Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act debuts in Congress, instigating packaging EPR debate

The bill would establish a national container deposit system, ban single-use plastic products and set recycled content requirements. Staunch opposition is expected from industry trade groups.

Credit: Photo by Brian Yurasits on Unsplash

E. A. Crunden reports for WasteDive

Federal lawmakers debuted the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act on Tuesday, after months of build-up​ kicking off what is likely to be a heated fight over the legislation. The bill would enshrine extended producer responsibility (EPR) for plastic bottles, packaging and assorted items, along with creating a national container deposit system.

Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.) and Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM), who have been working on the legislation since last summer, joined with Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) to sponsor the legislation. The bill is co-sponsored by more than two dozen other House members, as well as five additional senators. So far, no Republicans have signed on.

Don’t miss stories like this Click for free updates

Udall cited growing public concern over marine debris and plastic pollution as a motivating factor, in addition to heightened scrutiny over unstable scrap commodity markets, on a Monday call with reporters. 

“Our plastic pollution process has reached a tipping point and the American people are fed up,” said Udall, who also cited climate change as another incentive, given that plastics largely come from oil refineries. One 2019 report from the Center for International and Environmental Law found the plastics industry is on track to produce as many emissions as more than 600 coal-fired power plants by mid-century. 

The act comes in the midst of a significant uptick in federal legislation focused on waste and recycling. Several of the bills currently in play are popular with industry, thanks to their focus on issues such as infrastructure and education. But the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act homes in on supply chain issues more directly, a contrast the lawmakers emphasized.

“Ours is the only bill in Congress that deals with the source of the problem,” Udall asserted.

Read the full story

Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act debuts in Congress, instigating packaging EPR debate Read More »

The humble urban garbage truck gets a high-tech battery makeover

  • Volvo and Daimler are working on variants to replace diesel
  •  Short routes, frequent stops make haulers suitable for upgrade

Stefan Nicola reports for Bloomberg

Volvo’s FE electric garbage truck.
Volvo’s FE electric garbage truck. Source: Volvo AB

Automakers from Tesla Inc. to Ford Motor Co. are developing ever-sleeker, futuristic-looking electric cars. Volvo AB has something a little chunkier in the race: the battery-powered garbage truck.

The Swedish company will start producing electric versions of its brawny trash haulers next month starting with Europe, with cities from Hamburg to Gothenburg to Zurich already signed up to buy. Volvo says it expects its two new electric models, which can be used for a variety of heavy-duty urban jobs, to do well because they’re emissions-free and much quieter than diesels, whose engines fire up when they lift a dumpster.

Surprisingly, these hulking trucks offer some compelling advantages for electrification. Garbage vans typically follow regular daily routes that rarely exceed 60 miles (97 kilometers), easing range concerns. And with frequent stops, they return energy to the battery each time the driver hits the brakes.

“We believe this technology can be a large contributor to reducing emissions,“ said Anna Thorden, product manager for electric mobility at Volvo Trucks. “Electric trucks are beneficial for drivers, cities and the global climate.“

While diesel remains the most popular fuel source for trucks, ahead of natural gas, it faces restrictions that will likely boost demand for battery-powered vehicles, said Nikolas Soulopoulos, an auto analyst at BloombergNEF.

Hostile Environment

City centers are becoming increasingly hostile environments for combustion vehicles. Paris, Madrid, and Hamburg have already introduced limited bans on older diesel cars, and Barcelona, London, and Rome plan to keep them out altogether by the end of this decade.

“For these kinds of jobs, electrification has real potential,” Soulopoulos said. “Cities are worried about air pollution and are making it much more expensive for diesel trucks to come in.”

Volvo is offering two versions, one weighing 16 tons and a larger model clocking in at 27 tons. The company wouldn’t say how much they will cost, though Soulopoulos estimates the sticker prices for the first generation of heavy-duty e-trucks will be about double their diesel equivalents. But by the middle of this decade the total cost of ownership will be about the same due to their lower maintenance costs and fuel consumption, BNEF predicts.

Read the full story

We’re always looking for stories that might interest our readers. If you come across something so interesting that it cries out to be shared, please send it to editor@enviropolitics.com  If we agree, you’ll see it here soon.   

The humble urban garbage truck gets a high-tech battery makeover Read More »

Cannons to coffee cups in Philly’s Bridesburg neighborhood

New Philly cafe and restaurant coming to a 200-year-old ammunition factory

frankfordarsenal-01

 

COURTESY ALLIANCE HSP

Danya Henninger for BILLYPENN

It used to be the place where sentinels kept watch on a giant military production center, overseeing the manufacture of everything from Civil War muskets to laser-guided ballistic missiles.

Soon, it’ll be a new restaurant and all-day cafe, offering breakfast, lunch and brunch to a growing community along the Delaware River on the edge of Bridesburg.

