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Cleanup Cash: The Associated Press reports today that Congress is getting ready to quadruple a tax levied on oil producers to help finance cleanups of oil spills, from 8 cents to 32 cents a barrel. The revenue goes into a Coast Guard fund to help pay for remediation of spills in waterways such as the Gulf of Mexico.

There has been little public opposition to the oil tax from the petroleum industry, and President Obama and congressional leaders have made it clear that they expect BP to pay for the cleanup, according to the AP report:

"BP executives told Congress last week they would pay ´all legitimate claims´ for damages. But the government needs upfront money to respond to spills, as well as money to pay for cleanups when the responsible party is unable to pay, or is unknown. Money spent from the fund can later be recovered from the company responsible for the spill.

"The Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund has about $1.5 billion available. Under current law, only $1 billion can be spent from the fund on a single incident. The bill would increase the spending limit to $5 billion."

Solar Squeeze: Count Lodi, Calif., among the growing list of cities that are using solar power to compact trash. The Record, a daily newspaper in nearby Stockton, reports that Lodi recently installed 14 solar-powered trash compactors in its city parks.

The bins, which resemble mailboxes, have a solar panel on top to power the compactor inside, and when a bin is full, the device sends a wireless message notifying officials that it´s time to empty it. The bins save money because workers don´t have to make as many trips to collect trash, and Lodi officials say they think it will take about 2½ years for the city to recoup the $60,000 spent on the bins.

Pete Fehrenbach is managing editor of Waste & Recycling News. Past installments of this column are collected in the Inbox archive.

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