EnviroPolitics Blog

Ohio town puts AI to work–suprisingly, on its garbage trucks

By Eric Schwartzberg, Dayton Daily News

Centerville, Ohio is testing a new program where recycling trucks use artificial intelligence to spot and report items that do not belong in the bin.

As each cart is emptied, the AI scans its contents and flags materials that do not meet local recycling guidelines.

“Reducing contamination in our recycling system lowers processing costs and improves the overall efficiency of our collection,” City Manager Wayne Davis said in a statement regarding the AI pilot program. “This technology allows us to target problem areas, educate residents, and make better use of city resources.”

Residents whose items don’t meet the guidelines will be notified via a personalized postcard, one that tells them which items are not accepted and provides tips on proper recycling.

Elsewhere, AI is helping with solid waste code enforcement

Yes, AI is increasingly being integrated into garbage trucks and waste management systems, transforming the industry in several ways.

Key applications of AI in garbage trucks and waste management include:

Route Optimization: AI algorithms analyze data from smart bins (equipped with fill-level sensors), real-time traffic updates, and historical data to dynamically adjust collection routes, reducing fuel consumption, increasing worker efficiency, and minimizing carbon emissions.
Predictive Maintenance: AI-driven systems can anticipate potential equipment failures in garbage trucks before they happen, allowing for proactive maintenance and minimizing costly breakdowns.
Automated Waste Sorting: AI-powered robots with computer vision can identify and separate recyclable materials from waste streams, improving sorting accuracy and efficiency in recycling facilities. This technology can reduce contamination in recycled materials and make the process more economically viable.
Smart Bins: AI sensors integrated into smart bins monitor fill levels and communicate data to waste management providers, allowing for timely collection and preventing overflow. This reduces unnecessary pickups, saves fuel, and improves public hygiene.
Contamination Detection: AI-powered cameras on garbage trucks can identify contamination in recycling carts as materials are loaded into the truck, enabling municipalities to educate residents on proper waste disposal and potentially reduce contamination-related costs.

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What’s ahead for Philadelphia’s historic Wanamaker Building?

New York developer TF Cornerstone plans to build 600 loft-style apartments above the shuttered Macy’s store in the historic Wanamaker Building in Philadelphia after acquiring complete control in a foreclosure auction Tuesday.

#WanamakerBuilding #Philadelphia #historicsites #departmentstore #loftapartments #EaseMarketStreet #ChrystalTeaRoom #WanamakerOrgan #Macy’s

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Trump Is Gutting Weather Science, Diminishing Disaster Response

As a warming planet delivers more extreme weather, experts warn that the Trump administration is dismantling the government’s disaster capabilities.

Search and rescue workers climb a hill of debris and tree trunks, looking for survivors of the Texas flood. — *A cadaver dog was used to search for human remains among the rubble near the Guadalupe River in Kerrville, Texas. Credit…Jordan Vonderhaar for The New York Times*

By Lisa Friedman Maxine Joselow Coral Davenport, and Megan Mineiro, NY Times

In an effort to shrink the federal government, President Trump and congressional Republicans have taken steps that are diluting the country’s ability to anticipate, prepare for, and respond to, catastrophic flooding and other extreme weather events, disaster experts say.

Staff reductions, budget cuts, and other changes made by the administration since January have already created holes at the National Weather Service, which forecasts and warns of dangerous weather.

Mr. Trump’s budget proposal for the next fiscal year would close 10 laboratories run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that research the ways a warming planet is changing weather, among other things. That work is essential to more accurately predicting life-threatening hazards. Among the shuttered labs would be one in Miami that sends teams of “hurricane hunters” to fly into storms to collect critical data. The proposed budget would also make major cuts to a federal program that uses river gauges to predict floods.

The president is also envisioning a dramatically scaled-down Federal Emergency Management Agency that would shift the costs of disaster response and recovery from the federal government to the states. The administration has already revoked $3.6 billion in grants from FEMA to hundreds of communities around the country, which were to be used to help these areas protect against hurricanes, wildfires, and other catastrophes. About 10 percent of the agency’s staff members have left since January, including senior leaders with decades of experience, and another 20 percent are expected to be gone by the end of this year.

