CMA CGM’s NY-NJ ‘home’ offers it Southeast Asia trade growth: Saade
CMA CGM Chairman Rodolphe Saade said he’s seeing more customer demand than ever for Southeast Asia services that will eventually call at the carrier’s two recently acquired terminals at the Port of New York and New Jersey.
CMA CGM’s NY-NJ ‘home’ offers it Southeast Asia trade growth: Saade
CMA CGM chairman Rodolphe Saade said he is seeing more customer demand than ever for Southeast Asia services that will eventually call at the carrier’s two recently acquired terminals at the Port of New York and New Jersey.
USDA Assists Farmers, Ranchers, and Communities Affected by Montana Floods
WASHINGTON, Oct. 13, 2023 – President Joe Biden has declared a major disaster in the State of Montana following flooding across 10 counties in June of this year. In response, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has directed the U.S.
Savannah seeks new dredging project to attract larger ships, India cargo
Deepening Savannah’s shipping channel, which would take about 10 years to complete, would put the port on par with other major Southeast ports such as Charleston and Norfolk.
CBP offers free webinars to help businesses report trade violations
WASHINGTON – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced a new series of quarterly training webinars and resources to help small- and medium-sized businesses report trade violations that threaten their bottom line and hurt the broader U.S.…
Biden-Harris Administration Makes Over $2.1 Million Grant Investments in Innovative Reuse and Refill Program in Hilo, Hawaii
HILO, Hawai'i – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) celebrated the historic investment of $2,145,122 from President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda to help create a city-wide reusable foodware system in Hilo that is focused on training, technical assistance, and infrastructure.
Reuse systems eliminate unnecessary trash and its associated negative human, environmental, and economic impacts. The University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program’s project will provide technical assistance to businesses that make or serve food in Hilo to establish a safe and affordable, community-wide reusable foodware program. Foodware includes containers, cups and utensils provided to customers who purchase prepared foods.
Technical assistance will include on-site assessments, development of written materials and online training, and help in developing collection, washing, and logistics infrastructure to support the circulation of reusable items through a fee-for-service model. The proposed project will improve human health and the environment, particularly in disadvantaged communities, by decreasing plastic waste and reducing human exposure to chemicals of concern in Hilo.
“This model reuse program will eliminate polluting single-use plastics and packaging to protect community health, cut waste and marine debris and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman. “The results of this program will help inform zero waste actions around the country and the world.”
"Hawai'i Sea Grant is thankful to have EPA support our partnership with Zero Waste Hawai'i Island and Perpetual to address plastic pollution at the source,” said Hawaiʻi Sea Grant Director Darren Lerner, PhD. “We are excited to bolster the health and resilience of our coastal communities by providing safe, affordable, and reusable foodware options to our local schools and businesses in Hawaiʻi."
“We are excited to begin working with our community to implement this groundbreaking city-wide reusable foodware and refillable bottle system in Hilo,” said Mayor Mitch Roth. “Our residents have been advocating for more recycling and waste reduction systems, and we now have the opportunity to give them more options thanks to the hard of our Environmental Management team and the trust and assistance of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.”
The project plans to develop the program with community input to improve food safety, reduce people’s exposure to chemicals of concern found in disposable foodware such as cups, containers, and packaging, and to reduce waste, pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions.
Greater availability and use of safer and more sustainable products can reduce harmful chemical exposures and their impacts on human health and the environment in disadvantaged communities. Alternatives to disposable foodware are often not equitably available. A top priority is to create a system that is inclusive, convenient, and accessible to everyone.
The system is being designed through extensive community engagement, led by Zero Waste Hawaiʻi Island, to inform a reusable foodware system rooted in kanaka,‘āina, and akua connections (People, Land, and Spirit). Project partners include the County of Hawaiʻi, Zero Waste Hawaiʻi Island, and Perpetual, a non-profit that is helping businesses, local governments, and communities in four cities across the U.S. design and implement reusable foodware systems.
The Hilo community is invited to participate in the design process through a series of public workshops the week of October 23, 2023. More information is available here.
EPA’s Pollution Prevention Grant Program advances President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which aims to deliver 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. Learn more about EPA’s Pollution Prevention grants.
Last month, EPA also awarded a Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling Grant to Hawai’i County to develop Hilo’s reuse infrastructure.
Learn more about EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region. Connect with us on Facebook and on X.
Photo 1: Event Speakers
Photo 2: Reusable Glass Jars return area at Hawaiʻi Community College
Photo 3: EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman speaking at the event
Reuse systems eliminate unnecessary trash and its associated negative human, environmental, and economic impacts. The University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program’s project will provide technical assistance to businesses that make or serve food in Hilo to establish a safe and affordable, community-wide reusable foodware program. Foodware includes containers, cups and utensils provided to customers who purchase prepared foods.
Technical assistance will include on-site assessments, development of written materials and online training, and help in developing collection, washing, and logistics infrastructure to support the circulation of reusable items through a fee-for-service model. The proposed project will improve human health and the environment, particularly in disadvantaged communities, by decreasing plastic waste and reducing human exposure to chemicals of concern in Hilo.
“This model reuse program will eliminate polluting single-use plastics and packaging to protect community health, cut waste and marine debris and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman. “The results of this program will help inform zero waste actions around the country and the world.”
