Industry News

Organics

San Diego to construct $77M composting facility

The city of San Diego plans to spend $77 million on a large-scale composting plant in the Miramar neighborhood to process yard trimmings, food scraps and other organic materials.

City officials tell The San Diego Union-Tribune they expect the plant, which would be San Diego County’s largest composting facility, to help other communities and haulers comply with new S.B. 1383 requirements.

The facility is scheduled to open in the summer of 2024.

Although San Diego already is home to the region’s largest composting facility, the city plans to tear down and replace it rather than expand it. The old facility, called the Miramar Greenery, was built in the 1990s and expanded in 2009. The new one will be located at a different part of the Miramar Landfill.

City officials say it makes more sense to move the facility because the Miramar Greenery is on top of an area of the landfill that has significant unused capacity, worth about $100 million. The new composting plant will be on a portion of the landfill farther east.

Construction will be conducted by Santa Ana, California-based Sukut Construction LLC, which has built similar composting facilities in Irvine and San Juan Capistrano, California.

The new facility is expected to have a processing capacity of 250,000 tons per year, higher than the output of the 40,000-ton-per-year facility at the Greenery. The city says it aims to collect about 125,000 tons of organic materials per year.

City councilmembers are weighing in on the costs and revenue potential related to moving composting operations, the Union-Tribune reports. Discussions also are underway about allowing the city’s private commercial haulers to use the composting facility for a fee. 

Mergers & Acquisitions

LRS acquires J&J Rubbish Service Inc.

LRS, an independent waste, recycling and portable services provider based in Rosemont, Illinois, has acquired J&J Rubbish Service Inc., a waste disposal service based in Winona, Minnesota, that was founded in 1968.  

LRS says this investment adds 15,000 residential and 1,000 commercial customers to its growing footprint across the Midwest. It also helps to bridge LRS’ Minnesota and Wisconsin operations, allowing for improved density within its core marketplace.

All J&J employees will continue their employment with LRS.  

“J&J Rubbish has embodied each of our core values through their 55 years in business across four generations,” LRS President and CEO Alan T. Handley says. “We welcome the J&J team, customers and communities to the LRS family and look forward to carrying their legacy forward.”  

LRS entered the Winona market in 2022 with the purchase of Matejka Recycling, a waste and recycling transfer station in the area. Now, LRS sees the opportunity to bring additional value to the community by entering the collections market with J&J Rubbish. LRS says this acquisition furthers its mission of building an industry-leading waste and recycling platform fueled by established companies and a commitment to providing innovative services across the greater Midwest.  

“It’s truly been a privilege to serve the families, businesses and communities of Winona County for the last 50-plus years,” says J&J Rubbish President Karla Serva-Patzner. “I know the LRS team well, and the communities we serve can expect the same dedication to all customers and employees that they’ve known with us.”

This news follows LRS’ Jan. 9 acquisitions of Michigan-based Michiana Recycling & Disposal and Modern Waste Systems.

Events

Recycling Today Media Group launches the Battery and Critical Metals Recycling Conference

The Recycling Today Media Group (RTMG), a business unit of GIE Media, Valley View, Ohio, has announced the launch of the Battery and Critical Metals Recycling Conference. Scheduled for June 12-13 in Atlanta, the event serves the ballooning market for environmentally responsible management of end-of-life batteries from electric vehicles (EVs), consumer electronics and the rapidly developing stored power sector.

“The proliferation of electronic consumer goods, industrial and commercial equipment and, increasingly, electric vehicles is creating an enormous flow of end-of-life batteries,” says James Keefe, publisher of RTMG. “Only a small percentage of these batteries is collected and recycled.

“Our event will examine the issues surrounding battery and critical metals recovery and recycling,” he adds.

Projected demand for critical metals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper, aluminum and others required for battery production is, in some cases, expected to grow threefold by 2030. This demand-side curve creates a tremendous economic incentive for recovering and marketing the materials from existing batteries, the event’s organizers say.

End-of-life batteries pose a tremendous threat to society if improperly disposed of. Those that end up in the general waste or traditional recycling streams have been linked to tragic fires, creating a terrible societal cost in human life and property damage and destruction. Proper recycling of end-of-life batteries safeguards the environment and produces valuable raw materials essential for green power to thrive.

This event is geared toward a variety of stakeholders, including automobile recyclers, battery producers, electronics producers, EV producers, recycling companies and more. The event begins Monday, June 12, with a networking reception. The June 13 itinerary includes powerful sessions with thought leaders from across North America and the world.

Registration information and additional details about the program will be available at www.BatteryRecycling Conference.com as they are confirmed. A limited number of sponsorship opportunities also are available by contacting  rt-sales@gie.net. 

Safety

Florida Express Environmental recognizes employees’ safety record with $145,000 in bonuses

During its 2022-2023 Safety Kickoff and Annual Safety Awards Jan. 11, Ocala-based Florida Express Environmental (FEE) awarded 29 employees a total of $145,000 in annual safety bonuses to recognize their industry-leading safety performance, customer service, attendance and workspace cleanliness.

