The U.S. House of Representatives today passed landmark climate change and energy legislation that recognizes waste-to-energy as a climate-friendly, renewable energy source.  The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (H.R. 2454) was approved with a 219-212 vote. This major legislation establishes a renewable energy standard which defines waste-to-energy as renewable and establishes a greenhouse gas cap-and-trade system which recognizes the net greenhouse gas reductions associated with waste-to-energy.

Waste & Recycling News published a letter to the editor by Ted Michaels of the Energy Recovery Council responding to a skewed guest perspective published the previous issue.  Much misinformation circulates with respect to waste-to-energy and often times it is based on outdated information or is intentionally skewed to support a pre-determined position.  It is important that opinions and decisions be based on accurate information, which the letter to the editor lays out.

Please read the letter to the editor in Waste & Recycling News here, or download the original letter here.

The Energy Recovery Council today commented on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's proposed rule on the mandatory reporting of greenhouse gas emissions.  The rule calls for covered sources emitting over 25,000 tons of CO2e per year to report their emissions of greenhouse gases.  While the ERC recognizes the importance of accurately reporting greenhouse gas emissions, the rule establishes precedents that will impose onerous requirements on the waste-to-energy sector or that will lead to the reporting of misleading or inaccurate information.  Click here to download the ERC comments which detail the greenhouse gas reducing benefits of waste-to-energy and recommend changes that ensure EPA programs focused on either the reporting, inventorying, or reduction of greenhouse gas emissions accurately reflect the specific greenhouse gas reducing properties of waste-to-energy.

The Energy Recovery Council wrote to Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman and ranking member Lisa Murskowski today to offer its support for an amendment filed by Senator Ron Wyden to include waste-to-energy as a renewable resource in the renewable energy standard (RES).  The Energy and Natural Resources Committee is scheduled to mark up the RES on June 4 and Wyden's amendment would ensure that waste-to-energy receives proper recognition as a renewable energy source, consistent with other federal and state laws. 

A newly released report entitled "A Compatibility Study: Recycling and Waste-to-Energy Work in Concert, A 2009 Update" shows that waste-to-energy and recycling continue to work hand-in-hand in communities across America.  In this June 2009 report, Eileen Berenyi of Governmental Advisory Associates concludes that communities nationwide using waste-to-energy have an aggregate recycling rate at least 5 percentage points above the national average.