Chalk this up as an unintended side effect of recycling proliferation: Forensic technology developed for use on virgin plastics is now being foiled by products made from recycled polymers, making it much more difficult to lift fingerprints off of plastic surfaces. This is forcing law enforcement officials to effectively rewrite the book in dealing with plastics.

While traditional plastics might contain only one or two chemical building blocks, the structures of plastics containing even a small percentage of recycled material are far more byzantine. It is hoped that new developments by forensic chemists at agencies such as the Home Office Scientific Development Branch in the U.K. will help overcome some of the challenges presented by these new plastics.

None of which serves to explain just who the Hell stole my bottle of Fresca?

Source: New Scientist

So through a navigational snafu, a Netherlands Air Force plane landed at Little Rock National Airport in Arkansas instead of Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville, Ark. No big deal, right? Just get those Dutch flyboys refueled, show them a map, and send them on their merry way. Not so fast! What about the two bags of trash produced by the 10-person crew during the flight?

In most cases, trash from international flights is incinerated upon arrival since the government regulates all incoming material (primarily to prevent the spread of foreign plant and animal pests and diseases). And most international airports are equipped to do this. But, as its full name clearly indicates, Little Rock National is NOT an international airport.

The result? A charge of $1,750 to have the trash incinerated off site. For about twice that, the airport could have bought its own incinerator (which it is now looking into).

Seems like a lot of fuss for some Heineken bottles, salty licorice and a half-eaten wheel of Gouda.

Source: USA Today

Chicago sanitation workers are up in arms about the city’s possible purchase of up to 200 automated, side-loading collection trucks. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the move would likely lead to substantial lay-offs, as trucks currently run with three-man crews (one driver and two collection workers). The automated trucks require only a driver operating a cart-lifting arm from the cab. Chicago Streets and Sanitation officials say the trucks would give them more flexibility in operations.

Union leaders say automation would not only be bad for collection workers, but also represent a “drastic” reduction in services for Chicagoans. Automated trucks only collect trash in cans, whereas currently, loose trash and bulky items are collected by hand. Moreover, questions have been raised about the trucks’ performance in trials around the city. For its part, the city says the purchase is far from a done deal (it recently put out a “request-for-quotations,” but expects to spend around $40 million) and that it currently has no plans to cut its labor force.

The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) has a special membership offer that is available until May 31. Here’s the deal: if you join the organization before that date, you will also receive a free Technical Division membership. Click here for details and to sign up.

• Tomorrow isn’t just the dreaded due date to file your tax returns. It’s also the last day to submit applications for academic scholarships developed by the Women’s Council of the Environmental Industry Associations.

The council has established an educational scholarship program for employees of the National Solid Wastes Management Association and the Waste Equipment Technology Association. Dependents of employees also are eligible. Applicants must be seeking undergraduate or graduate education with intent to pursue studies that will promote a career in the environmental industry.

The council will award $2,500 scholarships for the 2009-2010 academic year.

Freshkills Park is the 30-year phased transformation of New York City’s notorious Fresh Kills Landfill into a sprawling system of parks three times the size of Central Park. In honor of National Poetry Month, organizers are holding a Haiku (a type of poem written in three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables) contest to articulate people’s hopes for and observations of the project.

According to the Freshkills Park blog, winners are eligible for prizes and publication. Entries should be e-mailed, along with your name and age, to FreshkillsPark@parks.nyc.gov by Friday, April 24th at 5:00 p.m.

Our contributions:

Literal wasteland

Someone finally woke up

And picked up the mess

An island of trash

Turned verdant green, bit by bit.

Soccer, anyone?

Don’t forget that we are in the midst of the inaugural National Cell Phone Recycling Week (April 6-12), an effort by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tied to Earth Day celebrations. The event is a joint effort between EPA’s Plug-In To eCycling program and leading cell phone manufacturers, retailers and service providers to increase national awareness about the importance of cell phone recycling.

“With Earth Day approaching, people are thinking about what they can do to give back to our planet,” said Matt Hale, director of EPA’s Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery, in a press release. “Recycling your old cell phone is a great way to conserve resources and help make a greener world.”

As part of the event, Plug-In partners across the country, including AT&T, Samsung, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless, are introducing a series of in-store promotions, contests, and giveaways. The partners will provide in-store and online recycling opportunities for consumers.

A study noting that people don’t want to see landfills built in their communities is about as shocking as revelations that Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens used steroids.

Still, a recent survey published by the Saint Consulting Group has to be at least somewhat dismaying to the solid waste industry.

The report found that landfills are the most unpopular type of real estate development in the United States. Seventy-eight percent of those surveyed said they would oppose the construction of a landfill in their community. Casinos and aggregate quarries were next on the most unpopular list, with disapproval rates of 77 percent and 62 percent, respectively. (And here I always thought the American dream was to live next to a quarry.)

If there is good news to be found in the results — and I’m admittedly reaching here — it’s that the landfill disapproval rate has been higher in previous surveys, although this year’s rate increased one percentage point from the 2008 report.

So, what are landfill owners and operators to do? Frankly, it’s hard to imagine the overall national attitude about landfills ever dramatically changing. However, it’s quite possible for an individual landfill to develop good relationships with the surrounding community.

In “A Balancing Act,” a feature in the upcoming April issue of Waste Age, Joe Benco and Dave Call of Republic Services outline the steps that those developing a new landfill or expanding an existing site can take to develop a positive relationship with the neighbors of the facility. In short: get the public involved early and often. The Indiana landfill profiled in the story created a pheasant habitat and undertook several other initiatives to build the trust of the local community. Landfills may not receive the heartiest initial welcome from the surrounding area, but they can become trusted and valued neighbors. And they should make every effort to do so.

At Waste Age, we’d like to detail more of these kinds of landfill success stories. Please e-mail me at sursery@wasteage.com if you have an interesting tale to tell.