Waste Management 2008 Annual Report Download - page 76
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Please find page 76 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.The number of landfills we own or operate as of December 31, 2008, segregated by their estimated operating
lives (in years), based on remaining permitted and expansion airspace and projected annual disposal volume was as
follows:
0 to 5 6 to 10 11 to 20 21 to 40 41+ Total
Owned ............................... 11 17 41 65 78 212
Operated through lease(a) ................. 5 4 5 7 6 27
Operating contracts(b) .................... 11 4 10 5 4 34
Total landfills .......................... 27 25 56 77 88 273
(a) From an operating perspective, landfills we operate through lease agreements are similar to landfills we own
because we own the landfill’s operating permit and will operate the landfill for the entire lease term, which in
many cases is the life of the landfill. We are usually responsible for the closure and post-closure obligations of
the landfills we lease.
(b) For operating contracts, the property owner owns the permit and we operate the landfill for a contracted term,
which may be the life of the landfill. The property owner is generally responsible for closure and post-closure
obligations under our operating contracts.
The following table reflects landfill capacity and airspace changes, as measured in tons of waste, for landfills
owned or operated by us during the years ended December 31, 2008 and 2007 (in millions):
Remaining
Permitted
Capacity
Expansion
Capacity
Total
Capacity
Remaining
Permitted
Capacity
Expansion
Capacity
Total
Capacity
December 31, 2008 December 31, 2007
Balance, beginning of year.......... 3,787 893 4,680 3,760 959 4,719
Acquisitions, divestitures, newly
permitted landfills and closures .... 20 15 35 (5) (15) (20)
Changes in expansions pursued(a) .... — 94 94 — 60 60
Expansion permits granted(b) ........ 228 (228) — 128 (128) —
Airspace consumed ............... (107) — (107) (114) — (114)
Changes in engineering estimates and
other(c) ...................... 51 20 71 18 17 35
Balance, end of year .............. 3,979 794 4,773 3,787 893 4,680
(a) Amounts reflected here relate to the combined impact of (i) new expansions pursued; (ii) increases or decreases
in the airspace being pursued for ongoing expansion efforts; (iii) adjustments for differences between the
airspace being pursued and airspace granted; and (iv) decreases due to our decision to no longer pursue an
expansion permit.
(b) We received expansion permits at 28 of our landfills during 2008 and 17 of our landfills during 2007,
demonstrating our continued success in working with municipalities and regulatory agencies to expand the
disposal capacity of our existing landfills.
(c) Changes in engineering estimates can result in changes to the estimated available remaining capacity of a
landfill or changes in the utilization of such landfill capacity, affecting the number of tons that can be placed in
the future. Estimates of the amount of waste that can be placed in the future are reviewed annually by our
engineers and are based on a number of factors, including standard engineering techniques and site-specific
factors such as current and projected mix of waste type; initial and projected waste density; estimated number of
years of life remaining; depth of underlying waste; anticipated access to moisture through precipitation or
recirculation of landfill leachate; and operating practices. We continually focus on improving the utilization of
airspace through efforts that include recirculating landfill leachate where allowed by permit; optimizing the
placement of daily cover materials; and increasing initial compaction through improved landfill equipment,
operations and training.
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