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NJ-DEP Commissioner Lisa Jackson presents
award to Dominick D'Altilio, president of the
Association of New Jersey Recyclers at a
ceremony on April 24 commemorating the 20-year anniversary of the state's mandatory recycling law.
At right is former Governor Jim Florio who signed
a subsequent measure setting a recycling goal of
50 percent for New Jersey's municipal solid waste.
At left is State Senator Bob Smith, sponsor of a
bill that would provide renewed funding for recycling programs and education.

 

NJ-DEP recognizes recycling success stories At a ceremony yesterday marking the 20th anniversary
of the adoption of New Jersey's mandatory recycling law yesterday, DEP Commissioner Lisa Jackson recognized the following individuals, companies and associations for valuable contributions to the state's recycling efforts:

The Association of New Jersey Recyclers - For more than 20 years, ANJR has represented the interests
of hundreds of local recycling coordinators in New Jersey. Instrumental in the development of the Certified Recycling Professionals curriculum, ANJR has produced a manual for school recycling and is an integral
partner in DEP's Reinvigorating Recycling Initiative. The association recently launched a Web-based primer
for recycling coordinators.

Converted Organics - DEP's statewide Solid Waste Management Plan notes that achieving a 50-percent
recycling rate for municipal solid waste cannot be achieved without recycling a significant portion of the food
waste stream, estimated at 1.6 million tons annually. Converted Organics was issued a permit to build and
operate its facility at Bayshore Recycling Corp. in Woodbridge. Converted Organics' in-vessel digesting facility
is the first of its kind on a large scale in the nation. It will take 500 tons per day of food waste and convert it
into a soil amendment for farming.

Hesstech, LLC - Since its inception 10 years ago, Edison-based electronics recycler Hesstech has maintained
a policy of not sending toxic materials to landfills or overseas. The company has more than tripled its processing facility, and now utilizes more than 50,000 square feet of processing space. Hesstech is currently partnering with Middlesex County College to educate the student body on the need to properly dispose of their computers, cell phones and other obsolete electronic devices known as e-waste. They ran an e-waste collection day and plan to offer the program at colleges and other educational institutions. 

PSEG - As a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency WasteWise Hall-of-Fame member, PSEG has reduced
waste dramatically since forming its Resource Recovery Group in 1993. PSEG has always been a premier
member of the New Jersey WasteWise Business Network and is a member of DEP's Reinvigorating Recycling initiative. This year, the company will expand its environmental education program by having employees serve
as mentors at grant recipient schools.
 
Steel Recycling Institute -  Steel is the most recycled material in North America, surpassing the tonnage of recycled paper, plastic, aluminum and glass combined. The Steel Recycling Institute is dedicated to lessening
the environmental impact of steel production. It recently announced the results of a program to decrease energy used at steel mills and reduce by 28 percent greenhouse gas emissions per ton of steel produced. The institute has also developed a national environmental curriculum to educate the next generation in environmental stewardship.

Rutgers University -  Rutgers finished in first place overall in this year's RecycleMania, a nationwide recycling competition held on more than 200 college campuses. Rutgers recycled 50 percent more than the next finisher. The university was tops in the food-service recycling category and took second place in the collection of bottles
and cans. This year, participating colleges and universities diverted 41 million pounds of garbage from landfills during an eight-week period. Also representing New Jersey were Drew University, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Georgian Court University, Monmouth University, Montclair State University, Princeton University and Rowan University.

Valerie Montecalvo of Bayshore Recycling Corp. -  Montecalvo started Bayshore Recycling Corporation in Woodbridge in1995. Since that time, she has developed the company to include the Converted Organics facility; another in-vessel composting facility there is about to begin the DEP permitting process. Recycling of tires and other materials are also planned for the site.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2 -  EPA's regional office in New York City has assisted
New Jersey's Reinvigorating Recycling initiative by dedicating the services of its WasteWise contractors to
provide technical assistance to promote and refine recycling practices for businesses. Using the NJ WasteWise Business Network as a forum, technical assistance will be offered to businesses interactively through workshops.

