Waste Management 2006 Annual Report Download - page 51

The development and acceptance of alternatives to landfill disposal and waste-to-energy facilities could
reduce our ability to operate at full capacity.
Our customers are increasingly using alternatives to landfill and waste-to-energy disposal, such as recycling
and composting. In addition, some state and local governments mandate recycling and waste reduction at the source
and prohibit the disposal of certain types of wastes, such as yard wastes, at landfills or waste-to-energy facilities.
Although such mandates are a useful tool to protect our environment, these developments reduce the volume of
waste going to landfills and waste-to-energy facilities in certain areas, which may affect our ability to operate our
landfills and waste-to-energy facilities at full capacity, as well as the prices that we can charge for landfill disposal
and waste-to-energy services.
Efforts by labor unions to organize our employees could increase our operating expenses.
Labor unions constantly make attempts to organize our employees, and these efforts will likely continue in the
future. Certain groups of our employees have already chosen to be represented by unions, and we have negotiated
collective bargaining agreements with some of the groups. Additional groups of employees may seek union
representation in the future, and, if successful, the negotiation of collective bargaining agreements could divert
management attention and result in increased operating expenses and lower net income. If we are unable to
negotiate acceptable collective bargaining agreements, work stoppages, including strikes, could ensue. Depending
on the type and duration of any labor disruptions, our operating expenses could increase significantly, which could
adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Currently pending or future litigation or governmental proceedings could result in material adverse con-
sequences, including judgments or settlements.
We are involved in civil litigation in the ordinary course of our business and from time-to-time are involved in
governmental proceedings relating to the conduct of our business. The timing of the final resolutions to these types
of matters is often uncertain. Additionally, the possible outcomes or resolutions to these matters could include
adverse judgments or settlements, either of which could require substantial payments, adversely affecting our
liquidity.
We are increasingly dependent on technology in our operations and if our technology fails, our business
could be adversely affected.
We may experience problems with either the operation of our current information technology systems or the
development and deployment of new information technology systems that could adversely affect, or even
temporarily disrupt, all or a portion of our operations until resolved. We have purchased and developed a new
revenue management system and are piloting the system in the first half of 2007, with additional implementation to
occur in late 2007 and early 2008. We may encounter problems in the development or deployment of this system
that could result in significant errors in, or disruption of, our billing processes. Additionally, any systems failures
could impede our ability to timely collect and report financial results in accordance with applicable law and
regulations.
We may experience adverse impacts on our reported results of operations as a result of adopting new
accounting standards or interpretations.
Our implementation of and compliance with changes in accounting rules, including new accounting rules and
interpretations, could adversely affect our reported operating results or cause unanticipated fluctuations in our
reported operating results in future periods.
Unforeseen circumstances could result in a need for additional capital.
We currently expect to meet our anticipated cash needs for capital expenditures, acquisitions and other cash
expenditures with our cash flows from operations and, to the extent necessary, additional financings. However,
materially adverse events could reduce our cash flows from operations. Our Board of Directors has approved a
capital allocation program that provides for up to $1.2 billion in aggregate dividend payments and share repurchases
during 2007 and recently announced that it expects future quarterly dividend payments, when declared by the Board
of Directors, to be $0.24 per share. If our cash flows from operations were negatively affected, we could be forced to
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