Municipal Recycling

Rumpke Acquires Republic Assets in Ohio

Rumpke of Northern Ohio Inc., an operating unit of Cincinnati-based Rumpke Consolidated Cos., has purchased several northern Ohio waste collection, hauling and disposal assets from Republic Services Inc., based in Phoenix.

The acquisition includes a 300-acre landfill in Mansfield, Ohio; the Mansfield Hauling District; the Richland County Recycling and Transfer Station; the Harvard Road Transfer Station near Cleveland; and a sales office for the region in Mansfield. The purchase also includes more than 60 vehicles. Rumpke is not disclosing financial terms of purchase.

As a result of the new holdings, Rumpke will begin serving approximately 39,000 residential and 3,000 commercial customers in Ashland, Crawford, Holmes, Huron, Knox, Lorain, Marion, Medina, Morrow, Richland and Wayne counties.

Rumpke Consolidated Cos. Inc., established in 1932, is based near Cincinnati. The company provides residential and commercial waste and recycling services.

Waste Management Opens Detroit MRF

Waste Management Inc., headquartered in Houston, has officially opened its newest recycling facility, a 63,000-square-foot facility in Detroit. The new plant will service commercial and residential customers in the southeastern Michigan area.

Waste Management invested $2 million to renovate the building and to install equipment capable of processing up to 150 tons of recyclables each day. To begin operations, the facility will employ six people.

"This facility is an investment in the city of Detroit and all of southeast Michigan," says David Steiner, CEO of Waste Management.

Initially, the facility will process cardboard, office paper, shredded paper and industrial plastics from Waste Management’s southeast Michigan customers. The company says it hopes to expand the MRF’s operations to accommodate additional materials.

The new facility is designed for efficiency, according to the company. All trucks entering the facility are weighed to determine the amount of recyclable material being delivered for processing. These truck scales are connected to computers that automatically record the weights for the trucks and the amount of materials in them. Once the trucks have unloaded, recyclables are pushed onto a 30-foot long conveyor system that feeds elevated sorting equipment.

Delaware Governor Vetoes Bill that Sought to Repeal Deposit Bill

Delaware Gov. Jack Markell has vetoed House Bill 201, which sought to repeal the state’s redemption bill for beverage containers. Currently, residents pay a 5 cent deposit on beverage containers purchased in Delaware.

"This bill as written, without additional consumer protections or a plan to improve our recycling rate, does not move us forward," Markell says. "I am hopeful that by working cooperatively with many interested participants, we can, in fact, move forward."

Markell says HB 201 does not offer any alternative to ensure the recycling of beverage containers in the state would continue.

"While the Bottle Bill does help reduce litter and promote recycling, the problems with this 29-year-old initiative are notable. The use of plastic bottles in lieu of glass has grown significantly, but very few plastic bottles are returned," he says.

"Cans are no longer included within the law’s scope, and the program is otherwise cumbersome and costly to administer for retailers," Markell continues. "There is also very little accountability in this program, so its effectiveness is difficult to measure. If one assumes a 30 percent return rate for glass bottles, this equates to 70 percent of the deposits being collected not being returned to consumers. In the end, consumers are paying for a recycling initiative that is not very effective."

He adds, "Although I am sympathetic to those who argue that the current Bottle Bill system is broken, I am committed to doing what I can to ensure that we replace it with something better."

Markell has directed Secretary Collin O’Mara of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control and Alan Levin, the director of the Delaware Economic Development Office, to work with Rep. John J. Viola, a proponent of House Bill 201, other members of the General Assembly, beverage distributors and retailers and the environmental community to examine how beverage bottles are distributed, sold, returned and recycled. "My hope is that we can propose a workable solution when the General Assembly returns in January 2010," Markell says.