EnviroPolitics Blog

Waste industry expresses concerns as EPA ramps up landfill emissions enforcement

A facade of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency signage on the wall of its building — *Joe Cicak via Getty Images*

The U.S. EPA’s decision to include landfill methane emissions in its quadrennial document outlining enforcement priorities this year has left industry observers concerned and confused by the enhanced scrutiny.

The agency’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance said it has documented “widespread noncompliance” in methane emissions from landfills in its FY 2024-2027 National Enforcement and Compliance Initiatives document.

As a result, EPA plans to use preexisting requirements set out by the New Source Performance Standards that govern landfills to crack down on methane emissions.

“I am not aware that we have ever been the target of the NECIs in the past,” Anne Germain, chief operating officer and senior vice president of technical and regulatory affairs for the National Waste & Recycling Association, said. “This is relatively new ground.”

The move is part of a broader shift toward climate and environmental justice priorities by the Biden administration and EPA in recent years. Another enforcement priority included in the document was PFAS contamination, which the waste industry hopes will lead to more solutions upstream that reduce contamination for landfills and other downstream waste facilities. Landfills are also wrapped up in the “Mitigating Climate Change” goal that will bring stepped-up enforcement of emissions from oil and gas facilities and the use of hydrofluorocarbons as well.

Read the full story here

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This company returns Wind Turbine Blades as park benches and picnic tables

By Coco Liu, Bloomberg

At first glance, the benches outside the Great Lakes Science Center in downtown Cleveland seem unremarkable. But a closer inspection shows that their droplet-shaped shells aren’t made from wood or metal. A scan of the attached QR codes reveals even more: These benches used to be wind turbine blades.

Painted by local artists and weighing in at about 500 pounds (230 kilograms) apiece, the benches were crafted by Rocky River, Ohio-based Canvus, which will install 10 more in the same location later this month. Altogether, the dozen benches reuse roughly a quarter of a single 150-foot (45-meter) wind turbine blade.

Visitors to Every Child’s Playground in Avon, Ohio, will find products from Canvus’s nearby factory. *Photographer: Brian Kaiser/Bloomberg*

“We give this material a second life,” says Parker Kowalski, co-founder and managing director at Canvus.

Many more blades will soon need second lives of their own, as wind turbines installed in the early 2000s start to reach the end of their lifespan. By 2025, the trade association WindEurope estimates that 25,000 metric tons of wind turbine blades will be phased out each year in Europe alone, equivalent to the weight of more than 6,000 Hummer SUVs. Turbine manufacturers are working on making their blades recyclable, but for now, startups like Canvus offer a more immediate fix: repurposing them into new products.

At the end of a wind turbine’s life cycle, roughly 85% of its components — including the steel tower, copper wire, and gearing — can be recycled through established metal processing. But turbine blades are a more intractable challenge. Coated with epoxy resins, they cannot easily be crushed. Blades are also made primarily from fiberglass and lack the metals and minerals that attract recyclers.

Read the full story here

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New Princeton U. policy: Destroy rather than recycle computers

By Eden Teshome and Raphaela Gold, Daily Princetonian

The University has sent 1,700 computers to be destroyed since June 2023, according to University spokesperson Ahmed Rizvi in an email to The Daily Princetonian. In previous years, University-distributed computers were wiped and resold to members of the University community, non-profit partners, and the general public for lower prices. A new policy sends the devices to an e-recycling center, stepping away from reuse. Faculty are also now required to replace their devices every four years.

Although this change was made in May 2023, several University websites continue to incorrectly claim that computers are sent to Resource Recovery where they would be resold. According to Rizvi, the decision to destroy the computers was attributed to “an abundance of caution” relating to a backlog of aged machines that came in after the pandemic and worries that said devices may have malware that would activate upon an attempt to wipe them.

“It is surprising and disappointing that the University is destroying computers without at least being transparent about the policy,” wrote Professor Arvind Narayanan, director of the Center for Information Technology Policy (CITP), in an email to the ‘Prince.’

