–Forwarded from Ron White–

The Recycling Equipment Grant package and the Used Oil Grant solicitation package are ready and available for FY 2008-2009.

Criteria and the application may be found at www.state.tn.us/environment/swm/grants

If you have any questions call Ronald White at 615-532-4967 or Larry Christley at 615-532-0744

Historically, diesel fuel prices were half the price of gasoline.  Yet in today’s market, diesel is climbing higher relative to increased prices for gasoline.  As diesel prices pass the $4.oo mark, those of us with municipal fleets or VW’s are starting to feel the pinch!

Here is a link to a brochure published by the Energy Information Administration.  This brochure is scheduled for revision in May of 2008, however the 2007 publication describes the infrastructure of the diesel market and how this impacts consumers.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/bookshelf/brochures/diesel/

This same brochure suggests visiting the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, to read how businesses are approaching calculation and implementation of fuel surcharges.

(http://www.ooida.com/Swimming_sharks/more_swimming_sharks.html)

No recommendation implied.

–From Chattanooga Times Free Press–

Chattanooga, TN - After the decision last year to scale back curbside recycling from weekly to monthly, Mayor Ron Littlefield said he wants the city to increase the service to twice-a-month pickup in a year.

The city will need to buy more environmentally friendly trucks for the expanded service, he said, and he plans in the upcoming capital budget to propose funding to buy the vehicles, although he acknowledged that he has no estimates on how much money will be needed.

“Just how we work our way into (twice-a-month pickup) is something that we have to plan for,” he said earlier this week.  Full article found here.

SERDC is a regional non profit focusing on uniting industry, government and non government organizations to promote sustainable recycling in the Southeast. The May newsletter is posted here.

Among the topics included in this issue —

• Alabama has passed a bill to increase recycling efforts. House Bill 395, the Waste and Recyclable Materials Management Act, will levy a $1.00 per ton surcharge on the tipping fee at landfills. The fee is expected to generate approximately $7.6 million annually which will be used n part to support the enhancement of local recycling efforts.
• Virginia addresses computer recovery & recycling through the Computer Recovery and Recycling Act. This Act will require the manufacturer of more than 500 items of computer equipment to adopt and implement a recovery plan providing for the reasonably convenient collection, recycling, and reuse of computer equipment returned by a consumer in the Commonwealth. The provisions of this Act become effective on July 1, 2009.

 Governor Phil Bredesen and Department of Environment and Conservation Commissioner Jim Fyke announced today that 29 used oil collection grants totaling $468,335 have been awarded to establish, upgrade and expand used oil collection centers in communities across Tennessee.  See this link for a listing of grant recipients.

–Forwarded from Louis Bordenave, TDEC–

Tennessee businesses interested in upgrading the level of energy efficiency in their buildings and improvements in their manufacturing processes may qualify for low-interest loans of up to $300,000 through the Small Business Energy Loan Program. These loans are available for those businesses with fewer than 300 employees or less then $3.5 million in annual gross sales or receipts.

Under the program’s guidelines, all renewable energy technologies, including landfill gas, are eligible. Projects funded under the loan must involve an existing building. In other words, the loan will only finance energy efficient measures that are part of an existing building that an applicant uses in their operations. For instance, a new pipeline would not be financed, but perhaps the cost and installation of new fixtures in the building that would use the gas could be financed.

The loan is offered by the Tennessee Energy Division and has a maximum term of seven years. It is available with a zero percent interest rate for businesses in the Three-Star and Main Street Communities. For all other businesses, a three percent interest rate applies.

Free energy audits are available to help interested companies identify potential opportunities for increased energy efficiency. Loan amounts vary by project.

For More Information
Contact:
Clinton Berry, III
Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development
Energy Division
312 Eighth Avenue North- 10th Floor
Nashville, Tennessee 37243

615-253-1943
Fax: 615-741-5070
E-mail: clinton.berry@state.tn.us

Web site: http://www.state.tn.us/ecd/energy_sbel.htm

–From EPA Region IV Environmental Stewardship News–

National Recycling Coalition, with support from The Coca-Cola Company, opens its next round of grants in Spring 2008, through the Recycling Bin Grant Program. The program supports local community recycling programs by providing bins for collecting beverage container recyclables in public settings. The grant program is open to government, civic, school, non-profit organizations and for-profit companies. Interested parties fill out an online application describing their proposal, justifying the need and specifying the bin types they are interested in from a pre-selected menu of options. The grants are awarded on a competitive basis to proposals likely to have the greatest impact on increasing beverage container recycling. The online application for the Spring 2008 cycle will be open for submissions beginning Monday, March 3, 2008, and will close Friday, April 4, 2008. Recipients will be announced on Earth Day, April 22, 2008. For more information about the grant program or to apply, visit the program website at http://www.bingrant.org

