The company, Macon-Bibb County and the Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority have ended discussions about constructing a plastics recycling plant in the area.

San Fransisco-based Brightmark and Georgia’s Macon-Bibb County and the Macon-Bibb Industrial Authority have terminated their plans to build a $680 million plastics recycling facility.

"Macon-Bibb County, the Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority and Brightmark have mutually agreed to end discussions around building a plastic recycling plant in Macon. We have no further comment at this time,” a spokesperson for the company tells Recycling Today. 

The mayor’s office and the Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority have not responded to Recycling Today’s request for comments.

In June of last year, Brightmark announced its plans to build a 5.3 million-square-foot site that would use the company’s proprietary plastics renewal process, a form of chemical recycling using pyrolysis, to recycle Nos. 1-7 plastics, including flexible packing and plastic film, expanded polystyrene, plastic beverage cups, car seats and children’s toys, that have reached the end of their useful lives. Brightmark planned to convert this material into fuels, wax and the building blocks for new plastics using technology developed by RES Polyflow, formerly of Chagrin, Ohio. Brightmark acquired in RES Polyflow and its chemical recycling technology for mixed plastics in late 2018.

Brightmark has a plant in Ashley, Indiana, that it says will divert 100,000 tons of plastic from landfills, waterways and incinerators annually, converting it into 18 million gallons of ultra-low sulfur renewable diesel fuel and naphtha blend stocks and 6 million gallons of wax. The company invested $260 million in the Ashley facility, which it broke ground on in 2019 and is still not fully operational.

Reuters reports that Brightmark missed a deadline to deliver "end product" to customers from its Ashley plant, which was a condition of its contract with the Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority.

According to The Macon Newsroom, which says it acquired the termination contract through an open records request, “In late December, Brightmark admitted to the authority it failed to meet the deadline to prove its facility in the upper Midwest was able to deliver the recycled end-product to another user, which was a condition of the sale.”

Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority had considered issuing $500 million in revenue bonds for Brightmark to start this project in 2023. 

However, The Macon Newsroom reports that environmental groups began lobbying against the plant last fall, with some representatives who attended the virtual bond hearing in November raising concerns about potential detrimental impacts of the plant.

Earlier this year, Lester Miller, mayor of the Macon-Bibb County consolidated government, withdrew his support for the project. According to a report from WMAZ-TV, Macon, Georgia, Miller wrote a letter to the chairman of the Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority Jan. 7 saying he “cannot ignore the long-term safety concerns of this unproven process that have been raised in the last several weeks.”

Florida-based hauling company says it is on track to award its drivers generously for safety this year.

Longwood, Florida-based Waste Pro says it is on pace to award more than $1 million in company driver and helper safety awards this year.

“As driver shortages continue to impact the waste industry, Waste Pro has celebrated its dedicated team of drivers and helpers who prioritize service to our customers and continue to make safety a priority,” states the firm.

In 2021, more than 100 drivers and helpers earned either the $10,000 award, which is offered to drivers, and the $5,000 award, which is offered to helpers. In total, since 2014 Waste Pro has awarded approximately $7 million since the program’s inception.

Waste Pro says it began offering its $10,000 Driver Safety Award in 2004 and the $5,000 Helper Safety Award in 2019. To date, more than 500 drivers and helpers have earned the awards, with some of them having earned them multiple times. Thus, more than 700 awards have been distributed.

Angel Veloz, a driver in the Ft. Myers, Florida, division, currently holds the Waste Pro record of having earned five consecutive $10,000 Safety Awards, most recently in 2021.

“In an industry that has been particularly hit hard by a labor shortage – which has been exacerbated by the pandemic – recognizing our hard-working employees has been more important than ever,” says WastePro president and CEO Sean Jennings.

He continues, “The coveted Safety Award is just one way we continue to celebrate our safety culture and our Waste Pros' accomplishments. We have also implemented additional retention bonuses and are proud that our compensation range from frontline to executive is the smallest gap compared to any of our peers, public or private.”

Waste Pro’s Hilton Head, South Carolina, division recently celebrated the company’s first $10,000 Safety Award Winner of 2022, Leon Davis. It is his second time earning the award.

Likewise, helper Emanuel Edmonson of the Sarasota/Bradenton, Florida, division, recently earned his second $5,000 Helper Award. He also was Waste Pro’s first helper to earn the award when the program started in 2019.

To earn the award, drivers must go three years without an at-fault accident, injury or incident causing property damage; have a record of excellent customer service; maintain a well-kept truck; and have a strong attendance record. Helpers must meet similar requirements to be eligible for the $5,000 award, says Waste Pro.

The proposal was introduced on April 7 and will be decided on April 25.

The Central Tennessee Regional Solid Waste Board, which oversees how waste is handled in Rutherford County, Tennesse, is considering new legislation that would prohibit the acceptance of trash from outside counties.  

The resolution, introduced by Rutherford County Representative Donna Barrett, was proposed on April 7. The board will have a public hearing on the matter on April 25, and the board will vote on the proposal following the hearing. The resolution will prevent waste from nine counties from going into the Middle Point Landfill, operated by Republic Services, Phoenix.  

“Tennessee has a goal of reducing waste that goes into our landfills by about 25 percent annually,” Barrett says. “I think any opportunity we have to cause the action that makes that change, we should take it.”  

In February, the board had previously voted to deny the expansion of the Middle Point Landfill, the main landfill in Rutherford County. With this new resolution, officials hope it will improve the amount of trash within the landfill by attempting to reduce 25 percent of the number of solid waste produced.  

Barrett says that about 70 percent of the waste that goes into the Middle Point landfill is from outside counties. The biggest contributor to this statistic is Davidson County, which contributes to about 46 percent of the waste being accepted at the landfill. Davidson is followed by Sumner County, which contributed 4.29 percent, Wilson at 4.04 percent and Williamson at 3.29 percent.  

