Category: News

The ERP Consortium website has been redesigned and updated!  Check it out, bookmark it, and let us know what you think.

In an era of declining government resources and expanding pollution concerns, government agencies have developed innovative approaches, like ERP to address these challenges.  ERP is an integrated system of:

• Plain-language compliance assistance that promotes pollution prevention;
• Facility self-audit and compliance certification;
• Agency inspections to verify certifications and assess performance; and
• Statistically-based performance measurement.

The States ERP Consortium was formed to help environmental agencies learn about and implement ERP tools through:

• Networking;
• Developing and coordinating policy; and
• Educating and communicating with ERP stakeholders.

Visitors to the website can expect to find:

• Fact sheets describing ERP and its benefits and the ERP Consortium;
• Guidance and tools for conducting an ERP;
• Reports on the results of ERP Projects;
• Calendar of upcoming events and PowerPoint slides from past events;
• Links to useful information resources;
• Summary of ERP activities in individual states;
• Descriptions of other new compliance strategies, particularly those  targeting small and medium-sized business sectors; and
• Contacts for more information.

Visit – www.erpstates.org

The Chair of the States ERP Consortium is Amy Williams, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment:  amy.williams@state.co.us.  The Consortium is managed by the Northeast Waste Management Officials’ Association (NEWMOA) with funding from the U.S. EPA.  For more information or to provide comments and feedback on the website, contact Jennifer Griffith at (617) 367-8558 x303 or jgriffith@newmoa.org.

SOURCE: Call2Recycle

Call2Recycle cites banner year for Canada and California

ATLANTA (February 4, 2013) – North American battery collections increased 16 percent from 2011 to a record 10 million pounds (4.7 million kilograms) in 2012, reported by Call2Recycle, a product stewardship organization managing the only no-cost battery and cellphone collection program in North America.

The organization attributes its success to closing a banner year in California and Canada, both which collected over one million pounds. California became the first state in program history to achieve this milestone. The 11 percent statewide growth came from the municipal and manufacturing sectors, which increased by 23 percent and 24 percent, respectively.
Continue reading Battery Recycling Program Reports Double Digit Collections in 2012

Improving housing quality can dramatically affect the health of residents

WASHINGTON – Several federal agencies today unveiled Advancing Healthy Housing – A Strategy for Action. White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Chair Nancy Sutley, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Shaun Donovan, Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, M.D., and Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman discussed the new plan during an event at the National Building Museum this morning.

The initiative represents a bold new vision for addressing the nation’s health and economic burdens caused by preventable hazards associated with the home. The Strategy for Action encourages federal agencies to take preemptive actions that will help reduce the number of American homes with health and safety hazards.
Continue reading Federal Agencies Working to Make Homes Healthier

Source: Waste & Recycling News.com

In an effort to increase recycling, Clark County, Nev., commissioners are considering a switch to single-stream recycling instead of the three-bin system residents currently use.

Backed by Republic Services, which handles trash and recycling for the county, a proposed ordinance would change trash collection from twice weekly to once a week and recycling collection from biweekly to once a week, the Las Vegas Sun reported. Residents would be provided with one bin for all of their recyclables.

The ordinance was introduced to the Clark County Commission Jan. 22. A public hearing on the matter was set for Feb. 5.

Source: Environmental Leader.com

Nearly half of the 55 Apple suppliers that underwent a focused environmental audit last year violated the company’s standards and were cited in the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs pollution database, according to the tech company’s annual supply chain progress report.

Apple’s Supplier Responsibility Progress Report, a 37-page report detailing the results of audits covering labor, human rights, health, safety and the environment, found a string of environmental violations of its Suppliers Code of Conduct.

The report revealed 147 facilities were not properly storing, moving or handling chemicals. For example, some facilities didn’t provide anti-leakage protection or provide separate storage for incompatible chemicals.

Some 85 facilities failed to label hazardous waste storage locations and chemical containers, while 119 facilities lacked management procedures for labeling hazardous waste.

The report also outlined wastewater and stormwater management issues, and found that 96 facilities failed to adequately monitor and control air emissions.

Apple found only one breach it labelled as a “core violation”: a supplier intentionally dumping waste cutting oil into a restroom receptacle.

If a core violation creates serious impacts to the environment, Apple requires suppliers to shut down processes. The supplier is given 90 days to resolve the problem. Third-party experts, such as the IPE or local NGOs, validate the findings and any corrective actions taken by the supplier, Apple said.

Apple also has made a commitment to only use conflict-free minerals. The tech company has mapped its supply chain for conflict minerals and actively surveys suppliers to confirm their smelter sources. As of December 2012, Apple had identified 211 smelters and refiners from which its suppliers source tin, tantalum, tungsten or gold.

Last month, a Verdantix report reviewing 12 consumer electronics companies found that Apple, Dell and HP do a better job disclosing environmental issues in their supply chains than companies headquartered in Asia, including Canon, Panasonic and Samsung.

The report found that companies such as Canon, Hitachi and Samsung are not only failing to disclose their environmental supply chain issues but are also not auditing and engaging their suppliers to the same extent as the leading US firms.

Source: U.S. EPA Region 9 Pacific Southwest

On November 5, 2012, EPA issued an Approval (permit) for US Ecology to operate a commercial PCB storage and chemical waste landfill facility (“Facility”).  The Approval, which will be valid for ten years, allows US Ecology to continue (1) commercial storage of PCB wastes; (2) treatment of PCB wastes in two stabilization tanks for final disposal; and (3) disposal of PCBs in the Trench 11 landfill.  The Approval also authorizes PCB disposal in the Trench 12 landfill which has been receiving hazardous wastes since 2008 under a hazardous waste permit issued by the State of Nevada.

The Approval is being issued pursuant to Section 6(e)(1) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (“TSCA”) of 1976, 15 U.S.C. § 2605(e)(1), and 40 C.F.R. Part 761.

EPA has concluded, based on a thorough review of the record, that this Approval satisfies the TSCA requirements for storage and disposal of PCBs. EPA has also concluded that PCB operations at the Facility do not pose an unreasonable risk of injury to human health or the environment. For more details on EPA’s conclusions, see “Requirements Satisfied” section below.

Read the U.S. EPA fact sheet here.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9, San Francisco, California PCB Approval Decision and Response to Public Comments report