Under the Wire

FLOW CONTROL BILL ADVANCES

The controversial issue of whether or not municipalities should be granted solid waste flow control faces a new twist, as a new Senate bill would allow some exceptions to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1994 Carbone vs. Clarkstown, N.Y., ruling that solid wastes are a commodity that the public sector cannot control.

On May 19 the U.S. Senate voted 94 to 6 in favor of instituting S. 534, instituting a grandfather clause for any municipality that had flow control policies in place May 15, 1994, as well as facilities that had already begun either the permitting of a new facility or had sold bonds to build a facility. The clause would be applicable for the length of the bond, an average of 30 years, and would apply to any garbage and recyclable material voluntarily relinquished.

The bill was introduced by Sen. Bob Smith, (R-N.H.). A similar bill just passed the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Hazardous Material, chaired by Rep. Michael Oxley (R-OH). There hasn’t been any timetable set for the vote by the full Committee, chaired by Rep. Thomas Bliley (R-Va.).

SAN DIEGO CLOSES MRF

The controversial San Diego materials recovery facility, which cost close to $150 million, will soon shut its doors. The MRF, which opened less than two years ago, was initially heralded as an exemplary system to allow for the collection of recyclables and solid waste. The plant was originally designed to shred solid waste for fuel, but the adjoining power plant was never built, and the plant’s design made processing materials too expensive for the county Board of Supervisors to continue operation. The county now plans to buy out the owner of the plant, Thermo Electron Corp., Waltham, Mass., and take on the facility’s debt.

STEEL GAINS #1 SLOT IN FLORIDA

Steel cans are the most recycled package in Florida, according to the state’s Department of Environmental Protection. As part of implementing Florida’s Advanced Disposal Fee, the DEP reviews recycling rates for individual packaging materials on an annual basis and confirmed that steel cans were recycled at a 64.4 percent rate in 1994. This is more than 10 percent higher than the next closest packaging, the aluminum beverage can. Floridians recycled more than 70,000 tons of steel cans in 1994, including food cans and empty paint and aerosol containers, through curbside, drop off and buyback recycling programs across the "Sunshine State."

WMX TECHNOLOGIES GOES ONLINE

WMX Technologies, Oak Brook, Ill., has announced the publication and availability of its fifth annual environmental report. WMX claims to be the first U.S. company to offer an environmental report on the Internet global communications network.

The WMX Internet address is http:/www.wmx.com. The report is also available in printed form, and a more detailed version is available on diskette.

For five years, WMX has publicly reported on its environmental initiatives. This year’s highlights include the creation and restoration of 2.4 acres of wetlands for every acre filled by the company and updated recycling statistics on customers served, materials processed and facilities operated by the company.