"Hawai'i Sea Grant is thankful to have EPA support our partnership with Zero Waste Hawai'i Island and Perpetual to address plastic pollution at the source,” said Hawaiʻi Sea Grant Director Darren Lerner, PhD. “We are excited to bolster the health and resilience of our coastal communities by providing safe, affordable, and reusable foodware options to our local schools and businesses in Hawaiʻi."
“We are excited to begin working with our community to implement this groundbreaking city-wide reusable foodware and refillable bottle system in Hilo,” said Mayor Mitch Roth. “Our residents have been advocating for more recycling and waste reduction systems, and we now have the opportunity to give them more options thanks to the hard of our Environmental Management team and the trust and assistance of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.”
The project plans to develop the program with community input to improve food safety, reduce people’s exposure to chemicals of concern found in disposable foodware such as cups, containers, and packaging, and to reduce waste, pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions.
Greater availability and use of safer and more sustainable products can reduce harmful chemical exposures and their impacts on human health and the environment in disadvantaged communities. Alternatives to disposable foodware are often not equitably available. A top priority is to create a system that is inclusive, convenient, and accessible to everyone.
The system is being designed through extensive community engagement, led by Zero Waste Hawaiʻi Island, to inform a reusable foodware system rooted in kanaka,‘āina, and akua connections (People, Land, and Spirit). Project partners include the County of Hawaiʻi, Zero Waste Hawaiʻi Island, and Perpetual, a non-profit that is helping businesses, local governments, and communities in four cities across the U.S. design and implement reusable foodware systems.
The Hilo community is invited to participate in the design process through a series of public workshops the week of October 23, 2023. More information is available here.
EPA’s Pollution Prevention Grant Program advances President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which aims to deliver 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. Learn more about EPA’s Pollution Prevention grants.
Last month, EPA also awarded a Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling Grant to Hawai’i County to develop Hilo’s reuse infrastructure.
Learn more about EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region. Connect with us on Facebook and on X.
Photo 1: Event Speakers
Photo 2: Reusable Glass Jars return area at Hawaiʻi Community College
Photo 3: EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman speaking at the event
EPA Begins Soil Stabilizer Application in Lāhainā, Maui
LĀHAINĀ, MAUI, Hawai'i – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) response personnel, in coordination with Maui County and local officials, have started the application of a soil stabilizer on the ash and debris footprints of burned buildings and burned vehicles with damaged lead-acid batteries in Lāhainā, Maui.
EPA crews began applying the soil stabilizer on a half-acre residential property in Lāhainā in Zone 6C on Thursday, October 12. The purpose of this initial application was to fine-tune our operations and ensure the crews understand the application process. Based on this initial trial in Lāhainā and adjustments to the process, crews began applying soil stabilizer in Zones 9H, 9I, 9J, and 9M today and will continue Saturday. These zones were chosen to minimize the potential exposure to ash and debris by school children when schools open on Monday, Oct. 16.
The application of the soil stabilizer will help reduce the potential impacts to peoples’ health and the environment from the spread of contaminated ash to water and surrounding properties. EPA has already successfully applied the same soil stabilizer to burned properties in Kula.
The soil stabilizer will not be applied to any known, identified, or flagged cultural resources, standing walls (including those of historic structures), dry-stack walls, and areas known to contain collections of cultural artifacts or ancestral ashes. EPA is also aware of community concerns regarding feeding stations for cats in the impacted areas. Crews will move the feeding stations before applying the soil stabilizer to the ash and debris footprint of burned buildings.
EPA requests that individuals wait 24 hours from the application of the soil stabilizer before entering the property. Although the manufacturer recommends a full 24 hour curing period, in this climate it is expected to harden in less time.
Learn more about EPA’s work in Maui.
View EPA’s Story Map for the 2023 Maui Wildfire Response.
Visit the official County of Maui website for recovery efforts.
Learn more about EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region. Connect with us on Facebook and on X.
EPA crews began applying the soil stabilizer on a half-acre residential property in Lāhainā in Zone 6C on Thursday, October 12. The purpose of this initial application was to fine-tune our operations and ensure the crews understand the application process. Based on this initial trial in Lāhainā and adjustments to the process, crews began applying soil stabilizer in Zones 9H, 9I, 9J, and 9M today and will continue Saturday. These zones were chosen to minimize the potential exposure to ash and debris by school children when schools open on Monday, Oct. 16.
The application of the soil stabilizer will help reduce the potential impacts to peoples’ health and the environment from the spread of contaminated ash to water and surrounding properties. EPA has already successfully applied the same soil stabilizer to burned properties in Kula.
The soil stabilizer will not be applied to any known, identified, or flagged cultural resources, standing walls (including those of historic structures), dry-stack walls, and areas known to contain collections of cultural artifacts or ancestral ashes. EPA is also aware of community concerns regarding feeding stations for cats in the impacted areas. Crews will move the feeding stations before applying the soil stabilizer to the ash and debris footprint of burned buildings.
EPA requests that individuals wait 24 hours from the application of the soil stabilizer before entering the property. Although the manufacturer recommends a full 24 hour curing period, in this climate it is expected to harden in less time.
Learn more about EPA’s work in Maui.
View EPA’s Story Map for the 2023 Maui Wildfire Response.
Visit the official County of Maui website for recovery efforts.
Learn more about EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region. Connect with us on Facebook and on X.
New cranes put NY-NJ port on track to handle more ultra-large ships by 2025
While more port dredging will also be necessary, New York-New Jersey marine terminals are installing more of the cranes needed to handle 18,000-TEU ships that may eventually call the port.