The first service centers are expected to be operational in late 2023.

Gravitas Infinitum LLC., a sustainable impact holding company in Naples, Florida, has entered into an agreement with National Standard, a U.S.-based infrastructure financial and advisory firm in Niles, Michigan, for the deployment of Carbotura Zero-Fill Service Centers in the United States and select international markets.   

According to a news release, the first service centers, expected to be operational in late 2023, will use zero-waste, zero-emissions technology turning waste into advanced materials and helping to reduce dependence on landfills.     

Gravitas calls it a "virtual landfill service" that solves the mounting global waste problem by turning the standard municipal and specialized solid waste collections into recoverable materials which are reusable and sellable products. This structure will allow Gravitas Infinitum to scale multiple Carbotura Zero-Fill centers globally.   

In implementing its Zero-Fill technology, Gravitas Infinitum's Carbotura division and its technology partners use a process called Microwave Accelerated Pyrolysis, which turns solid waste into sellable raw materials with a variety of uses.   

These products include water, renewable fuels, activated carbon, graphite, graphene and other high-value critical materials. Except for oxygen, the process generates no excess waste or emissions as the process is otherwise self-contained. The carbon is recovered in the Zero-Fill process and stored in the end products.   

Of the 2 billion tons of waste produced annually, only about 20 percent is recycled, according to Gravitas. Of that, most are exported to developing countries that don't have sufficient infrastructure to deal with waste in an environmentally safe or just way. The company says Carbotura can transform between 500-10,000 tons per day of municipal solid and specialized waste into high-value renewable materials resulting in 100 percent diversion from landfills, all while generating zero emissions or waste.  

"The global waste problem is much greater than we think and the generational liability we are pushing forward is tragic,” says Allen Witters, CEO of Gravitas Infinitum. “We can now eliminate landfills and divert waste directly back into the manufacturing economy. Municipalities and waste handlers have an opportunity to redirect 100 percent waste into recoverable materials helping close the gaps in the circular supply chain.”  

Additionally, municipal waste only represents about 10 percent of all waste generated. In the future, Gravitas says it plans to branch out to develop these centers for processing industrial waste and landfill mining. 

The organization says the legislation would impose a new surtax of 8 percent on all forms of income, including family businesses.

The National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA), Arlington, Virginia, joined other organizations in a letter to congressional leaders urging them to oppose the expansion of the Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT) in reconciliation legislation.  

NIIT is a 3.8-percent tax on investment income that usually only applies to high-income taxpayers. It also may apply to estates, families, individuals and trusts that meet certain tax income thresholds. Generally, this includes interest, dividends, capital gains, rental and royalty income and nonqualified annuities, according to the Internal Revenue Service.  

The expansion would include the 3.8-percent tax to income earned by pass-through businesses, generally small businesses, over $400,000 annually.  

The letter was signed by groups like the Plastics Industry Association, American Bankers Association and the Tire Industry Association. The group says the expansion would expand the 3.8-percent Net Investment Income Tax to individuals and families members who participate in their business. It would also limit the ability of small, individually and family-owned businesses to fully deduct their losses during an economic downturn by expanding and extending the excess business loss limitation for noncorporate taxpayers.  

The group says while expanding the NIIT is sometimes characterized as closing a tax loophole and that it would increase Medicare funding, neither of these claims is true. When the NIIT was created as part of the Affordable Care Act, it was meant to apply to investment income only. The business income of small, individually and family-owned firms where the owners ran the business was exempted and does not constitute a loophole.   

Furthermore, attributing the revenues raised by its expansion to Medicare would likely violate the Byrd Rule, the Senate budget rule for determining what can be included in a reconciliation bill and what cannot, according to the letter.  

“Raising taxes on small and family-owned businesses with the economy on the brink of a recession, a situation which is compounded by the other post-pandemic challenges they are facing, harms not only these businesses but the families and communities who rely on them,” says NWRA President and CEO Darrell Smith. “We urge Congress to reject these tax increases and support policies that encourage investment and job creation.” 

The new agreement puts the city on course to increase its annual diversion rate from 73 percent to 83 percent by 2032.

Waste Management of Alameda County (WMAC) has been awarded a 10-year extension of its exclusive franchise to provide garbage, organics and recycling services to the city of Hayward, California.

The agreement will maintain and enhance popular features in addition to providing standard collection and recycling service—including free prescheduled pickups of larger bulky items, distribution of garden-ready bags of compost and free self-haul disposal vouchers for use at the Davis Street Transfer Station.

It also provides for a new fleet of recycling trucks dedicated to Hayward service, new public sidewalk trash and recycling containers and replacement of residential and commercial service carts with new receptacles to correspond with a new California-required color scheme of grey/black, blue and green for refuse, recycling and organics, respectively.

Additionally, the new arrangement puts the city and WMAC on course to potentially increase Hayward’s annual rate of diverting discarded material from landfills from 73 percent to about 83 percent by the year 2032.

Through the term of the extension, the new agreement carries forward current consumer price index rate increases of 3 percent to 6 percent per year to ensure WMAC employees are paid fairly and kept up to pace with the cost of living. A one-time rate increase of 7.88 percent effective at the outset of the contract on March 1, 2023, was negotiated primarily to cover new vehicle and container expenses. At year five, WMAC also will receive a one-time return-on-investment rate increase up to 5.5 percent.

To encourage separation of refuse, recyclables and organic material and to adhere to new state law, service trucks will be equipped with monitoring cameras—and contamination and overage surcharges of $25 per cart and $75 per larger bin may be imposed for repeat violations after a four-month community education campaign.

Robert Chomicki, owner of Riverside Hauling, allegedly arranged for the company to pay less than required when dumping waste at a WM-owned transfer station.

