Waste Management 2013 Annual Report Download - page 151

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, 2013 and 2012 (in millions):
December 31, 2013 December 31, 2012
Remaining
Permitted
Capacity
Expansion
Capacity
Total
Capacity
Remaining
Permitted
Capacity
Expansion
Capacity
Total
Capacity
Balance, beginning of year ................ 4,558 612 5,170 4,485 621 5,106
Acquisitions, divestitures, newly permitted
landfills and closures .................. 22 — 22 82 — 82
Changes in expansions pursued(a) .......... — 33 33 — 9 9
Expansion permits granted(b) ............. 364 (364) — 40 (40) —
Airspace consumed ..................... (93) — (93) (92) — (92)
Changes in engineering estimates and
other(c) ............................. (82) 1 (81) 43 22 65
Balance, end of year ..................... 4,769 282 5,051 4,558 612 5,170
(a) Amounts reflected here relate to the combined impacts 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 decisions to no longer
pursue expansion permits.
(b) We received expansion permits at 12 of our landfills during 2013 and six of our landfills during 2012,
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.
The tons received at our landfills in 2013 and 2012 are shown below (tons in thousands):
2013 2012
#of
Sites
Total
Tons
Tons per
Day
#of
Sites
Total
Tons
Tons per
Day
Solid waste landfills ................... 262(a) 93,804 345 264 92,393 338
Hazardous waste landfills. .............. 5 568 2 5 640 2
267 94,372 347 269 93,033 340
Solid waste landfills closed or divested
during related year .................. 5 390 1 189
94,762(b) 93,222(b)
(a) In 2013, we acquired five landfills (two of which were previously operated through lease arrangements),
closed four landfills and our contract expired at one landfill.
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