Department of Energy awards $73M for biofuel and waste projects

Research and development funding will go to 35 projects, including multiple projects focused on anaerobic digestion and plastics recycling. 

By Cody Ellis , Cole Rosengren • Updated Oct. 3, 2019

Wheelabrator suing Baltimore over tightened emissions standards

The lawsuit — which has also been joined by Curtis Bay Energy, the Energy Recovery Council, the National Waste & Recycling Association and TMS Hauling — seeks to overturn Baltimore's "targeted attempt" to shut down two local incinerators.

By Rina Li • May 1, 2019

Philadelphia to send all recyclables to Waste Management under new contract

The city had sent about half of its recyclables to a Covanta incinerator for nearly six months after a prior Republic Services contract expired without resolution.

By Katie Pyzyk • April 29, 2019

Covanta reports continued investments, 'early signs of interest' in new US capacity

Newly launched operations in New York, ongoing project development in the U.K. and increasingly favorable pricing trends in the U.S. delivered another positive quarter.

By Rina Li • April 29, 2019

Wheelabrator sues Baltimore County over $32M contract dispute

The suit, which alleges that the county failed to deliver a contractually-guaranteed annual waste tonnage to Wheelabrator Baltimore, comes amid ongoing regulatory pressure on the facility.

By Rina Li • April 16, 2019

Minnesota court: State can prioritize WTE over landfill around Twin Cities

Republic Services sued the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency after it enforced a decades-old statute in 2017. The court's ruling leaves financial penalties unresolved, but theoretically upholds the state's preferred hierarchy.

By Cody Ellis • April 11, 2019

Scrap Collector: Does WTE have a role in NYC's 'zero waste' goal?

Plus: Entrepreneurs pitch sustainable floating city concept at UN, and Detroit lawmakers pushing for statewide incineration ban.

By Rina Li • April 5, 2019

Scrap Collector: Controversial Detroit incinerator shuts down

Plus: US accused of hampering marine plastics progress at UN, and ancient trash heaps reveal Byzantine city's surprising demise.

By Rina Li • March 29, 2019

Oregon cap-and-trade bill subverts efforts to remove WTE subsidies

A bill designating incineration as renewable takes aim at Oregon's proposed cap-and-trade legislation, which would impose a carbon cap on Covanta's Marion County incinerator.

By Rina Li • Updated June 19, 2019

Scrap Collector: Dead whale 'full of plastic — nothing but nonstop plastic'

Plus: Mr. Trash Wheel goes West, and models get down in a New York MRF.

By Rina Li • March 22, 2019

NY governor signs legislation to stop WTE project

Plans for a new incinerator have drawn significant opposition in recent years — including from Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who signed the legislation last Friday.

By Cole Rosengren , Rina Li • Updated May 28, 2019

Maryland county executive walks back closure timeline for Covanta-operated incinerator

Marc Elrich made closing the county-owned facility by 2022 part of his recent winning campaign — but faced with a surprise contract extension and unclear alternatives, that timeline has become less definitive.

By Cody Ellis • Updated March 11, 2019

Researchers argue pyrolysis for wastewater biosolids not as sustainable as advertised

A newly published academic response aims to fact check widely cited research from Marquette University that touts pyrolysis as energy positive.

By Cody Ellis • Feb. 28, 2019

Casella only bidder on new Boston recycling contract, higher than any disposal bid

Waste Management declined to bid for the first time in years, leaving city officials with a case of sticker shock and limited options. Three other companies are also vying for the city's residential waste.

By Cole Rosengren • Updated March 1, 2019

Scrap Collector: Report highlights plastic's hidden global health costs

Plus: EPA accused of stealing Nintendo soundtrack for online recycling game, and Canada refusing to sign hazardous waste treaty amendment amidst ongoing dumping scandal.

By Rina Li • Feb. 22, 2019

Report shows two straight years of flat financing for WTE, biogas in US

While five farm-based anaerobic digesters came online in 2018, there were few other notable waste-related projects, according to the 2019 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook.

By Cody Ellis • Feb. 19, 2019

Covanta celebrates record-setting year, looks to more international growth

CEO Steve Jones sees a 5-10 year window of continuous expansion in the U.K., and the company recently announced a new deal in the Philippines.

By Cole Rosengren , Rina Li • Feb. 19, 2019

Baltimore mayor to sign legislation that could close local incinerators

Mayor Catherine Pugh has now confirmed she will sign the Baltimore Clean Air Act, which mandates stringent emissions standards that could reportedly force Wheelabrator Baltimore and Curtis Bay Energy to shut down.

By Cole Rosengren , Rina Li • Updated Feb. 13, 2019

Scrap Collector: Baltimore and Detroit incinerators gettin' burnt

Plus: EPA's expected decision against regulating hazardous PFAS in drinking water, and Bali's pollution-tackling tourist tax.

By Rina Li • Feb. 1, 2019

New Massachusetts MRF opens in market with tight processing capacity

Backed by the owner of ABC Disposal Service, Zero Waste Solutions has the ability to handle 45 tons per hour and is said to offer a broader range of sorting capabilities than others in the region.

By Cole Rosengren • Updated May 20, 2019

6 key questions for the waste and recycling industry in 2019

We'll be keeping an eye on recycling, climate change, landfills, alternative technologies, corporate consolidation, labor issues and much more in the year ahead.

By Cole Rosengren • Jan. 9, 2019

Connecticut WTE facility partially back online after double turbine failure

The Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority's Hartford facility has been down since November, leaving officials to manage a backlog that at one point reached 20,000 tons.

By Cole Rosengren , Rina Li • Jan. 7, 2019

After nearly 6 months without contract, ecomaine workers strike a contentious deal

Terms agreed to by the International Union of Engineers and the nonprofit WTE/recycling operator may come at the expense of deep division over new rotating shift requirements.

By Cole Rosengren • Dec. 21, 2018

Report: Incineration is 'neither clean nor renewable'

A new Institute for Local Self-Reliance report recommends that policymakers remove subsidies for waste incineration and promote cleaner, more environmentally friendly alternatives.

By Rina Li • Dec. 17, 2018

SWEEP standard — LEED for waste and recycling — releases ambitious proposal

After more than two years of work by many of the industry's biggest corporate and government players, the Solid Waste Environmental Excellence Protocol now has draft language ready for comments.

By Cole Rosengren • Dec. 17, 2018