Weekly News Bulletin: May 8-14, 2007

 

Waste Industry to Exceed $60 Billion by 2010

Waste Business Journal's recent Waste Market Report concludes that the waste management industry in the US is a $52 billion per year business and is conservatively on track to exceed $60 billion by 2010. More than half of those revenues will be contributed by just the top five companies which are not surprisingly publicly traded. "The increasing role of the private sector has been a trend ever since more stringent federal and state regulations implemented in the early 1990's created huge economies-of-scale in the waste business, particularly on the disposal side," according to the study's principal author, James Thompson. The publicly traded companies collectively represent almost 60% of the industry today up from 47% as recently as 2001...Read More »

 

 

North Carolina Landfill Volumes Increase despite Improved Recycling

The North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NC DENR) reports that waste volumes have continued to rise despite improvements in recycling rates, implying that North Carolinians are producing more waste per person per year. More than a ton of waste for each person in the state went to landfills during the fiscal year July 2005 through June 2006, 5% more than the year before. The DENR attributes some of that increase to increased volumes of construction and demolition debris (C&D) wastes that have resulted from a booming housing and development market. North Carolina's 40 permitted municipal landfills have about 20 years of capacity left at the current rate of receiving 7.9 million tons annually, the report said...Read More »

 

 

Apollo to Sell Remaining Stake of 33 Million Shares of Allied

With waste companies riding high, Apollo Management, L.P., plans to sell its remaining interest in Allied Waste Industries in a public offering. The offer constitutes 32.8 million shares or 8.9% of the currently outstanding shares in the company. Allied will not receive any proceeds from the offering...Read More »

 

 

Conference Aims to Address 70 Million Tons of Coal Waste Every Year

According to the American Coal Ash Association, 120 million tons of solid residues are generated annually from the burning of coal for electricity. 70 million tons of that end up in landfills and holding ponds. The association is organizing a conference aimed at increasing the recycling and reuse of these byproducts in the hope of achieving sustainable solutions especially as the use of coal is expected to increase in coming years...Read More »

 

 

Waste Industries Net Income Up by 65 Percent

Waste Industries USA, Inc. first quarter earnings rose nearly 65% to $5.6 million or $0.40 per share, well ahead of analysts' expectations. Waste Industries has been playing a bit of catch up as it seeks to own more landfills as do its rivals. Steve Grissom, chief financial officer, attributes the earnings gains to the company's aggressive acquisitions of the last year. The company now boasts a 26% internalization rate by which it can dispose of waste collected in its own landfills. This he said led to savings of $1.1 million...Read More »

 

 

Recycling in Pennsylvania Sets Record of Nearly 5 Million Tons

Pennsylvania's Governor Edward G. Rendell proclaimed that the state had recycled a record 4.86 million tons of municipal waste in 2005, saving consumers and industries nearly $263 million in disposal waste costs and providing materials to businesses with an estimated market value of $577 million. "The recycling industry is a significant contributor to Pennsylvania's economic vitality and environmental health," Governor Rendell said. The commonwealth estimates that the recycling industry is comprised of more than 3,200 establishments collectively with annual sales of $18.4 billion which employ more than 81 thousand people...Read More »

 

 

WCA Waste Corp. Reports Improved First Quarter Revenues and Margins

WCA Waste Corp. reported a first quarter revenue increase of 17.1% to $40.6 million over $34.7 million reported in the first quarter last year. 5.8% of that increase was driven by higher pricing. Unrealized losses from interest rate swap agreements cost the company $0.3 million which depressed net income to $0.4 million or $0.02 per share versus $0.6 million or $0.04 per share last year. Tom Fatjo, Chairman of WCA Waste stated that he was happy improved operating margins and having already achieved 50% of their stated goal of investing $100 million in quality acquisitions for 2007...Read More »

 

 

Minnesota to Adopt E-Waste Law that Employs Producer Responsibility

Minnesota will soon become the most recent state to enact e-waste laws. Minnesota's version falls into the category of "producer pays" in that it requires manufacturers to increase recycling of their electronic products and to pay for those efforts based on the weight of all the televisions and computers sold in the state. Companies that fail to do so will face penalties. Already these items are banned from Minnesota landfills. Only four other states: California, Maryland, Maine and Washington, have enacted e-waste control laws. Others are considering measures and will no doubt want to examine the Minnesota model...Read More »

 

 

Gundle/SLT Environmental Reports Higher Revenues and Narrower Loss

Gundle/SLT Environmental, Inc., a global manufacturer and marketer of geosynthetic lining solutions, reported a more narrow net loss of $6.5 million for the quarter versus a net loss of $8.1 million last year. Earnings improvements derived from first quarter revenues which increased to $62.1 million up from $43.8 million last year. The company enjoyed substantially higher shipments particularly from a quarter which is typically less productive owing to the seasonal nature of the business, according to Samir Badawi, President and CEO...Read More »

 

 

Veolia Environmental Services Acquires Marisol, Inc.

Veolia Environmental Services (Veolia ES) Technical Solutions acquired Marisol, Inc., a hazardous and industrial waste processing facility located in Middlesex, NJ which generated $23 million in revenues last year. "Strategically, this acquisition represents a response to customer requests for further recycling and reclamation of their wastes," stated Michel Gourvennec, CEO of Veolia Environmental Services North America. Details of the acquisition were not disclosed...Read More »

 

 

Casella to Abandon Fight and Close Hardwick Landfill

Casella Waste announced plans to abandon its long hard fight to rezone and expand its Hardwick, Mass. landfill. Instead, the company plans to close and cap the landfill which had been closed in February under town order owing to its location on residentially-zoned land. According to an 8-K filing with the SEC, Richard A. Norris, Casella's senior vice president and CFO "estimates that the total charge will be up to $26 million, including an estimated $9 million in future cash expenditures on capping, closure and post closure" of the landfill. For its part, Casella claims that it had grandfathered rights to operate the landfill...Read More »

 

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