MSW magazine highlighted benefits and strategies for choosing the right grinding equipment for a municipal wood waste program. See the link to the full article here. Murfreesboro street and mulching operations manager Joey Smith is interviewed in this article and talks about their equipment and interlocal agreements with Rutherford County and the other nearby municipalities.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 11, 2008
(615) 532-0929

BREDESEN ANNOUNCES $424,000 IN RECYCLING EQUIPMENT GRANTS
GRANTS WILL HELP 20 TENNESSEE COMMUNITIES MEET WASTE REDUCTION GOALS

Nashville, Tenn. - Governor Phil Bredesen and Environment and Conservation Commissioner Jim Fyke announced today that 20 recycling equipment grants have been awarded for projects to help reduce landfill waste across Tennessee. These grants total more than $424,000.

Im pleased we can provide funding to support the waste reduction efforts these 20 grants represent, Bredesen said. This program plays an important role in our states strategy to encourage recycling and to reduce the amount of solid waste that goes into landfills in Tennessee.

Recycling equipment grants may be used to purchase equipment for new recycling programs, improve and expand the operation of an existing site or prepare recyclable materials for transport and marketing. Grants may be awarded to counties, cities, non-profit recycling organizations and solid waste authorities across Tennessee to help reach or exceed the goals set forth in the Solid Waste Management Act of 1991. Each recipient is required to match the state grant on a sliding scale basis. Local matching funds toward these 20 projects total nearly $199,000.

The grant program was authorized by the Solid Waste Management Act of 1991 and is supported from the Tennessee Solid Waste Management Fund that is administered by the Department of Environment and Conservation. The fund receives its revenues from a state surcharge on each ton of solid waste disposed in landfills and from a fee on new tires sold in the state.

The recycling equipment grants announced today include:

More information about recycling equipment grants may be found on the Department of Environment and Conservations Web site at this link.

The 2008 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency CARE Cooperative
Agreement Request for Proposals (RFP) is now available on-line at:
http://www.epa.gov/air/grants_funding.html#0802
This year the application time line has been extended to 3 months and
the deadline is March 17, 2008.

The CARE website has additional information related to the CARE RFP,
including our upcoming Q&A Webcasts, so also visit:
http://www.epa.gov/CARE

About the CARE RFP
Around $3 million will be available in 2008 to support community-based
partnerships to reduce pollution at the local level through the
Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE) program.

EPA anticipates awarding CARE cooperative agreements in two levels.
Level I cooperative agreements range from $75,000 to $100,000 and will
help establish community-based partnerships to develop local
environmental priorities. Level II awards, ranging from $150,000 to
$300,000 each, will support communities which have established
broad-based partnerships, have identified the priority toxic risks in
the community, and are prepared to measure results, implement risk
reduction activities, and become self-sustaining. In 2007, $3.4 million
in cooperative agreements were made available to more than 20
communities through the CARE program, a community-based,
community-driven program that builds partnerships to help the public
understand and reduce toxic risks from numerous sources. Examples of
projects include addressing abandoned, contaminated industrial and
residential properties in Gary, Ind., dealing with agriculture-related
toxics in Yakima County, Wash., and reducing air emissions from diesel
trucks and buses in Woonsocket, R.I. Since 2005, the grants to reduce
toxics in the environment have reached almost 50 communities in over 20
states.

Applications for the CARE grants are due March 17, 2008. Eligible
applicants include county and local governments, tribes, non-profit
organizations and universities. EPA will conduct three conference
calls, Jan. 18, Feb. 11 and 27, for prospective applicants to ask
questions about the application process.

Additional information about the CARE program, previous cooperative
agreement recipients, and applying for the 2008 grants is available at:
http://www.epa.gov/care

*************************************************************
CARE Request for Proposals Q&A Webcast (also available on
http://www.epa.gov/care)

The CARE program will conduct three national information sessions for
cooperative agreement applicants via national Internet seminars, or
Webcasts, in January and February 2008.

January 18, 2008 12:30 - 2:00 p.m. eastern time

February 11, 2008 1:00 - 12:30 p.m. eastern time

February 27, 2008 10:00 - 12:00 a.m. eastern time

To register for the upcoming CARE Internet Seminar for either of the
above dates, please go to:
http://www.cluin.org/studio/seminar.cfm.