Today's Topics:
Benefits of Regulations
Consolidation in Solid Waste
Year-End Edition
Send Replies or notes for publication to: <greenyes@UCSD.Edu>
Send subscription requests to: <greenyes-Digest-Request@UCSD.Edu>
Problems you can't solve otherwise to postmaster@ucsd.edu.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------=
--- Loop-Detect: GreenYes:98/164 ----------------------------------------------------------------------Date: Wed, 19 Aug 1998 09:45:29 -0500 From: "RecycleWorlds" <anderson@msn.fullfeed.com> Subject: Benefits of Regulations
fyi ** REGULATORY REFORM ** Benefits of Regulations Outweigh Costs By at Least $34 Billion, OMB Report Says. Daily Environment Report, August 18, 1998, ppA- 1-2. The White House Office of Management and Budget has just released a report that shows that the benefits of federal regulations outweigh the costs by a margin of billions, if not trillions, of dollars. The report compiles the analyses of federal agencies that estimate the costs and benefits of the rules that they promulgate. This report shows markedly different results than those that were released in a 1997 report. The 1997 report had concluded that the costs and benefits of federal regulation nearly canceled each other out. The 1998 report found that the benefits outweigh costs by a margin of $34 billion to as much as $3.38 trillion. This wide range attests to the difficulties of quantifying benefits from regulation. One factor contributing to the large amount of benefit was the Environmental Protection Agency's finding that the benefits of Clean Air Act regulations could add up to $3.2 trillion each year. OMB is accepting comments on the report before it is submitted to Congress on September 30. The report is available on the Internet at http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/EOP/OMB/html/fedreg.html. ____________________________________ Peter Anderson RecycleWorlds Consulting 4513 Vernon Blvd. Ste. 15 Madison, WI 53705-4964 Phone:(608) 231-1100/Fax: (608) 233-0011 E-mail:recycle@msn.fullfeed.com
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 19 Aug 1998 09:57:40 -0500 From: "RecycleWorlds" <anderson@msn.fullfeed.com> Subject: Consolidation in Solid Waste
Since the approval last month by US Department of Justice of the USA Waste/Waste Management merger (subject to $275 million of divestitures), two major acquisitions have occurred by national consolidators of major regional consolidators.
Allied Waste purchased American Disposal Services (midwest) and the new Waste Management acquired Eastern Environmental Services (east coast) this month.
Presumably, if Wall Street continues to provide ready access to capital through high stock valuations of this second-generation of national consolidators, the endgame will be sooner than the two-to three years that many analysts had previously anticipated.
The first sign of the success of this endgame in areas without low priced publicly owned landfills will be a reversal of sagging disposal fees due to overcapacity, followed immediately by higher hauling prices (above the small increases being seen in the GNP price deflator).
According to the Wall Street Journal, J. Bailey, "Waste Management to Buy East Coast Hauler," (Aug 18 '98):
"[New Waste Management CEO John] Drury said he is hoping that, with some weaker companies gone from the industry in recent years and continuing consolidation, disposal prices can be increased without losing customers. The disposal glut for most of the 1990s caused dumping prices to plunge, cutting into industry profits." ____________________________________ Peter Anderson RecycleWorlds Consulting 4513 Vernon Blvd. Ste. 15 Madison, WI 53705-4964 Phone:(608) 231-1100/Fax: (608) 233-0011 E-mail:recycle@msn.fullfeed.com
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 19 Aug 1998 13:19:09 -0400 From: Michele Raymond <michele@raymond.com> Subject: Year-End Edition
Hello Green Yesers
#1: Here is the release on the Year-End Edition, since you seem interested. The new Year-End shipped this week, finally!! NEWS Contact: Michele Raymond SRLU Year End Report: 301-345-4237 States Concerned About Electronics Waste
A new survey published this week the 1998 STATE RECYCLING LAWS UPDATE YEAR-END EDITION finds that the majority of state recycling managers are concerned about electronics in the waste stream, and that banning certain items from landfills might be an effective driver to push recycling. Preliminary results of the state survey done annually by Raymond Communications, Inc., College Park, MD, found that 31 of 39 state managers had concerns about electronics waste, though only four expected any legislation or regulation in the next three years on the topic. Massachusetts has already proposed a regulation to ban cathode ray tubes from landfills and incinerators. Of 28 state managers responding to the question of landfill bans, 21 felt landfill bans of certain electronics would help, eight thought it would not. The survey also found 28 states reporting significant job creation from the recycling industry, though only 14 states could quantify how many jobs.