Zozzaro Industries -  Zozzaro Industries is a 65-year-old company and recycling pioneer in New Jersey. In a
single shift, the Clifton facility generates more products per square foot than any other recycling plant in the country. They are already the single largest paper processor in the state, managing the paper marketing responsibilities for more than 100 New Jersey counties and municipalities. The company recently invested
millions of dollars to acquire and update a facility in Carteret as part of a managed regional growth strategy
aimed at doubling current production capacity.  4/25/07
 


Cardinal Resources banking on sustainable remediation A Monroeville, PA environmental
consulting firm is quadrupling its sustainable remediation practice this year, buoyed by increased work
with Dow Corning Corp. and other corporations. In a sustainable practice known as phytoremediation,
Cardinal Resources Inc. uses such things as poplar trees and willows to create plantations at manufacturing
sites to clean up toxic wastes and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The company also uses a solar-
powered water filtration system to purify water used in manufacturing Pittsburgh Business Times 4/25/07

Flaster/Greenberg relocates Trenton office to accommodate expanding legal team Flaster/
Greenberg continues its growth as a regional law firm with the recent relocation and expansion of its
Trenton office to the American Metro Center, 200 American Metro Blvd., Suite 126.  The firm has offices
in Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania and expanded its Philadelphia office last year. The Trenton
office is located in a historical building, which opened in 1925 as a pottery plant that later manufactured
“sanitary earthenware” for American Standard Corporation.  The office will accommodate approximately
15 attorneys and support staff, including a new shareholder, T. Sandberg (Sandy) Durst, a member of
the firm’s Family Law Practice Group.  In addition to Durst, Flaster/Greenberg’s  growing Trenton legal
team includes: Matthew S. Burns, who concentrates his practice in Construction Law; Intellectual
Property law attorney Dennis J. Helms; James A. Kozachek, who concentrates his practice in Construction
and Real Estate Law; Elaine J. Petruzziello, a member of the Estate Planning and Administration Practice
Group; and Michael S. Simon, who concentrates his law practice in Alternative Dispute Resolution and Construction Law. The completely restored and modernized World War I era buildings feature the original architecture frames and tunneled kilns resting on railroad tracks which are encased in glass to display the
 historic pottery the kilns first fired.  The distinct architectural décor includes exposed red brick walls and
 ceilings, and skylights enhance this non-traditional, creative office environment. The American Metro
Center is situated in the southern end of the Princeton/Route 1 Corridor Office Market, providing access
to Philadelphia, Princeton and New York City.  It is also adjacent to NJ Transit’s Hamilton Station 4/25/07

Ocean Power Technologies prices U.S. IPO The company today announced the pricing of its U.S.
initial public offering of 5 million shares of common stock at $20 per share. It will sell all 5 million shares
of the stock, which began trading today on Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol "OPTT." Ocean Power,
a Pennington, NJ-based renewable-energy company that generates electricity by using the power of ocean
waves, has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 750,000 shares of
common stock, of which 660,000 shares may be purchased from the company and 90,000 shares may
be purchased from the selling stockholders. The company plans to continue to list its common stock on
the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, where it has traded under the symbol “OPT” since 2003.
NJBIZ 4/25/07

AK Steel loses pension appeal AK Steel Corp. will have to pay $46.2M to 1,250 former employees,
after it lost an appeal in a lawsuit dating back to 2002.
The employees, who had retired or been terminated
since Jan. 1, 1995, claimed in the lawsuit that AK Steel had miscalculated payments under one of its
pension plans, resulting in underpayments. Pittsburgh Business Times
4/24/07

Buyers ponder New York's power policies A little more than a decade after deregulation began,
some energy industry watchers fear the lights may be dimming on Power for Jobs. The program has
helped create 283,000 new jobs in 10 years by saving businesses millions of dollars on their electric bills.
The program is set to expire at the end of June unless the state Legislature extends it sooner.
The Business Review 4/23/07

RFID-enabled recycling gets big results in Philadelphia  Patrick K. FitzGerald says that,
historically, only two groups have made any money recycling. The first  is giant, corporate waste haulers,
which are capable of trucking enormous amounts of paper, aluminum, glass and plastic to processing
plants. The second is homeless people who collect bottles and cans on the street and turn them in for
pennies. FitzGerald thinks he's found a way to use radio frequency identification (RFID) and creative
corporate relationships to expand recycling's financial beneficiaries to include municipalities, residents
and retailers. In 2004 he and a high school pal, Ron Gonen, launched RecycleBank LLC, a Philadelphia-
based company that links those three groups in an incentive-based recycling program that has produced
some impressive results thus far. Philadelphia Business Journal
4/23/07

Researchers tinker with tomorrow's technologies
Imagine a building material that is as tough
as any other but that can be eliminated after a demolition merely by spraying it with an enzyme that
causes it to biodegrade.
Philadelphia University's Engineering and Design Institute is trying to create
such a material from chitosan, a polymer made from a substance found in the shells of beetles, shrimp
and crabs.
"The idea here is we make a plastic that can sit through snow, smog, no trouble, but when
we take down the building and we spray it, it dissolves," said Christopher Pastore, an engineering
professor and a co-director of the institute. Philadelphia Business Journal
4/23/07