Accepting the outside waste has created hazardous chemical reactions at Middle Point, forcing sections of the landfill to close prematurely.  

The resolution is based on the Solid Waste Management Act of 1991. The Act states that regions cannot prohibit acceptance of waste from outside if a landfill agreed to accept it before July 1, 1991. However, if acceptance of outside waste significantly impairs the region's plan, it could then consider banning it.  

If approved, the resolution will take effect no later than December 31, 2022. 

A widespread push for environmental compliance has put increased accountability on waste, recycling processors.

A growing expectation for environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting has made waves through state legislatures across the U.S., with many practices in the waste and recycling industries becoming a major topic of discussion.

Given the sector’s role in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG)—landfills being the third-largest source of methane emissions in the nation—waste facilities are increasingly being called upon to adopt emission mitigation protocols and to forge new relationships with surrounding communities.

At this year’s C&D World, hosted by the Construction & Demolition Recycling Association (CDRA), based in Chicago, ESG and environmental justice (EJ) trends were a pressing subject for the conference’s diverse audience of C&D professionals.

“If the state you’re in hasn’t targeted [carbon emissions], they’re likely going to,” said Chris Whitehead, air practice lead for New Jersey-based Enviro-Sciences of Delaware Inc. and C&D World speaker for a session titled “EJ/ESG: Collaborating with Your Local Community.”

During his presentation, Whitehead explained how the widespread push for environmental compliance has put increased pressure on the solid waste industry to take a closer look at its impact on air quality.

More and more states have begun to propose EJ action bills, including Massachusetts, California, Vermont, Illinois and Georgia. In New Jersey, the state made headlines for the passing of a landmark EJ law in the fall of 2020, which has been described as the “strongest law of its kind” in the U.S.

The legislation, known as S232, requires the state Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to evaluate the environmental and public health impacts on vulnerable communities when reviewing permit applications for certain new facilities, such as power plants, incinerators, sewage plants, landfills and more.

“In September 2020, New Jersey Gov. [John] Murphy signed what’s been called one of the most progressive, or gold standard, radical justice rules that has ever come of that … but New Jersey is not the only one [implementing these laws] and there are more to follow us,” Whitehead said.

While many of the proposed environmental compliance laws within state legislatures are still in their infancy, Whitehead noted it is never too early to begin planning for future regulations.

“Every state who is [pursuing an EJ or ESG] law will first form an action group to discuss various mapping capabilities and different [community] stressors, and they want to study this … [In New Jersey], every site is required to do a geographic point of comparison test and take their projected impacts judged against the 80th percentile of non-overt communities,” he said. “If the site’s impact is over the 80th percentile, [NJDEP] has the authority to impose permit conditions concerning the operation of the facility.”

“If you’re talking to the NJDEP, they’re trying to tell you [these regulations] are in no way anti-business and that they are just trying to clean up the environment … but there’s a lot of uncertainty hanging over this,” Whitehead added.

While there has been hesitancy from facility operators surrounding the potential for EJ and ESG laws to hinder C&D recycling operations, state and federal governments have faced increased pressure from communities and environmental groups to better regulate emissions.

In fact, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently revealed a draft rule March 21 that could require U.S.-listed companies to disclose a range of climate-related risks and GHG emissions, known as Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. The proposed legislation—part of President Biden’s push to join global efforts to avert climate-related catastrophes—would also require companies to disclose GHG generated by suppliers and partners, known as Scope 3 emissions, if they are material or included in any emissions targets the company has set.

Described by the CDRA as “the most stringent path” the SEC could take in regard to proposed emission guidelines, some believe it has the potential to pave a path to where private recycling businesses could be requested to divulge climate risks and emissions data by publicly-held customers.

The draft proposal, subject to public feedback, is likely to be finalized later this year, as reported by Reuters. 

The company says the machine combines the advantages of telescopic handler and wheel loader.

Sennebogen, Straubing, Germany, is expanding its multiline product line with its second model, the 3.40 G.   

According to a news release from Sennebogen, the little brother of the established 355 E has now been developed as an addition to the multiline portfolio for use as a telescopic handler and as a multifunctional machine. The machine has compact dimensions of 18 feet in length and just under 8 feet in width. The stacking height of the telescopic boom is 25 feet. The machine offers unique stability with a long wheelbase of 10 feet and a low center of gravity of the entire machine at an operating weight of 9.3 tons.  

Throughout the design and construction of all components, the company says special attention was paid to the requirements of multishift operations in tough material handling. A high-strength, solid steel frame and sophisticated design of the telescopic boom ensure that the forces occurring in loading operation are optimally absorbed by the body. This ensures the reliability and durability of the machine, even in demanding continuous operation, Sennebogen says.  

The telescopic handler is equipped with a 100-kilowatt diesel engine in emissions category V and can reach speeds of up to 24 miles per hour with its stepless traction drive, according to the manufacturer. The operator can choose from two further modes in addition to road mode, stacker mode and loading mode.  

In the 4-ton class, the Sennebogen 3.40 G is aimed at customers with demanding material handling tasks, such as recyclers. It is also aimed at sectors like biogas plants or contractors in agriculture and municipal services. It can be equipped with a variety of attachments, from buckets to sweeping brushes and snow blades. The machine's infinitely variable travel drive with Compact Drive transmission ensures fast driving or high torque with traction and thrust, depending on requirements.  

The company says the 3.40 G can be configured to suit almost any requirement. A wide variety of optional equipment is available, ranging from the automatic central lubrication system for optimal serviceability to the compressed-air brake system for trailer operation or tire variants, depending on the area of application.