Waste Management 2011 Annual Report Download - page 137

Summary of Cash and Cash Equivalents, Restricted Trust and Escrow Accounts and Debt Obligations
The following is a summary of our cash and cash equivalents, restricted trust and escrow accounts and debt
balances as of December 31, 2011 and 2010 (in millions):
2011 2010
Cash and cash equivalents ............................................. $ 258 $ 539
Restricted trust and escrow accounts:
Final capping, closure, post-closure and environmental remediation funds ..... $ 123 $ 124
Tax-exempt bond funds ............................................. 14 14
Other ........................................................... 15 8
Total restricted trust and escrow accounts ............................ $ 152 $ 146
Debt:
Current portion ................................................... $ 631 $ 233
Long-term portion ................................................. 9,125 8,674
Total debt ...................................................... $9,756 $8,907
Increase in carrying value of debt due to hedge accounting for interest rate
swaps ........................................................... $ 102 $ 79
Cash and cash equivalents — Cash and cash equivalents consist primarily of cash on deposit and money
market funds that invest in U.S. government obligations with original maturities of three months or less. Our cash
and cash equivalents have decreased as a result of the execution of our strategic growth plans, which has
increased our level of capital spending, acquisitions and investments.
Restricted trust and escrow accounts — Restricted trust and escrow accounts consist primarily of (i) funds
deposited for purposes of settling landfill final capping, closure, post-closure and environmental remediation
obligations; and (ii) funds received from the issuance of tax-exempt bonds held in trust for the construction of
various projects or facilities. These balances are primarily included within long-term “Other assets” in our
Consolidated Balance Sheets.
Debt — We use long-term borrowings in addition to the cash we generate from operations as part of our
overall financial strategy to support and grow our business. We primarily use senior notes and tax-exempt bonds
to borrow on a long-term basis, but also use other instruments and facilities when appropriate. The components
of our long-term borrowings as of December 31, 2011 are described in Note 7 to the Consolidated Financial
Statements.
Changes in our outstanding debt balances from December 31, 2010 to December 31, 2011 were primarily
due to (i) net debt borrowings of $698 million; (ii) $100 million in non-cash proceeds from tax-exempt
borrowings; and (ii) the impacts of accounting for other non-cash changes in our debt balances due to hedge
accounting for interest rate swaps, foreign currency translation, interest accretion and capital leases.
As of December 31, 2011, we had (i) $925 million of debt maturing within twelve months, including $150
million of borrowings outstanding under our revolving credit facility, U.S.$137 million of advances outstanding
under our Canadian credit facility, $400 million of 6.375% senior notes that mature in November 2012 and $168
million of tax-exempt bonds and (ii) $305 million of fixed-rate tax-exempt borrowings subject to re-pricing
within the next twelve months. Under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, this debt
must be classified as current unless we have the intent and ability to refinance it on a long-term basis. We have
the intent and ability to refinance $599 million of this debt on a long-term basis and have classified the remaining
$631 million as current obligations as of December 31, 2011. In January 2012, we borrowed an additional $50
million under our revolving credit facility, increasing the total loans outstanding under our revolving credit
facility to $200 million.
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