Buyout by equity firm gives new energy to Duquesne Light spin-off Ownership by a small
private equity firm is bringing new life to a former subsidiary of Duquesne Light Holdings. As part of
Duquesne Light, Montauk Energy Capital's primary value came from renewable energy tax credits that
it earned by converting landfill methane to natural gas and electricity. For years, Montauk failed to turn
a profit, and there were threats that it would be shut down, according to Montauk President and CEO
John Schmitt. That all changed when gas prices began to rise a few years ago and the company
started to turn a profit. With profits, the business's value rose, and, last year, Duquesne Light decided
to sell. In December, a newly formed private equity firm, New York-based Blue Wolf Capital Management
LLC
,
purchased Montauk for $101.8 million. The acquisition is Blue Wolf's first. With tiny Blue Wolf in
charge rather than the giant Duquesne Light, the company's focus has switched from generating tax
credits to generating profits. Pittsburgh Business Times  
4/23/07

Innovative energy source takes root with West New York firm  Someday, power for cars and
electricity for homes could be supplied by a new strain of the common pussy willow. The idea is not as
far-fetched as it sounds. Testing is under way by the State University of New York that could make the
shrub willow-as this variety is called-an important energy source in the near future.
Double A Vineyards,
a Fredonia grape grower and nursery, has an active role in that program. For more than 20 years,
researchers at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry at Syracuse have been working
to perfect a high-yield, disease- and insect-resistant variety of shrub willow that can be grown as a
commodity like corn and soybeans. Buffalo Business First
4/23/07

Shareholder suit filed against Toll Brothers A class-action lawsuit has been filed against the
luxury homebuilder, alleging the company violated federal securities laws by issuing materially false
and misleading statements that artificially inflated the market price of the company's securities
.
Philadelphia Business Journal
4/20/07

PPL reaches agreement regarding sale of Bolivian companies PPL Corporation announced
today that its international subsidiary has agreed to sell its Bolivian electricity delivery operation and
a related construction company, subject to certain conditions including completion of a definitive
agreement, to a group organized by the management team and including the employees of the
companies. PPL had previously announced that it planned to sell its Latin American operations –
electricity delivery companies in Chile, El Salvador and Bolivia – through an auction process.
PPL  4/17/07




 

Judge Michael L. Krancer (left) presents
Joel R. Burcat with  the Pennsylvania Bar
Association's Distinguished Service Award.


 

 

Joel R. Burcat chosen for Distinguished Service Award Joel R. Burcat, partner
and chair of Saul Ewing LLP’s Environmental Department, has been selected the co-
recipient of the 2007 Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA), Environmental, Mineral and
Natural Resources Law Section's Distinguished Service Award.
The Award is given annually
to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the development, improvement
or furtherance of the profession of environmental law or outstanding contribution to the PBA's Section on Environmental, Mineral and Natural Resources Law.
In 1998, under Burcat's guidance and direction, a committee of the Section implemented a pilot pro bono program
to provide legal services to financially under-privileged individuals in Environmental Hearing Board (EHB) appeals. The pilot program has been a great success and is expanding to
include cases beyond the EHB.
The award was presented on April 11 at the PBA's
Environmental Law Dinner in Harrisburg. Burcat received his B.S. from Pennsylvania
State University and earned his J.D. from Vermont Law School.4/14/07

As they log miles, Roche sales reps help environment Roche is looking mighty green -- as in environmentally friendly. Three years ago, the Nutley- based company started supplying  its far-flung
sales reps with gas- electric hybrids, including the Toyota Prius and Ford Escape, instead of gasoline-
powered vehicles such as Chevy Impalas and Ford Explorers. The fleet of hybrids quickly grew, and by
the end of last year, Roche had a total of 242 Star-Ledger 4/12/07


Attorney Stephen M. Kessler on New Jersey Magazine's “30 Under 30” list
Flaster/Greenberg
attorney Stephen M. Kessler was named one of “30 Under 30” people to watch in
Real Estate by NEW
JERSEY Magazine. 
A member of the Real Estate and Construction Law Practice Groups, Kessler was
recognized for the increased development of his primary real estate practice. He focuses his practice on
real estate matters that entail general development, the sale and purchase of real estate, and the
representation of commercial landlords and tenants in negotiating leases. Kessler’s representations of
corporate clients have included Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), developers, non-profit organizations,
small and large businesses, and colleges and universities.  Kessler resides in Haddonfield, NJ 4/11/07