The Guard House is set to open this spring in the guard house of the Frankford Arsenal. The former sprawling munitions factory in Lower Northeast Philly went defunct in the 1970, but is finding new life as a mixed-use campus.

Think Navy Yard North, said Matt Handel of Alliance Partners HSP, which teased a coffee shop when it first snapped up a quarter of the 800,000-square-foot site in 2017.

“We’re not the first to think of food and coffee as being an amenity for commercial tenants,” Handel told Billy Penn. “The Navy Yard, the Bok Bar…we looked at the arsenal and said it needs some element of that.”

After putting out the call — sign on for five rent-free years and create a cool restaurant in an unusual location — Alliance found its chef: Khoran Horn.

Horn, who runs Stripp’d Juice in Old City and the culinary collaborative “Black,” brought in chef Matthew Gansert, an alum of Forsythia, Attico and Jaxon.

It’ll be the first on-site food and drink amenity for the arsenal, which is already home to two charter schools, a handful of engineering firms and various other creative manufacturing companies. Split-flap makers Oat Foundry are headquartered there, for example, as is deli powerhouse Dietz & Watson and the Soulfull Project, an oatmeal maker that donates a meal for each one purchased.

Read the full story

Do you have a personal history with the former Frankford Arsenal?  Did you work there? Have family members who did? Share your recollections by clicking on the ‘comment’ link under the main headline above.  

Cannons to coffee cups in Philly’s Bridesburg neighborhood Read More »

Bumblebees’ decline points to mass extinction – study

Populations disappearing in areas where temperatures are getting hotter, scientists say

From The Guardian, February 6, 2020

Bumblebees are in drastic decline across Europe and North America owing to hotter and more frequent extremes in temperatures, scientists say.

A study suggests the likelihood of a bumblebee population surviving in any given place has declined by 30% in the course of a single human generation. The researchers say the rates of decline appear to be “consistent with a mass extinction”.

Peter Soroye, a PhD student at the University of Ottawa and the study’s lead author, said: “We found that populations were disappearing in areas where the temperatures had gotten hotter. If declines continue at this pace, many of these species could vanish forever within a few decades.”

The team used data collected over a 115-year period on 66 bumblebee species across North America and Europe to develop a model simulating “climate chaos” scenarios. They were able to see how bumblebee populations had changed over the years by comparing where the insects were now to where they used to be.

Read the full story

Bumblebees’ decline points to mass extinction – study Read More »

After several years on ‘steady,’ electric rates will inch up in New Jersey on June 1, 2020

TOM JOHNSON |reports for NJ Spotlight

Increases projected to be modest, after most recent power auction, but BPU does raise concerns about money utilities are pumping into transmission

Transmission tower

New Jersey residential and small-commercial customers will likely see their monthly electric bills increase slightly this June, a mild reversal of the past few years when prices were relatively stable or dipped because of low natural gas prices.

Nevertheless, New Jersey Board of Public Utility officials described the 19th annual power auction conducted by the agency as an overall success, despite concerns that increasing investments in transmission upgrades are beginning to take a toll on customers.

“The cost of transmission has been out of hand and has been for a long time,’’ said BPU President Joseph Fiordaliso. “The rate of return is too high,’’ he added, referring to what utilities earn for making those investments.

Not receiving our free updates?

In the end, three of the four electric utilities will see their residential and small-commercial customers’ bills increase, topped by the state’s biggest utility, Public Service Electric & Gas, whose typical residential customers will see bills climb about 4.4%, or $5.20 more per month. The increases take effect on June 1.

Bills from Jersey Central Power & Light, the state’s second-largest electric utility with more than 1 million customers, will increase by 2.4% or by $2.09 a month; typical bills for Atlantic City Electric’s residential customers will rise by 0.3% or 40 cents monthly, while Rockland Electric customers will experience a drop of 1.6%, or $1.89 per month.

Costs for commercial customers

For larger commercial and industrial customers who buy electricity from independent suppliers, costs also will increase when compared to previous years, largely a result of increased demands to supply power from renewable sources and higher costs to provide the capacity to keep the lights on.

The boost in bills was largely foreseen by a consultant hired by the BPU who projected rising energy prices could boost costs as well as higher transmission expenses, most evidently seen by PSE&G customers.

“We expected to see higher prices and that’s what we got,’’ said Frank Mossburg, managing director of Bates White, which had been hired by the board to oversee the auction. The higher charges also were caused by lower prices expiring under contracts purchased three years ago in a prior auction.

PSE&G pumps money into transmission

Transmission was a factor in all of the increases, but none more significant than PSE&G, which has been investing huge amounts of capital into transmission upgrades. In a five-year plan outlined last year, it sought to invest $5 billion in transmission upgrades.

But PSE&G argued that despite the increase, customers still spend less than they did more than a decade ago.

Read the full story

Don’t miss stories like this Click for free updates

After several years on ‘steady,’ electric rates will inch up in New Jersey on June 1, 2020 Read More »

Verified by MonsterInsights