Waste Management 2008 Annual Report Download - page 38
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Please find page 38 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.Landfill. Landfills are the main depositories for solid waste in North America. At December 31, 2008, we
owned or operated 267 solid waste landfills, which represents the largest network of landfills in North America.
Solid waste landfills are built and operated on land with geological and hydrological properties that limit the
possibility of water pollution, and are operated under prescribed procedures. A landfill must be maintained to meet
federal, state or provincial, and local regulations. The operation and closure of a solid waste landfill includes
excavation, construction of liners, continuous spreading and compacting of waste, covering of waste with earth or
other inert material and constructing final capping of the landfill. These operations are carefully planned to maintain
sanitary conditions, to maximize the use of the airspace and to prepare the site so it can ultimately be used for other
purposes.
All solid waste management companies must have access to a disposal facility, such as a solid waste landfill.
We believe it is usually preferable for our collection operations to use disposal facilities that we own or operate, a
practice we refer to as internalization, rather than using third-party disposal facilities. Internalization generally
allows us to realize higher consolidated margins and stronger operating cash flows. The fees charged at disposal
facilities, which are referred to as tipping fees, are based on several factors, including competition and the type and
weight or volume of solid waste deposited.
We also operate six secure hazardous waste landfills in the United States. Under federal environmental laws,
the federal government (or states with delegated authority) must issue permits for all hazardous waste landfills. All
of our hazardous waste landfills have obtained the required permits, although some can accept only certain types of
hazardous waste. These landfills must also comply with specialized operating standards. Only hazardous waste in a
stable, solid form, which meets regulatory requirements, can be deposited in our secure disposal cells. In some
cases, hazardous waste can be treated before disposal. Generally, these treatments involve the separation or removal
of solid materials from liquids and chemical treatments that transform waste into inert materials that are no longer
hazardous. Our hazardous waste landfills are sited, constructed and operated in a manner designed to provide long-
term containment of waste. We also operate a hazardous waste facility at which we isolate treated hazardous waste
in liquid form by injection into deep wells that have been drilled in rock formations far below the base of fresh water
to a point that is separated by other substantial geological confining layers.
Transfer. At December 31, 2008, we owned or operated 355 transfer stations in North America. We deposit
waste at these stations, as do other waste haulers. The solid waste is then consolidated and compacted to reduce the
volume and increase the density of the waste and transported by transfer trucks or by rail to disposal sites.
Access to transfer stations is often critical to third-party haulers who do not operate their own disposal facilities
in close proximity to their collection operations. Fees charged to third parties at transfer stations are usually based
on the type and volume or weight of the waste transferred, the distance to the disposal site and general market
factors.
The utilization of our transfer stations by our own collection operations improves internalization by allowing
us to retain fees that we would otherwise pay to third parties for the disposal of the waste we collect. It allows us to
manage costs associated with waste disposal because (i) transfer trucks, railcars or rail containers have larger
capacities than collection trucks, allowing us to deliver more waste to the disposal facility in each trip; (ii) waste is
accumulated and compacted at transfer stations that are strategically located to increase the efficiency of our
collection operations; and (iii) we can retain the volume by managing the transfer of the waste to one of our own
disposal sites.
The transfer stations that we operate but do not own are generally operated through lease agreements under
which we lease property from third parties. There are some instances where transfer stations are operated under
contract, generally for municipalities. In most cases we own the permits and will be responsible for the regulatory
requirements relating to the operation, closure and post closure of the transfer station.
Wheelabrator. As of December 31, 2008, we owned or operated 16 waste-to-energy facilities and five
independent power production plants, or IPPs, which are located in the Northeast and in Florida, California and
Washington.
At our waste-to-energy facilities, solid waste is burned at high temperatures in specially designed boilers to
produce heat that is converted into high-pressure steam. As of December 31, 2008, our waste-to-energy facilities
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