Tyler and Carmeli participating in seminars at Atlantic Builders Convention  Partners in the Robbinsville, NJ law firm of Tyler & Carmeli, P.C. will be involved in seminars at the Atlantic Builders
Convention to be held from April 18-20 at the Atlantic City Convention Center. George J. Tyler will moderate
the "Environmental Enforcement - Garrote & Stick" seminar at 2:30 p.m, April 18. The seminar will cover
 the NJ-DEP's newly adopted "grace period rules" for site remediation, which are having a pronounced impact
on "Brownfield" redevelopment. Speakers at the seminar will include DEP Assistant Commissioners Irene
Kropp and Wolfgang Skacel.
Tyler also will participate in "Legal Trends-Part II, Environmental Law" seminar
as a panelist at 11 a.m. on April 18. Margaret B. Carmeli will be a panelist at 3 p.m., April 19 in the "Brownfield Remediation - Reality Check seminar. A complete list of all programs and seminars offered at the convention
is available at: www.abconvention.com
4/11/07

Saul Ewing attorneys recognized for excellence Eighteen partners in the firm have been recognized
for legal excellence and client service by Chambers USA 2007: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business.
To compile the list, dozens of full-time Chambers researchers conduct more than 7,000 interviews with
attorneys and clients. Top firms and attorneys are ranked and their merits described. Among the attorneys
in Saul Ewing's Philadelphia office named to the Chambers list are Stephen S. Aichele and Frederick D.
Strober
of the Real Estate Department and Carl B. Everett of the Environmental Department. Michael S.
Burg
of the Chesterbrook, PA office and Saul Ewing's Real Estate Department was also named to the list,
as was Joel R. Burcat from the firm's Harrisburg office and Environmental Department.
4/11/07

Local groups aim to increase use of green products at work, home Alcoa Corp. is giving 1,000
of its employees an unusual homework assignment: Replace four light bulbs. Alcoa is spending $10,000
to buy energy-efficient light bulbs for workers at its Alcoa Technical Center in Upper Burrell, PA. That may
not sound like a significant environmental initiative, but it actually is. By Alcoa's calculations, if all of the
employees use the energy-efficient bulbs in their homes for four hours each day, the energy savings would
be the same as taking 66  cars off the road. Pittsburgh Business Times
4/9/07

Nice work if you can find it Anthony J. Alexander, president and chief executive of utility company
FirstEnergy Corp., received compensation last year valued at $13.9M, according to a proxy statement.
Alexander, 55, received a base salary of $1.2M, non-equity incentive plan compensation of $2M and perks
totaling $65,659, according to a document filed with the SEC Star-Ledger
4/5/07

Zozzaro hosting grand opening of New NJ facility Zozzaro Brothers Inc., a privately owned recycling company in New Jersey will be hosting a grand opening in honor of Earth Day at their new facility in Carteret,
NJ, on April 19 from 11 AM to 3 PM. Additionally, the event will commemorate the 20th anniversary of the New Jersey Statewide Mandatory Source Separation and Recycling Act. Mayor Daniel Reiman
& National Audubon’s COO, Bob Perciasepe, former assistant EPA Director for Air
Programs, will perform the Ribbon cutting ceremony at 11:00 a.m. Special guests will
also include Guy Watson: Bureau Chief, The Bureau of Recycling and Planning New Jersey State Department of Environmental Protection. The new 52,000 sq. foot facility includes
state-of-the-art equipment including the recently installed new Centurion, which produces approximately 30,000 tons per month of finished material. Recycling Today
4/4/07 

Mitsui acquiring Hugo Neu portion of Sims Group Hugo Neu Corp. has entered into an agreement with Mitsui & Co., to acquire Hugo Neu’s 19.9 percent share of Sims Group Ltd. for around $500 million. Mitsui is a Japanese trading company. Mitsui recognizes scrap recycling as industrial solutions to environmental problems, and has set recycling business as one of its key businesses in its medium-term management outlook. Mitsui expects to enhance this business through this acquisition. Recycling Today   Sims Group (pdf) 4/4/07

Utilities hope colleges prevent labor outflow Energy providers nationwide are anticipating a major shortage of labor within the next few years due to retirements coupled with an increased need for energy services. The industry is turning to institutions of higher learning for help Trenton Times


                 

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