once was faced with shrinking landfill space and more demanding environmental regulations....

RECYCLING: Navy Sails into Recycling 

Michael Fickes

Paul Brewer believes he can recycle everything. Given time, he just might. As the recycling program manager and solid waste management director of the...

9 Composting Trends 

By Matthew Cotton

Composting has been implemented nationwide by several municipalities but has just scratched the surface of its diversion potential. The U.S. Environmental...

Getting a Grip 

Kim A. O'Connell

For an industry as rock solid as waste management, it takes monumental events and seismic shifts to create dramatic changes. Year in, year out, trash...

Moveable Feast, A 

Kim A. O'Connell

Americans are eating more than ever, and our waistlines are expanding in kind. As a result, the amount of food waste sent to landfills also is expanding....

RECYCLING: A Growing Opportunity 

Kevin McCarthy

E-waste is growing by more than bits and bytes as outdated stereos, TV sets and VCRs make way for newer technology. As these products pile up in garages,...

EDUCATION: Encouraging Recycling 

Carol Badaracco Padgett

Sometimes baby steps can lead to big changes. Keeping this in mind, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Boston, has devised...

Banned in Boston (and a few thousand other places) 

Michael Fickes

Between 1989 and 1998, a total of 24 states banned the disposal of yard trimmings in their landfills. Most of these bans occurred in the early 1990s,...

RECYCLING: A More than Fair Exchange 

Kim A. O'Connell

When a Krispy Kreme doughnuts branch opened recently in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, sales of the signature confections skyrocketed as did waste generation. Each...

COLLECTION: PAYT Pays Off 

Carol Badaracco Padgett

As Americans continue to flirt with ways to reduce waste while managing disposal capacity, recent reports note that the nation's overall recovery rate...

MARKET REPORT: Measuring Waste 

Kim A. O'Connell

In 2000, the United States could have seen a whopping 25 percent increase in municipal solid waste (MSW) generation. However, source reduction and recycling...

PROCESSING: Navigating MRF Contracts 

Jonathan Burgiel

Anyone who's purchased a home understands that negotiating can be a trying process. During the next few years, many of the operating contracts for the...

RECYCLING: Going for Gold 

Carol Badaracco Padgett

The earth-friendly efforts of New York City school children are paying off in more ways than one, thanks to the New York City Department of Sanitation's...

Is Recycling Garbage? 

Kim A. O'Connell

Recycling's value always has been debated in the waste industry. With environmentalists on one side arguing in favor of its benefits and some solid waste...

PAPER: Following Paper's Trail 

Brian Fielkow

Most industries have taken a dip on today's economic roller coaster, and the paper industry is no exception. The downturn has created consolidation in...

Building a Contract 

Elaine Leung and Ric Hutchinson

Some community recycling programs may be threatened with extinction, but San Jose, Calif.'s Recycle Plus Program is evolving into one of the most comprehensive...

Off the Plate 

Lynn Merrill

Each year in the United States, more than 21.9 million tons of food waste make a sloshy trip to the landfill. Yet, the potential for food waste diversion...

RECYCLING: Celebrating WRAP Awards 

Kim A. O'Connell

Most competitions have winners and losers, but everyone wins in California's Waste Reduction Awards Program (WRAP) because all entrants have committed...

Moving on Up 

Knowlton Foote and Scott Foster

With falling revenues, private haulers need to seek new ways to generate cash. The recession also has affected many apartment complexes that are struggling...

Spinning Compost into Gold 

Kim A. O'Connell

Good news in one area of the waste business -- for instance ample landfill capacity and the accompanying relatively lower disposal fees -- can spell trouble...

COMPOST: Compost's Next Wave 

Rod Tyler

Although compost once was the Rodney Dangerfield of disposal options, today it is a serious business with a growing potential for use in erosion control....

RECYCLING: Teaching Zero Waste 

Carol Badaracco and Toby Weitzel

Students at the San Diego Jewish Academy (SDJA) are taking playing in the dirt to a new level with their zero-waste and vermicomposting program. Designed...