Read the full story here

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New Jersey’s giant port braces for impact of Trump’s coming tariff

The Port of New York and New Jersey was the busiest cargo gateway in the country in May.

By Eddie Callahan, Patch Staff

The Port of New York and New Jersey and its employees are getting more time to prepare for any potential changes to their operations from new tariffs on imports into the United States.

President Donald Trump is moving the deadline for countries to strike trade deals with the United States back, saying new tariffs will go into effect on August 1 if no agreements are reached. This includes a new 35 percent import tax for Canada, announced by President Trump Thursday.

The definitive impact on local jobs, 4,000 of which employees service the Port of New York and New Jersey, is still unclear. Based on the data of goods flowing in and out of the site, the Port of New York and New Jersey could be in a position to be hit more than others.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey reported that as of the latest available monthly data, the site was the busiest cargo gateway in the whole country for May. This equates to 774,698 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of goods being handled throughout the month. This is a 6.5 percent increase from January through May as compared to 2024.

Last year, the site was the largest container port on the U.S. East Coast and the third largest in the country, handling 8,698,526 TEUs, according to a data report from the Port of New York and New Jersey. Only Los Angeles and Long Beach ranked higher.

Read the full story here

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Teamsters union at war with Republic Services, escalating strikes

The escalation comes a week after Local 25 went on strike against Republic Services in the Boston area.

By Jacob Wallace, Waste Dive

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters says more than 2,000 Republic Services workers represented by the union are either striking or honoring picket lines around the country, a rapid escalation of a dispute that kicked off in the Boston area last week.

The union is accusing Republic, the second-largest waste company in the country, of mistreating and underpaying its workers. In a news release Wednesday, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters said it will “go to war against Republic Services.”

“Republic Services has been threatening a war with American workers for years — and now, they’ve got one,” Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said in a statement. “The Teamsters have had it with Republic. We will flood the streets and shut down garbage collection in state after state. Workers are uniting nationwide, and we will get the wages and benefits we’ve earned, come hell or high water.”

The escalation comes after Teamsters Local 25, which serves the greater Boston area, announced it would go on strike on July 1. Since then, other chapters in California, Illinois, Georgia, and Washington have announced they are on strike, while picket lines have extended to Seattle and the Bay Area in California.

Twenty-two percent of Republic Services’ workers are unionized, the highest rate among large, publicly traded waste companies. Republic has maintained in statements that it is offering workers competitive labor contracts. For the Boston area contract, the company said its most recent contract offer would have included a 39% increase over five years and a 14% increase in the first year.

Read the full story here

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Cement recyling plant in Brooklyn, loathed by neighbors, to close

Rubble in a worksite. — *Photo credit: David Gray*

By Rosemary Misdary, Gothamist

A concrete recycling facility on the Brooklyn waterfront that produced dust so thick it blanketed nearby residents’ cars and windows will cease operations next month, Mayor Eric Adams announced Friday.

The Department of Transportation facility had been the subject of complaints since it opened in February of last year. Workers operated heavy-duty machinery that smashed blocks of concrete, filtered the rubble, and then repurposed it for sidewalk extensions, pedestrian islands, and more. But that process produced a lot of dust stored on the windy waterfront. Residents said the chalky material made it difficult to breathe and burned their eyes.

A petition to close the recycling center garnered more than 1,500 signatures. About 50 residents blocked the entrance to the facility during a tense demonstration earlier this year.

“With the closure of the concrete recycling facility at the Columbia Street Waterfront District, we are taking an important step toward realizing a greener, safer, and more vibrant Brooklyn Marine Terminal for the residents of this community,” Adams said.

The mayor said the closure would help allow major redevelopment plans for the Brooklyn Marine Terminal to advance. That 122-acre project, which includes the site of the current concrete facility, would build 5,000 market-rate apartments, along with 2,700 more affordably priced units. Adams said the concrete recycling yard would be fully closed by the end of the year. The facility’s previous location at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal in Sunset Park was closed to make space for the construction of offshore wind turbines.

Read the full story here

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