Waste Age

Nothing But 'Net 

Michael Fickes

Waste industry information managers are overseeing a wholesale transition to advanced communication networks that tie far-flung branches, sales representatives...

Heating Up Food Waste 

Bill Siuru

The concept researched at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, seemed simple enough: convert food wastes into a high-energy and high-protein...

Weight of the World, The 

Michael Fickes

What do waste haulers want from on-board scales and software?To be sure, many waste haulers use on-board scales, and even will tout the benefits of auditing...

Virtual Business 

Michael Fickes

The industry's early adopters of online dot-com services are still in the minority.Maybe because this is not a high tech industry, many, if not most solid...

Mapping Landfill Space NASA Style 

Kevin P. Corbley

Recognizing that air space is a landfill's most valuable asset, NASA, in 1997, funded a proposal under its Earth Observation Commercial Applications Program...

Chicago Pioneers Brightfields Conversions 

Betsy Harter

It was only a year ago when the Department of Energy (DOE), Washington, D.C., kicked off a nationwide initiative to turn Brownfields - abandoned or under-used...

Recovered Paper Industry Dots the Internet, The 

William Moore

With the surge of e-commerce on the Internet, dot-coms continue to scour for a niche they can sink their teeth into. So, it's no surprise that the recovered...

Trash Net 

Michael Fickes

When officials in Rancho Mirage, Calif., put their waste removal franchise up for bid during the first quarter of this year, four companies entered the...

TECHNOLOGY: Waste Meets the Plasma Waste Converter 

William D. Siuru

Forget fossil fuels, the age of the hydrogen economy could be around the corner.Today, hydrogen fuel cells are being developed for trucks, cars, buses,...

RECYCLING: California Uses Internet to Recycle Waste 

Dan Eaton

Since 1992, the California Integrated Waste Management Board's California Materials Exchange (CalMAX) program has connected the "haves" with the "have...

Not Your Typical Garbagemen 

Randy Southerland

Popular belief used to be that the only thing a garbageman needed to know about business and finance was what his competitors were charging. While that...

TECHNOLOGY: From French Fries to Fuel 

Kelly Takaya

Instead of adding fuel to the fire, Pacific Biodiesel (PacBio), Kahului, Hawaii, has developed a way to convert used vegetable oil from restaurants into...

Who's On-Board with Truck Scales? 

Randy Southerland

On-board truck scales might be the industry's most "experimental" piece of equipment. Nearly two decades ago, scales were being tried out by haulers attempting...

Sky High Help 

Aaron DeWeese

Satellites transmit more than cable television channels; their signals are helping landfill operators monitor everything from surface emissions to compaction...

TECHNOLOGY: Process Converts Trash into Oil 

Bill Siuru

A new biomass conversion process could help to reduce the tons of trash in the nation's landfills, as well as reduce the dependence on imported oil used...

Keeping Your Software in Sync 

Michael Fickes

Does your billing program work effectively with your accounting program? Does your routing program interface with your forecasting and budgeting software?...

TECHNOLOGY: Silent Running Waste Hauler 

Bill Siuru

If you happen to be in Burbank, Calif., later this year you might see - but not hear - Kenworth's T800 waste hauler. To be used by Crown Disposal in Burbank...

What to Do When the Chips Fall 

Michael Fickes

The effect of the year 2000 bug has grown more ominous than an embedded glitch in computer codes, which makes computer systems unable to distinguish between...

TECHNOLOGY: Solid Waste Systems Vulnerable to Y2K Plague 

Elizabeth A. Cotsworth

The operating system of one recycling facility shuts down when the software program used to regulate temperature does not recognize the 366th day of a...

Using Technology to Make Tasks Easier 

Lynn Merrill

Competition is the name of the game in the waste business. Whether it's a municipal system vs. a private hauler or a large international conglomerate...

The Weigh of the World 

Michael Fickes

No matter where a hauler turns, there's a scale manufacturer offering a better way to weigh trash.Landfills, transfer stations and recycling facilities...

TECHNOLOGY: Fuel Cells Find Gas to Burn 

Bill Siuru

While automakers display prototype fuel cell-powered cars as cutting-edge, fuel cells already are being used at sewage treatment plants and landfills...

How to Get 77,000 Customers 

Michael Fickes

Once upon a time, printed flyers, shoe leather and friends who owned their own businesses framed the marketing plans used by waste haulers.Certainly,...

technology: Supercharger Helps Waste Trucks Clean Up Their Acts 

Bill Siuru

MarBorg Industries, a residential and commercial hauler based in Santa Barbara County, Calif., not only is protecting the environment by reducing emissions...

How to Turn a Net Cruiser into a NetCustomer 

Joe Dysart

With the right interactive programming, a waste industry website can be transformed into a sophisticated marketing and sales tool that offers every visitor...