The owner of a New York-based hauling company is facing federal indictment related to his business operations, reports the Westchester Journal News.

Robert Chomicki, 60, of Briarcliff Manor, allegedly arranged for his company—Riverside Hauling—to pay less than it was supposed to when dumping waste at a Yonkers transfer station between April 2019 and June 2020. According to court documents, he plead not guilty and was released on a $250,000 bond following his indictment on wire fraud charges.

Riverside Hauling, which is licensed by the Westchester Solid Waste Commission, provides container rental for generators of construction and demolition debris and then hauls it to transfer stations.

Although Chomicki is facing federal charges, the Journal News reports the company has not been charged and continues to operate.

The transfer station, A1 Compaction Inc., is owned by Houston-based WM. WM, formerly Waste Management, told Waste Today in an email that it cannot provide comment on the matter as it is a pending criminal investigation.

The exhibit will feature more than 70 pieces of Cat equipment and attachments.

Caterpillar dealer Zeppelin, based in Germany, will display Cat construction equipment inside and outside Hall B6 at Bauma 2022, a construction and mining machinery trade fair held in Munich, Germany. Under the theme “Let’s Do The Work,” the overarching messages will expand beyond the equipment to highlight Caterpillar’s technology, services and sustainability solutions.  

The exhibit will feature more than 70 pieces of Cat equipment and attachments from Caterpillar Construction Industries (CI). Separately, the Caterpillar Industrial Power Systems Division (IPSD) will display multiple Cat engines from its product range, from 0.5-liter to 30-liters, in Hall A4, stand 336. 

Among the multiple technologies on display, the Cat Command Station enables operators to work remotely and safely, nearby the site or many kilometers away, seated in a virtual cab with familiar controls and display. Attendees will be able to sit in the Command Station and operate a machine remotely.  

Accessed via laptops and mobile devices, Cat Productivity will be on display, demonstrating a cloud-based application that provides a complete overview of machine and job site production. It delivers consolidated and actionable site-level information to analyze performance and improve productivity, the company says. 

Cat Grade with Assist for excavators uses machine position sensors and operator-defined depth and slope parameters to automate boom and stick movements for more accurate cuts with less effort to help increase operator efficiency.  

The Cat PL161 has been designed for asset tracking and work tool recognition, according to Cat. It mounts to attachments and other items so their locations can be viewed across multiple sites. When installed on a Cat work tool operated by a next generation Cat excavator, the PL161 enables numerous additional features, such as work tool recognition and the tracking of hours worked.  

Cat dealers can offer customers solutions like VisionLink to help increase uptime and maximize profitability, Cat says. Attendees will experience many services choices at Bauma. One key offering is Customer Value Agreements (CVA), which provide customers hassle-free ownership of their new and used equipment to help reduce owning and operating costs. 

Bauma 2022 attendees also will learn about the hundreds of new Cat Reman and Rebuild product offerings as well as the range of repair options that lower equipment owning costs. Cat Rebuild services run 350 separate tests and recondition or replace up to 7,000 parts during a Cat Certified machine rebuild to return it to a like-new condition at a fraction of the cost of a new machine.  Cat Reman salvages, re-engineers and remanufactures components to provide like-new performance and durability at a price that is on average 20 percent to 40 percent less than the equivalent new part, Cat says.

Caterpillar also will unveil to Bauma 2022 attendees several electric models currently under development.  

The exhibit will include different model platforms to effectively meet a broad range of customer needs and applications.  

Highlights of the Caterpillar Building Construction Products (BCP) division display include nine next-generation Cat mini hydraulic excavators, all delivering increased performance, higher breakout forces, longer service intervals and lower owner and operating costs compared to prior models, the company says. From the 1- to 10-metric ton models, these mini excavators offer common features and consistent controls layouts to simplify training and operator adaptation. The 3.5- to 10-metric ton next-generation models can now be equipped with Cat Grade technologies as an aftermarket option.  

Among the exhibited compact wheel loaders, attendees will see the recently introduced Cat 906, 907 and 908 (in a high-lift configuration) models. They feature a re-engineered operator’s station that leverages Caterpillar technologies to improve operator experience and the new Cat 2.8 engine with an upgraded drive and powertrain for faster roading speeds and drivetrain performance.  

The nearly 30 displayed Caterpillar Global Construction & Infrastructure (GCI) models are anchored by nine tracked and four wheeled next generation excavators ranging in capacity from 15 to 95 metric tons, a rail-road excavator and three material handlers. The 980 XE medium wheel loader features a continuously variable transmission (CVT) delivering increased fuel efficiencies up to 35 percent compared with the M series models. It also has an expanded technology platform to increase machine performance, Cat says. 

 To move large volumes of materials, the Hall B6 stand also includes articulated and off-highway trucks with capacities ranging from 30 to 70 metric tons and Cat 992 and 988K XE wheel loaders. Rounding out the CI exhibit, recent updates to the D4 dozer take the value up a level with improved sight lines, reduced operating costs and a broad choice of Caterpillar technology features. Complementing the range of Cat construction equipment, dozens of attachments will be on display. They include hammers, shears, grapples, couplers, buckers, Smart dozer blades, augers, demolition grapples and tiltrotator systems.  

Team members from Cat Financial will be available to discuss the latest leasing and financing programs as well as extended protection packages to help secure customers’ investments.  

Caterpillar IPSD will exhibit in Hall A4, stand 336 a range of current and future power solutions designed to support original equipment manufacturers in their energy transition goals. The display features a newly released Cat C3.6 industrial power unit, plus to C7.1, C9.3B, C13B and C18 engines—each meeting EU Stage V emissions standards and compatible with low-carbon fuels.  

The exhibit will also include Caterpillar’s latest telematics service offering that supports customers’ connectivity requirements.