In case you missed it: Thoughtful, newsworthy comments from industry professionals, consumers and legislators.
"I do not think that the role of the CIO is going to go away. I think we still have in the IT space this challenge, if you will, where for IT leaders to be successful in the broader organization they need to be able to somewhat seamlessly be able to fit in, be able to manage, perhaps not the right choice of words there ... but be able to manage both the technology side and the business side. I find that that is evolving."
— Former Waste Management CIO Puneet Bhasin on the general role of CIOs. Bhasin was promoted above the chief information officer role earlier this year without a successor named, therefore two of the company's vice presidents are jointly running IT, reporting to the chief financial officer.
"It is not a controversial program ... We haven't had complaints from it, except from the very small group of people who filed the lawsuit. Residents are not fuming. 6 people out of 400,000 really is not fuming."
— Andy Ryan of Seattle Public Utilities on the city's new trash monitoring program, which some residents are referring to as "trash snooping."
"The truth is that we're still the fifth most dangerous occupation and we still have a lot of work to do to make sure that people in both the public sector and private sector from coast to coast have the resources they need to make sure their front line workers are working safely."
— SWANA CEO David Biderman on the Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2014 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Summary. The report showed that refuse and recyclable materials collection remains the occupation with the fifth highest fatality rate.
"Within Volvo Group we foresee a future with more automation ... This project provides a way to stretch the imagination and test new concepts to shape transport solutions for tomorrow."
— Volvo Group project leader Per-Lage Götvall on the company's new mission to create robot trash collectors. The robots would eliminate the need for trash haulers to get off the truck and perform heavy lifting of bins.
"Recycling practices across the United States vary widely. These practices are significantly influenced by the policies and goals set by state/local agencies and the implementation of recycling programs within the community."
— Bryan Staley, Environmental Research and Education Foundation (EREF) president and CEO, in a news release regarding EREF's newest study. The report shows that there are 3,457 recycling facilities currently open in the United States.
"Let's feed people, not landfills. By reducing wasted food in landfills, we cut harmful methane emissions that fuel climate change, conserve our natural resources, and protect our planet for future generations"
— EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy in a press release, regarding the EPA and USDA's new goal for food waste reduction. On Wednesday, the organizations announced a national goal to halve food waste by 2030.