Permitted North American Hazardous Waste Landfills Accepted 4.9 Million Tons in 2000

Commercial hazardous waste landfills report a 50,000 ton loss compared to 1999

Contacts: Stacey Dennehy 952/831-2473, ext. 12
Cary Perket 858/488-4760

July 17, 2001 — For Immediate Release

Minneapolis, Minnesota — Environmental Information Limited, North America’s leading business research service on the commercial hazardous waste management marketplace has released its annual statistics for the commercial hazardous waste landfill sector. The total volume of waste accepted in 2000 was approximately 4.9 million tons. The closure of the Safety-Kleen’s Pinewood North Carolina facility decreased by one the number of commercial landfills operating in North America.

The results reflect a variety of factors in the marketplace. EI Researcher Stacey Dennehy comments that "the surveyed commercial landfills are diversified and specialized in the types of waste that they receive. The total volume reflects a mix of hazardous waste, non-hazardous waste, remediation waste, provincial or state hazardous waste as well as U.S. wastes regulated under the Toxic Substance Control Act." The total volume of waste in 2000 was approximately 50,000 tons less than what was reported in 1999.

Historically, the amount of remediation activity heavily influences the waste reported each year by individual facilities. That trend continues today. "In 2000, the amount of non-hazardous waste accepted at these 23 facilities decreased by almost 40 percent compared to 1999. Our research found the cause to be reduced amounts of non-hazardous remediation wastes sent to these facilities," says Dennehy.

The commercial hazardous waste landfill sector was already consolidated prior to 2000. Of the 23 landfills, Safety-Kleen and Waste Management own eight and six, respectively. In 2000, American Ecology Corporation purchased one of the landfills owned by Envirosource. Entering 2001, three waste management companies own seventeen of twenty-three landfills.

Despite the consolidation of the sector, there has been no easing of price competition. EI Senior Researcher Cary Perket comments that "the disharmony between Canadian and U.S. regulations have had a negative influence as U.S. generators are sending their U.S. hazardous waste to non-hazardous waste facilities in provinces like Quebec." Another challenge for the sector are independent brokers. "The sector continues to work with independent brokers despite the fact that they pressure facilities to adopt pricing levels that are not attractive," Perket says.

This report appeared in the EI Digest: Hazardous Waste Marketplace, a business research report published 10 times per year that covers hazardous waste management issues. Further information of the EI Digest can be found on ENVIROBIZ.COM (www.envirobiz.com), one of the Internet’s leading sites for proprietary and public environmental business information. Based in Edina, Minnesota, Environmental Information, Ltd. (EI) specializes in information and research on the environmental services and technology marketplace. EI provides original subscription-based research services. Among the services is the comprehensive compilation of the largest directory and database of environmental service firms, landfills and treatment, storage and disposal (TSD) facilities in North America. For further information, contact customer service at 952/831-2473.

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