Task force aims to improve waste transport

Waste Management Inc., representing the private waste-disposal industry, is part of a task force that also includes the Pennsylvania State Police, the state Dept. of Transportation, the state DEP, municipal waste agencies, and the trucking industry.

The task force has agreed on a set of recommendations to deal with transportation-related issues for waste. It said it will be supporting legislation that would require annual registration of trucks that carry waste to processing or disposal sites, prohibiting sites from accepting waste from trucks without valid registration stickers and give the state the right to revoke the transporter registration of repeat safety and environmental violators.

The task force further added that processing and disposal facilities should develop and implement a "transportation compliance plan" that would include provisions for compliance checks. It also recommended twice-a-year statewide training programs on safety and environmental issues for both industry personnel and regulators and the creation and distribution of educational brochures for waste haulers and waste processors.