Tag: Washington

May 20, 2024

On May 13th, the Washington State Department of Ecology announced a new methane emission rule (Chapter 173-408 WAC) for active and closed solid waste (MSW) landfills in their state. All affected landfills must meet the requirements starting January 1, 2025. […]

November 9, 2023

The Washington Department of Transportation’s computer systems are partially back online after a security incident this week disrupted its website and mobile apps. A disclaimer at the top of the department’s homepage reads, “Portions of the website and mobile app […]

July 17, 2023

The University of Washington has developed a new bioplastic that degrades in the same amount of time that a banana peel would. Using heat and pressure, researchers have successfully made bioplastics from powdered blue-green cyanobacteria cells, also known as spirulina. […]

February 16, 2023

Agovernment that the public does not trust is collecting more of its data than ever before. Recent landmark data-privacy laws — like the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation and the California Consumer Privacy Act — reveal a growing interest […]

October 18, 2022

Agriculture students from Wilmington College have made a trip to the national capitol to lobby for food waste to be put higher on our political leader’s agendas. The trip takes place as an annual project the program calls “ag-vocacy.” The […]

May 13, 2022

How Washington, D.C., reaches 2050 carbon neutrality could depend on the cost of renewable natural gas — which electrification advocates say is likely to be expensive. Washington Gas in 2020 filed a Climate Business Plan that called for using renewable […]

January 18, 2022

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) recently approved moveDC 2021, a goal-based strategic plan establishing a 25-year vision for the district’s multimodal transportation system. moveDC was developed in 2015. The update incorporates priorities from all eight wards and includes a […]

April 14, 2021

The amount of fraudulent unemployment insurance claims paid out by the State of Washington last year was likely far higher than the $647 million identified by state officials, and possibly as great as $1.1 billion, according to reports published Tuesday […]

March 25, 2021

Washington’s Sound Transit released a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) about three sites that they are considering for a light rail Operations and Maintenance Facility. One of the sites is the former Midway Landfill. If this site is chosen, it […]

March 8, 2021

Roosevelt, Washington hosts a large landfill, which is the source of pipeline-quality natural gas — enough for 19,000 homes to operate furnaces, stoves and water heaters daily. In other parts of the country the natural gas is produced by fracking, […]

January 14, 2021

A plant in Washington State will begin processing 56 million gallons of radioactive waste in 2023. The plant will turn low-activity radioactive waste into glass and disposing of it safely, in a process called vitrification. The plant’s millions of gallons […]

August 3, 2020

The proposed merger of a well-regarded secular hospital system and a larger Roman Catholic system in Washington state has triggered new alarms about religious restrictions on patients’ access to care. Virginia Mason Health System and CHI Franciscan announced plans in […]

July 28, 2020

The district is aiming to deliver 100% renewable energy by 2032, and observers say microgrids will be a key strategy. Regulators have indicated they want to ensure their approach does not dissuade development, while still addressing key issues of safety […]

April 2, 2020

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee recently signed into law a legislation that bans the use of single-use bags in the state. The ban, which goes into effect on January 1, 2021, will include an 8-cent fee for paper and reusable bags […]

March 13, 2020

A bill requiring beverage manufacturers to use at least 10 percent post-consumer plastic content in bottles starting in 2022, 25 percent starting in 2025 and 50 percent starting in 2030 is moving forward in Washington state. Under the measure, the […]

March 12, 2020

Earlier this week, Washington state senators signed a bill that would lift the state’s current ban on zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) programs. All that’s left for it to come into law is governor Jay Inslee’s signature, UCS USA reports. With the […]

January 2, 2020

As of January 1, Seattle Public Utilities and King County, Wash., Solid Waste are no longer accepting plastic bags or films in residential curbside recycling bins. Residents, instead, are asked to bundle thin plastic materials at home and then take […]

January 22, 2018

The federal government partially shut down on Saturday after the Senate blocked a short-term spending bill on Friday evening. During this shut down, the city will have access to revenues from local taxes, so services like trash collection won’t be […]

October 12, 2017

With this update, cities can now accept and recycle takeout packaging like paper and plastic cups, containers, pizza and sandwich boxes and paper bags. Washington, D.C., Chattanooga, Tenn., and Louisville, Ky., have teamed up with the Foodservice Packaging Institute (FPI) […]

October 6, 2017

This effort goes hand-in-hand with the District’s goal to divert 80 percent of citywide waste from landfills and waste-to-energy facilities. The Department of Public Works (DPW), the Department of Energy and Environment and the Department of General Services have announced […]