“There are well-known methods to securely delete data, which is presumably what the University did previously. OIT should at least explain why they no longer consider that to be adequate,” he added.

The University provides computers to faculty members through its Faculty Computer Program (FCP). This year, according to Rizvi, the University has provided almost 500 new computers through the program. The program was founded in 1996 to “refresh the computers of full professors, associate professors, and other select faculty members.”

There have been changes to the program recently. Since January, lecturers and visiting fellows have been able to receive computers through the University. The University also banned computer customizations and required that devices be returned to OIT every four years in order to be replaced.

Rizvi noted in a written comment to the ‘Prince’ that the four-year policy is currently a recommendation but will soon be made an official policy.

OIT Communications Director Milan Stanic wrote to the ‘Prince’ that the new requirement to purchase a new computer every four years is “because those with older operating systems, which are not regularly updated with security patches, are more vulnerable to new security threats and exploits.”

Read the full story here

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BILLYPENNGRAM for November 17, 2023

#BILLYPENNGRAM OF THE DAY
Go ̶B̶i̶r̶d̶s̶ Dogs
(Photo by @gpatomk)

Want to see your photo here? Tag #billypenngram on Instagram

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Updated Recycled Plastic Specifications

From the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries

The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) and The Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) have announced the latest update to the ISRI Specifications and APR Model Bale Specifications to include updated recycled plastics specifications. Following a collaborative process between the two organizations and their members, the specifications were approved separately during October 2023 by both the ISRI Board of Directors and the APR Board of Directors. The specification updates are intended to more accurately reflect the recycled Polypropylene (PP) and Mixed Rigid plastics currently being traded in the marketplace.

Revised Specifications:

Specification: PP Small Rigid Plastic
Specification: Mixed Small Rigid Plastic
Specification: Mixed Bulky Rigid Plastic

For ISRI, this release serves as the 30-day public notice as required by the stated rules governing the procedures from the addition, amendment, or withdrawal of ISRI’s Specifications. Further information can be found in the ISRI Specifications. To submit comments, recommendations, or questions please contact ISRI Chief Economist and Director of Commodities Joe Pickard or ISRI Senior Economist Bret Biggers.

These three proposed revisions replace several existing PP and Mixed Rigid specifications to reduce confusion and better reflect the scope of what is traded and processed in today’s marketplace. ISRI would like to thank the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) for contributing their expertise in the development of these revisions.

“These most recent ISRI and APR Specifications updates align with the recycled materials industry focus on technological innovations and Design for Recycling^®,” said ISRI President Robin Wiener. “The changes announced reflect the ongoing review by dedicated volunteers in ISRI’s Plastics and our partnership with the Association of Plastic Recyclers. Our partnership allows us to work together to strengthen our specifications.”

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It’s official: Tammy wants to follow in Phil’s NJ political footsteps

**Updated: 1:30 a.m., November 16, 2023**

By Frank Brill, EnviroPolitics Editor

Years ago, a well-known North Jersey couple popularized the phrase ‘the family business.’ That’s not stopping the state’s top political family from refining the Soprano’s concept today.

After numerous trial balloons tested recently in media headlines, Gov. Phil Murphy’s wife, Tammy, has made it official. She wants to give a final shove to teetering U.S. Senator Bob Menendez whose reelection chances appear dim following his federal indictment that has all the requisite props for conviction–a fancy car bribe, stashed cash, and, the topper, gold bars.

Campaign announcements are a work of art. They seek to highlight a candidate’s positives while offsetting anticipated attacks.

Politico’s Matt Friedman illustrates below a potential weakness in Tammy Murphy’s announcement – Democrat bona fides.

“Tammy Murphy, who grew up in Virginia, has said she was a Republican until the mid-2000s, when she began considering herself a Democrat due to her views on abortion, guns and the environment — issues she highlighted in her campaign announcement. The New York Times reported earlier this month that she voted in a Republican primary as recently as 2014, which was after her husband’s time as Democratic National Committee finance chair and U.S. ambassador to Germany in the Obama administration.”

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