Waste Management 2008 Annual Report Download - page 140
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Please find page 140 of the 2008 Waste Management annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.included with the operations of our reportable segments; and (ii) the impacts of investments that we are making
in expanded service offerings such as portable self-storage, fluorescent lamp recycling and healthcare solutions.
In addition, our “Other” income from operations reflects the impacts of (i) non-operating entities that provide
financial assurance and self-insurance support for the operating Groups or financing for our Canadian
operations; and (ii) certain year-end adjustments recorded in consolidation related to the reportable segments
that were not included in the measure of segment profit or loss used to assess their performance for the periods
disclosed.
(b) Corporate operating results reflect the costs incurred for various support services that are not allocated to our six
operating Groups. These support services include, among other things, treasury, legal, information technology,
tax, insurance, centralized service center processes, other administrative functions and the maintenance of our
closed landfills. Income from operations for “Corporate and other” also includes costs associated with our long-
term incentive program and managing our international and non-solid waste divested operations, which
primarily includes administrative expenses and the impact of revisions to our estimated obligations.
(c) Intercompany operating revenues reflect each segment’s total intercompany sales, including intercompany
sales within a segment and between segments. Transactions within and between segments are generally made
on a basis intended to reflect the market value of the service.
(d) For those items included in the determination of income from operations, the accounting policies of the
segments are the same as those described in Note 3.
(e) The income from operations provided by our four geographic segments is generally indicative of the margins
provided by our collection, landfill and transfer businesses, although these Groups do provide recycling and
other services that can affect these trends. The operating margins provided by our Wheelabrator segment
(waste-to-energy facilities and independent power production plants) have historically been higher than the
margins provided by our base business generally due to the combined impact of long-term disposal and energy
contracts and the disposal demands of the regions in which our facilities are concentrated. Income from
operations provided by our WMRA segment generally reflects operating margins typical of the recycling
industry, which tend to be significantly lower than those provided by our base business and subject to increased
variability due to the impacts of commodity prices. From time to time the operating results of our reportable
segments are significantly affected by unusual or infrequent transactions or events. Refer to Note 11 and
Note 12 for an explanation of transactions and events affecting the operating results of our reportable segments.
(f) Includes non-cash items. Capital expenditures are reported in our operating segments at the time they are
recorded within the segments’ property, plant and equipment balances and, therefore, may include amounts that
have been accrued but not yet paid.
(g) Because of the length of time inherent in certain fleet purchases, our Corporate and Other segment initiates
certain fleet-related purchases on behalf of our operating segments. The related capital expenditures are
recorded in our Corporate and Other segment until the time at which the fleet items are delivered to our
operating groups. Once delivery occurs, the total cost of the items received are reported as capital expenditures
in our operating groups with an offset for the costs previously reported by the Corporate and Other segment. In
2007, the quantity of fleet purchases previously reported by the Corporate and Other segment that were
delivered to our operating groups more than offset the quantity of new fleet purchases initiated by our Corporate
and Other segment.
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WASTE MANAGEMENT, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)