The White House on Monday said the president’s advisors would recommend he veto a comprehensive House clean energy bill, as progress on the Senate’s Energy Innovation Act may continue to stall following the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Members of Congress were hoping to squeeze out their respective chambers’ energy innovation bills by the end of the year, but between the White House’s intent to veto and an expected fierce battle over the now-vacant Supreme Court seat following the death of Ginsburg on Friday, a path forward is less certain.
“With the news of Justice Ginsburg’s passing, I cannot even venture a guess of how the next few weeks and months may play out,” said Rep. Paul Tonko, D-N.Y., on Monday during a National Clean Energy Week symposium.
Policy observers say there was likely already too little time left in the year to see the Senate’s Energy Innovation Act hit the floor again, after stalling in March. Meanwhile, the House’s legislative package was scheduled for a vote this week, but the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) indicated the president’s advisors would recommend he veto the legislation if it made it to his desk, citing the bill’s “top-down approach that would undermine the Administration’s deregulatory agenda.
Westmoreland Cleanways and Recycling (WCR), a nonprofit environmental organization based in southwestern Pennsylvania, has received a $46,500 grant from the Foam Recycling Coalition (FRC), Falls Church, Virginia, to add a foam densifier to its drop-off facility that recovers hard-to-recycle materials.
According to a news release from FRC, WCR oversees recycling activity in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, which has 67 municipalities and more than 151,000 households. The organization opened its first drop-off facility in 2014 to manage hard-to-recycle materials not collected in curbside recycling. Materials accepted include electronics, tires, scrap metal, appliances, fluorescent bulbs/fixtures, used motor oil, lead-acid batteries, glass containers and now polystyrene (PS).
FRC says the funding will enable WCR to purchase and install a high-capacity densifier unit to manage its drop-off foam collection at a new and larger facility the organization opened in May. The densifier will allow WCR to collect any type of foam, including foodservice packaging (e.g., cups, plates, bowls, clamshells and cafeteria trays), other foam food packaging (e.g., egg cartons and meat trays) and block protective packaging foam found with electronics or furniture.
“We are focused on recovering more material. Adding the new services for foam recycling is highly anticipated within the county,” says Ellen Keefe, executive director of WCR.
From the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Get to Know New York’s Natives: Red Maple
With fall officially upon us tomorrow, there’s no better native to highlight this month than one of the first trees to showcase its autumn colors – the red maple (Acer rubrum).
Red maple is one of the most common tree species in the eastern United States, and red maple trees can be found all across New York State. This species’ tolerance of a wide range of site conditions makes it suitable for both natural and urban environments. Mature trees tend to reach a height of 40-60 feet with a full canopy of 30-40 feet in width.
This time of year, red maples are admired for their bright red shades, though yellow and occasionally even orange can be spotted as well. In winter, the sap of a red maple can be used to produce maple syrup. As winter ends, the red flowers and seeds of this species are a welcome sign of early spring. The seeds (samaras), buds, and twigs are treats for mammals, and the tree’s canopy is a popular nesting site for birds. In the forest products industry, red maple is valued for its lumber and pulpwood. The red maple is truly a tree for all seasons and species!
Check out more red maple fun at these links:
Keep an eye on leaf change throughout the state this season with the I LOVE NY Fall Foliage Report, released each Wednesday afternoon.
Photos: (Top) Red maple leaves in autumn, photo by USDA Forest Service; (Bottom) red maple flowers in early spring, photo by Chris Evans, University of Illinois
Safely and Respectfully Sharing the Woods this Fall
With hunting and trapping seasons beginning soon, DEC encourages outdoor enthusiasts to respectfully share the woods and follow commonsense safety precautions. Most public lands in New York are open for multiple forms of recreation, meaning outdoor enthusiasts of all kinds share these lands. Whether you are a hiker, hunter, nature photographer, mountain biker or trapper, following a few simple measures can make your choice of recreation safe and enjoyable while sharing the outdoors.
DEC encourages every outdoor enthusiast to wear blaze orange, pink or another bright color, especially during fall and winter. Doing so allows individuals to be seen more easily and from greater distances. In addition, wearing bright colors makes it easier for Forest Rangers, Environmental Conservation Police Officers, or other rescue personnel to find you in the event of an emergency.
When not actively engaged in hunting, pet owners are encouraged to have their dogs wear a blaze orange, pink or another bright color vest or scarf. Dogs should stay leashed at all times. Trapping seasons are open throughout the fall and early winter. Although it’s a rare occurrence, traps set for furbearers (such as raccoons and coyotes) can also capture dogs that are not under control. Trapping is a highly regulated activity, and the regulations are strongly enforced. Trappers are required to take an educational course before getting a license, and DEC works closely with the trapping community to encourage trapping techniques that minimize risks to non-target wildlife and other animals like dogs. Keeping dogs on their leash is safer for the dog and for other people and gives pet owners peace of mind.
Hunting is among the most popular forms of wildlife recreation in the state, drawing nearly 700,000 New Yorkers and more than 50,000 out-of-state visitors. Hunting is a safe and economically important outdoor pursuit, helping to manage wildlife populations and promote family traditions, while fostering an understanding and respect for the environment. Hikers should be aware that they may meet hunters bearing firearms or archery equipment on public trails. Hunters should, likewise, recognize that they may encounter non-hunters while afield. Hunting accidents involving non-hunters are extremely rare.