FEE provides commercial and residential recycling and collection, portable restrooms and bulk collection of items.

All employees initially were enrolled in the company’s 0-0-0 Safety Program with the goal of having zero accidents, zero incidents and zero injuries during the year. Employees who achieved a perfect score in the program for 12 consecutive months received a $500 monthly bonus as well as a $5,000 annual bonus.

Of the 29 award recipients, 12 were repeat winners from the previous year.

Since FEE’s founding in 2001, the company has paid more than $2.82 million to all its employees who are enrolled in the 0-0-0 Safety Program.

“Having grown up around the business, I have a deep respect for all the men and women on my team,” FEE President John Paglia III says. “I remind everyone that no matter your role with the company, we are all an important part [of] and reason for successes and shortfalls. … We win and lose as a team. To be able to award some of our team with such a bonus motivates everyone to create a safe culture that we strive to consistently achieve day in and day out,” he adds.

Of the 29 Annual Safety Award winners in 2022, the average tenure approaches five years.

Paglia says he believes this program helps nurture and motivate these relatively new FEE team members to evolve into the next group of leaders within the company.

“As [FEE] continues to grow, so will the benefits and awards we make available to safety-driven team members, placing the [emphasis] on what we value the most: Safety first,” he says.

Waste-to-energy

Energy Recovery Council rebrands as Waste-To-Energy Association

A consortium of waste industry partners and local governments has launched the Waste-To-Energy Association (WTEA), a coalition formed to recognize waste-to- energy’s (WTE’s) valuable role in reducing greenhouse gases (GHG) and generating renewable energy. Formerly the Energy Recovery Council, the WTEA is based in Washington.

WTEA members include WTE companies and local governments served by WTE plants, as well as those who work in the municipal waste management and energy fields.

“Waste-to-energy is becoming an even more essential piece of the puzzle in mitigating climate change, and we are excited to bring together stakeholders and experts, re-energized and ready at this critical time, to educate on and advocate for the significant benefits and solutions that waste to energy provides communities across the nation," WTEA Executive Director Marilyn Lynch says.

The WTE sector employs more than 6,000 essential workers, resulting in a direct economic impact of approximately $400 million, the association says. 

Thomas P. Hogan will serve as president of the WTEA. He has more than 30 years of experience guiding associations and corporate clients in legal and regulatory matters at the local, state and federal levels.

“As global climate change concerns mount, there is a critical need for the public and policymakers to recognize the valuable role that waste-to-energy facilities play in sustainably disposing of the waste we all generate,” Hogan says. “WTEA will work to educate and advocate on the complexities of managing waste and the net carbon reduction that results from the work being done at WTE facilities across the country every day.”

WTEA board member and Treasurer Allia Saydjari, senior director of sustainability for Portsmouth, New Hampshire- based WIN Waste Innovations, says WTE can divert waste from landfills and prevent GHG emissions.

“Our work contributes to the transition to a more circular economic model, which is urgently needed to mitigate environmental and social impacts from climate change,” Saydjari says. “We are proud to be part of the solution to global climate change.”

Landfills

BrightSuite to build solar panel system at closed landfill in Henrico County, Virginia

Henrico County, Virginia, has approved a proposal from BrightSuite, an energy company based in Richmond, Virginia, to have solar panels installed at a closed landfill. The system would generate reduced-cost, renewable energy to power a nearby sewage pump station.  

According to a news release from Henrico County, the proposal for the solar panel system was approved Jan. 24 by the county’s board of supervisors. As part of the agreement, BrightSuite—a subsidiary of Dominion Energy—will design, install and maintain a 349-kilowatt solar photovoltaic system on about 2 acres at the closed Springfield Road Landfill in western Henrico County.  

In addition to leasing the site for $1 per year, the county will purchase the electricity generated by the solar array to provide up to 100 percent of the power needed to operate the Allen’s Branch Sewage Pump Station. By allowing the county to receive a lower rate, the arrangement would save taxpayers an estimated $600,000 to $700,000 on electricity costs over the 30-year lease term. The system is expected to be operational by spring 2025.  

The partnership is Dominion Energy’s first landfill project with a municipality in the region.

“We are excited to partner with Henrico County on this innovative solar project at the Springfield Road Landfill, the first of its kind in the region between a locality and Dominion Energy,” says Joe Woomer, Dominion Energy vice president of new business and customer solutions. “This project closely aligns with Dominion Energy’s vision of becoming the most sustainable energy company in the country.”  

The 191-acre Springfield Road Landfill operated as a municipal landfill from the late 1960s to 2014. It currently serves as one of the county’s two public-use areas, which receive household and yard waste as well as recyclables for transport off-site. Since 2010, a 4-megawatt generator has captured methane gas produced by the landfill and converted it into electricity that is exported to the utility grid for sale.