Municipal solid waste

• IFCO Sustainability Certificates acknowledge each customer's specific environmental savings achieved together with IFCO in 2023.
• In total, by using the IFCO SmartCycle circular business model, customers have generated the following environmental savings in 2023.
• Backed by the results of third-party, peer-reviewed Life Cycle Assessment studies, IFCO reliably calculates the environmental benefits of using IFCO RPCs and awards trustworthy Sustainability Certificates to its customers each year.
• Increasingly, IFCO customers underline the positive impact of using IFCO RPCs in their supply chains by including these environmental savings in their ESG reports and sharing it with their employees, customers and other stakeholders.

• “During the fourth quarter, our collection and disposal business performance powered our total Company adjusted operating EBITDA growth of 15% and record adjusted margin of 29.9%.
• SG&A expenses were 9.8% of revenue compared to 9.9%, or 9.8% on an adjusted basis, in the fourth quarter of 2022.
• (a)
  Operating EBITDA in the Collection and Disposal business grew $250 million, or $205 million on an adjusted basis, to $1.77 billion.
• ET on February 13, 2024 to discuss the fourth quarter and full-year 2023 results.

• WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Members of Teamsters Local 731 in Momence, Illinois, have unanimously authorized a strike against Republic Services.
• A strike by Local 731 members at Republic Services would not mark the Teamsters' first standoff with the company.
• "Once again, Republic Services is attempting to bully hardworking Teamsters and undermine the collective bargaining process," said Chuck Stiles, Director of the Teamsters Solid Waste and Recycling Division.
• Nationwide, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents over 7,000 workers at Republic Services.

• Kumasi, Ghana’s second largest city, has a high level of encroachment and this has led to the pollution of water bodies.
• As scholars of urban planning and chemistry, we conducted a study in the greater Kumasi metropolis to understand the extent of encroachment and pollution of two rivers, Subin and Wiwi.
• We also wanted to know more about the extent of water pollution, land-use dynamics and water resources regulations, and how they influence the quality of water resources.
• We recommend that the city authorities monitor what is happening better and do more to prevent degradation of Kumasi’s water bodies.

Effects of land use on the quality of water bodies

• Also, the intense pressure of urbanisation on the available land has resulted in a high level of encroachment in wetlands.
• As a result of limited investment in sewage plants, most of the city’s untreated waste water is discharged into the surface water bodies.
• This has implications for the quality and sustainability of these water bodies.
• During heavy rains, the refuse runs off into the water, affecting water quality and flow.
• The industrial activities along the water bodies include washing bays, auto-mechanical activities, welding and wood processing.

Time for Kumasi to wake up

• Urban growth can coexist with natural resources if human activities located near water bodies don’t threaten their quality and continued existence.
• Our study shows that Kumasi has developed with little regard for its natural assets.
• City authorities ought to put in place measures to clean the water bodies and convert buffer areas into parks and green spaces.
• Ecologically sensitive areas that are 100 feet away from wetlands should be compulsorily acquired as natural assets for the public interest.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.