Hunters looking for solitude can minimize disturbances associated with other forms of recreation by following a few tips. Before a season opens, while scouting for the perfect hunting spot or stand location, take the time to check if your planned location is a popular one. It’s best to avoid crowding other hunters. If your location is near a popular hiking spot, you may experience noise from other people who recreate outdoors. If your preferred spot becomes too crowded, it is a good idea to have an alternative location already identified. Find a destination by visiting the DEC website, checking out DECinfo Locator, or downloading the NY Fishing, Hunting, & Wildlife App.
DEC and the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation (State Parks) encourage you to engage in responsible recreation during the ongoing COVID-19 public health crisis. Recreate locally, practice physical distancing, and use common sense to protect yourself and others.
Although the most recent batch of quotas neared 1 million metric tons, China’s government still intends to keep most scrap out of the country in 2021.
By Brian Taylor, Recycling Today
The 12th 2020 batch of imported scrap quotas issued by the Solid Waste & Chemicals Management Centre of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People’s Republic of China will let in a relatively generous amount of material compared with some previous ones.
The 12th batch, announced Sept. 17, allows more than 730,000 metric tons of recovered fiber to enter through Chinese ports, plus more than 135,000 metric tons of red metal scrap, more than 120,000 metric tons of aluminum scrap, and just 2,600 metric tons of ferrous scrap.
China’s economy is farther along a post-COVID-19 rebound curve compared with most other nations, and its government has targeted infrastructure spending as a major components of its economic stimulus efforts.
The second-half 2020 rebound, combined with the strict quota system for scrap in China, has put a strain on raw material supplies there. One symptom has been a boost in the importation of semi-finished and finished metals in a nation that more often is considered an exporter of such materials.
The most recent batch of quotas with its higher numbers is similar to the ninth batch, issued in early July, which saw some 200,000 metric tons of aluminum scrap welcomed in as the nation prepared for its economic rebound. The 10th and 11th batches, however, together only letting in about 3,700 metric tons of aluminum scrap.
The nation’s government, led by its Ministry of Ecology and the Environment (MEE), has been attempting to lead China’s basic materials producers away from imported scrap. Plastic scrap has largely been banned, while recovered fiber will be severely restricted if not banned in 2021. Metals producers in China appear to have had some success in getting higher grades of scrap metal declared as “resources” allowed to be imported, although that system has not been finalized.
China’s seemingly protectionist stance toward imported scrap has been identified by the Washington-based Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) as a set of actions that are in violation of the country’s World Trade Organization (WTO) obligations.
After six years on the job, Kathryn Garcia is considering a mayoral run. In an exit interview, she discourages layoffs, updates waste zone timing and says “zero waste” by 2030 is likely unattainable.
New York Department of Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia is stepping down as the city continues to work through many pandemic challenges at a potential inflection point in its waste history.
Since being appointed to run the nation’s largest sanitation department (DSNY) in March 2014, managing approximately 10,000 employees, Garcia said she has worked to ensure “a lot of pieces of different puzzles really came together” for city waste infrastructure. This included overseeing the construction of delayed marine transfer stations, signing major disposal contracts, supporting the passage of long-debated legislation, making internal systems paperless, launching a procurement program to support businesses owned by people of color and women, and more.
But she has also seen setbacks in her tenure, with progress toward a 2030 “zero waste” goal hard to achieve in recent years and what was once the nation’s largest curbside organics collection program frozen amid $106 million in budget cuts. A major plan to reshape the city’s commercial waste sector has also been delayed multiple times due to the pandemic’s economic disruptions. Now, the threat of even more cuts is looming in the months ahead.
Garcia tendered her resignation to term-limited Mayor Bill de Blasio last week, calling cuts and layoffs at the agency so far “unconscionable,” according to multiple reports. Now, she may run for mayor in 2021 and would draw on a long resume at multiple city agencies, beginning with her days as a DSNY intern.
Waste Dive recently spoke with the commissioner ahead of her final week on the job.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) signed a stalled environmental justice bill into law on Friday that aims to halt the development of new pollution centers like sewage treatment plants, landfills, transfer stations, scrap metal facilities and medical waste incinerators in low-income communities, Reuters reports.
The move comes amid a push for environmental justice that affects communities of color as new data emerges showing historically marginalized populations, such as Black and Hispanic Americans, living in areas with higher concentrations of pollution.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with Black and Hispanic Americans facing higher death and hospitalization rates than their white counterparts, scientific literature has focused on how the exposure to more air pollutants worsens that outcome for a severe illness.
Speaking with reporters, Mustafa Santiago Ali, a former Environmental Protection Agency\ official in the Obama administration, said that low-income neighborhoods with large immigrant and minority communities are subject to zoning practices that allow high-polluting industries to establish business nearby. Decades of socioeconomic redlining has forced people of color into less desirable living areas with higher volumes of pollution.
“Folks don’t by accident end up in these communities,” Ali said. “We have traditionally pushed people into certain areas, or we’ve chosen those areas that we don’t place a lot of value on to put certain things.”
Per a press release issued by Murphy’s office, the bill will monitor the permit requests of “certain facilities on overburdened communities.”
An overburdened community, in this case, is defined as any community where 35 percent of the households qualify as low-income per the U.S. Census, 40 percent of households are minority-owned, or 40 percent of the households in the community have limited English proficiency.
In New Jersey alone, there are reportedly 310 municipalities that could qualify.
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