The New York Times published an op-ed by Norman Steisel and Ben Miller which states that waste-to-energy is "the only responsible way for the city to manage its waste."  Steisel was New York City sanitation commissioner from 1978 to 1986 and Benjamin Miller is the the author of “Fat of the Land: Garbage in New York, the Last Two Hundred Years,” and the Sanitation Department’s director of policy planning from 1989 to 1992.  Steisel and Miller note that New York City sends "every pound of nonrecycled municipally collected trash out of the city.[...]If all of the city’s nonrecycled waste were sent to local energy recovery facilities instead of distant landfills, the city would save diesel fuel and generate enough energy to supply 145,000 homes — thus avoiding the combustion of nearly three million barrels of oil to generate electricity."

The Pope Douglas waste-to-energy facility in Alexandria, MN conducted a ceremonial groundbreaking for the new third combustor at the facility.  Pete Olmscheid, executive director of the facility, noted that the actual groundbreaking is expected to take place the first week in May and that currently, preliminary work is being done. The project is expected to cost $20 million.  The project is expected to be completed by the end of April next year, which is when testing on the third combustor will begin. By the 1st of June 2011, it should be up and running, said Olmscheid. Currently, the existing plant can handle up to 120 tons of municipal solid waste per day – two units each are capable of 60 tons of MSW per day. The new combustor will be big enough to handle 120 tons of MSW per day by itself, which would double the facility’s current load. The expansion will satisfy the needs of communities for the next 20 to 25 years – until 2030 to 2035. The expansion will add approximately 10 green jobs at the facility.

Waste-to-energy featured in the major press on April 12 as Elisabeth Rosenthal published an 1,800 word article in the New York Times entitled, “Europe finds Clean Energy in Trash, but U.S. Lags.” The article was incredibly positive and helped debunk many of the myths associated with waste-to-energy. In the course of her investigation, the reporter visited waste-to-energy facilities in Denmark and synthesized much of the relevant information about the ability of waste-to-energy to manage trash responsibly, reduce dependence on fossil fuels, and avoid greenhouse gases. Activists given the opportunity to comment in the article could merely muster the view that  “Incinerators are really the devil.”   The article did include one error when it suggested that no new waste-to-energy capacity is planned or under construction in the US.  ERC sent a letter explaining the status of the industry and discussing the new capacity that has been built, is under construction, or is planned. 

The Bristol, CT regional trash agency is lowering the cost of bringing garbage to the waste-to-energy plant in Bristol. "That’s a nice shot in the arm," said Bristol Mayor Art Ward. The 14-town Bristol Resource Recovery Facility Operating Committee’s decision to lower its tipping fee by $1 a ton follows five consecutive years of the fee remaining the same.  For towns that use the facility, the change means a slightly lower tab for trash disposal, a welcome help for strained municipal budgets.  This is another example of a well run waste-to-energy facility benefiting the communities it was built to serve.

The Albany Times-Union published a letter to the editor from Jack Lauber, a former New York State air regulator, which Lauber discusses the benefits of using waste-to-energy as a trash management tool and why concerns over emissions are a thing of the past.  Lauber states that, "Modern WTE technologies involve enhanced waste recycling and separation, high-efficiency combustion and advanced air pollution controls including dry scrubbing."  Noting that the European Union relies on a combination of recycling and waste-to-energy, Lauber laments New York City's reliance on landfilling as their primary waste management tool.