Free Lodging Offered to Residents near Odor-Troubled Missouri Landfill

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From WasteRecyclingNews.

Owners of a troubled, closed landfill in Missouri are offering to pay for lodging for area residents while work at the site is expected to increase odors in the weeks ahead.

Republic Services Inc. has been working to mitigate odors from the Bridgeton landfill near St. Louis and said this week it would provide temporary housing for certain area residents between May 20 and June 14.

“We want to be a good neighbor to those around us. That is why we have volunteered to cover the costs of temporary housing for residents who may be impacted by the odor,” said Tim Trost, an area president for Republic Services, in a statement.

About 270 households are being offered the relocation assistance while the company works on what it calls the reinforced concrete pipe abandonment project.

“This phase of the work focuses on eliminating odor conduits created by reinforced concrete pipes. It will also make the site safer for all onsite workers, and must be completed to prepare the landfill surface for an additional plastic cap on the south quarry,” the company said in a statement.

Republic Services, based in Phoenix, will pay hotel lodging, fees and taxes for local residents. Those electing to stay with a friend or relative will receive $125 per week as an “inconvenience payment,” the company said.

Republic Services has spent millions in an effort to control odors from the landfill, but the situation has gotten so bad that Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster has sued the company seeking an end to what he called “terrible, ongoing odor problems.”

1st Quarter 2013 Vegetation Report

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STAFF REPORT UPDATE ON RE-VEGETATION AT SUNSHINE CANYON CITY/COUNTY LANDFILL

Republic Services, Inc. (Republic) submitted the First Quarter 2013 Vegetation Project Status Report for the Sunshine Canyon City/County Landfill, dated April 30, 2013 (attached). The
Status Report is a requirement of Condition 18 of the Finding of Conformance granted to the Landfill by the Task Force on December 18, 2008.

The Status Report provides the progress of re-vegetation projects undertaken during the first quarter of 2013 as well as re-vegetation projects anticipated to be implemented during the
second quarter of 2013.

Update on County and City Sides 

  • Interim areas will be seeded, amended, or mulched in the latter part of 2013 to take advantage of winter rains.
  • Weed abatement was completed on a section of the south City area. Republic anticipates performing weed abatement as necessary and when weather permits.

Update on County Side

  • Conditions on the County Side sage mitigation area remain unchanged.
  • A substantial portion of the County-side mitigation area continues to be bare and problematic for vegetation to become established.

Update on City Side

  • In the pilot project area, the vegetation and soil surface layer on the lower deck has been cleared and the soil prepared for planting native vegetation. Soil amendments have been worked into the soil, and the irrigation system is in place.

If you have any questions, please contact me at (626) 458-2186, Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Zero Waste Doesn’t Mean Zero Haulers

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From WasteRecyclingNews.

As more of our nation’s cities move toward zero waste policies, the traditional hauling and disposal industry is faced with the tough decision: adapt or die.

“There’s a lot of room for the industry to continue to evolve,” said Jay Coalson, executive director of the Zero Waste Alliance. “I don’t think you have to look any further than Waste Management [Inc.] They are clearly transforming their business to be much more of a service provider around the waste stream than they are a waste hauler.”

While Waste Management is clearly not the only company adopting integrated waste management practices, there are still some waste companies that continue to rely on profits from landfill disposal rates and high waste volumes.

“If your business model is predicated on continued landfilling, you’re not going to be in business very long, you’re going to have to diversify,” said Walter Willis, executive director of the Solid Waste Agency of Lake County, Ill. “I think it’s the companies that are looking ahead, investing in the right technologies, that will continue to be successful or will be successful in the future.”

Many in the industry agree that, in a Continue reading →

Republic Services sees profits fall, improved business conditions in first quarter

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Republic Services Inc. saw revenue increase slightly during the first quarter as profits dipped for the nation’s second-largest solid waste management company.

The Phoenix-based firm earned $124.6 million, or 34 cents per diluted share, on revenue of $2 billion. That compares to earnings of $142.9 million, or 38 cents per diluted share, on revenue of $1.98 billion for the first quarter of 2012.

Excluding charges, expenses and benefits, net income would have been $167.4 million, or 46 cents per diluted share, for the first quarter of this year, and $140.9 million, or 38 cents per diluted share for the first quarter of last year, the company reported.

Stock analysts predicted revenue of $2 billion and earnings of 40 cents per share, on average, according to Yahoo Finance.

CEO Donald W. Slager, in a statement, said the company’s first quarter performance “reflects an overall improvement in business conditions. We saw sequential increases in core pricing, volume and margins, which drove our strong Q1 results. We continue to profitably grow our core business as evidenced by year-over-year increases in revenue, earnings and free cash flow.”

Shares of Republic Services were up 86 cents to $34.11 in trading at one point this morning, according to Yahoo Finance.

Teamsters at Republic Services/Allied Waste Extend Picket Lines To California

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From PR Newswire (via Yahoo.com)

Ohio Sanitation Landfill Workers On Unfair Labor Practice Strike Extend Picket Line To California On Anniversary of MLK Assassination

FREMONT, Calif., April 4, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Workers on strike at Republic Services/Allied Waste extended picket lines to five Northern California locations today, on the anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., who was killed in Memphis supporting striking waste workers.

“Forty-five years later, this giant trash corporation – Republic – has been bullying its workers by locking them out of their jobs without pay, withholding paychecks, and demanding contract concessions even though it makes hundreds of millions in profits each year,” said Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer Ken Hall.

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