=20 South Dakota reported the highest landfill diversion rate of any state this year =97 the state has reduced its per-capita landfilled waste= 42% since 1993. Other high diversion states include Iowa, California, Vermont, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Missouri, and Tennessee. As for how best to improve recycling, which has leveled off in the last few years, state officials only agreed on one issue: public education, according to SRLU publisher Michele Raymond. "Local governments do seem to want federal leadership," she comments. "But whose job is it to educate the public? At present, all the economic "drivers" push against recycling in the U.S. (e.g. low landfill costs, cheap energy, inexpensive virgin materials) and mass media exhorts us to consume more and more stuff."=20 Outlook (from the Executive Summary): Interest remains high in deposits - even though it is apparent that recycling managers know deposits will not address the larger recycling issues, interest in expanding the deposit is still high in California, Oregon and Massachusetts. In the last two sessions, 38 deposit bills were dropped in the hopper =97 that is the most popular type of bill to= introduce, and despite terrible political odds, lawmakers continue to introduce them.= =20 Activists are getting funded - The Grass Roots Recycling Network recently got $130,000 in grants to create state organizing activities, and continue its research on virgin material subsidies. "People seem to think that recycling has been solved," comments executive director Bill Sheehan., who adds he is convinced industry will not act without at least threat of legislation, given that there are no other "drivers" in the U.S. like a shortage of landfill space. States are concerned about special wastes - Actions we've seen in 1998 indicate a willingness by state lawmakers to regulate special wastes, such as mercury-containing products. At the same time, there is as new but growing concern over electronics waste. Our survey showed a lot of moral support out there for producer responsibility for certain special wastes. Recycling Issues are not "solved" forever - Even though manufacturers don't get letters from children and retailers anymore, and even though "economics" has made recycling markets difficult for plastics and fine writing paper, it is folly to presume that "economics" is what drives today's consumers to put their bottles out. Because of politics, right or wrong, recycling is done voluntarily, and government trucks pick up the containers and newspapers. In the U.S., industry has been successful in fending off "mandates" in most cases, but there will continue to be a mismatch between what local governments pick up and what industry is willing to use (or willing to pay enough for) until something gives. Whether its a new fake "crisis" generated by the media, or attention to the flow control problem or grass roots success to re-focus attention on the issue, it would not take much to turn all these "private" opinions by the nation's most experienced recycling managers, to spill back into Legislatures when "trash" becomes an issue again.
Canadian Outlook: Industry apparently met the 25% waste reduction goal for packaging set in the National Packaging Protocol, and in fact has or will meet the 50% diversion rate. Canadian Provinces have been un-phased by industry's opposition to container deposits. In the 1997-98 period, three. Provinces moved to expanded their container deposits, meaning that six now have expanded deposits. Ontario has attempted to roll back regulation for industry, as its budgets get slashed from a deficit, but Toronto is battered by concerned over lost curbside subsidies, and the city continues its attempts to enact its own deposit, at least on wine bottles. Manitoba is mulling new fees on "junk mail" type paper and other packaged goods to spread the costs of its recycling program beyond beverage containers. . Despite a wave of conservative wins in the Legislatures, Canadians remain very supportive of recycling, even if it means more legislation.
The report covers 32 recycling issues, including packaging mandates, recycled content laws, green labeling, resin coding, landfill bans, heavy metals bans, tax incentives, purchasing preferences for recycled products, flow control of trash, durables recycling and composting. The report will feature a 50-state wrap-up of bills covering March 1997 through June 1998, summaries of existing laws, and eight tables of laws covering the U.S. and Canada.
The 140-page report is available by itself, or as part of a subscription to STATE RECYCLING LAWS UPDATE, published since 1992. Raymond Communications also publishes Recycling Laws International. Information, Raymond Communications, 5111 Berwyn Rd. #115, College Park, MD 20737; phone 301-345-4237, Fax 301-345-4768 web:http://www.raymond.com; Requests to Order or for sample issues: shirl@raymond.com' Questions:= michele@raymond.com The report will be available online as well; check the web site in September. Discounts for NRC members -- go to the web site at http://www.raymond.com -30-
Item #2: I am planning on doin a flow control story -- need names of local recycling managers hot by the issue.
Any recommendations>
Michele Raymond Publisher Michele Raymond Publisher Recycling Laws International/ State Recycling Laws Update 5111 Berwyn Rd. Ste 115 College Park, MD 20740) 301/345-4237 Fax 345-4768 http://www.raymond.com
------------------------------
End of GreenYes Digest V98 #164 ******************************