Attendees Enjoy Strong Market

A healthy economy and record attendance led to a successful Waste Expo.

Attendance at the Waste Expo convention at the end of April was strong, with the usual mix of public and private sector attendees. Far from usual, however, was the mood – the industry appears to have awakened from its long slumber, especially the recycling segment of the industry.

Various sessions during the convention covered issues as diverse as ethics in the workplace, moving companies into the computer age, market analyses of various recyclables, design of material recovery facilities and mergers and acquisitions in the solid waste and recycling industry.

The general session began with a dual report by Mike Frischkorn, president and CEO for the Environmental Industries Association, and Lee Brandsma, chairman of EIA. Both noted that the solid waste and recycling industry has turned the corner and is now showing signs of strength.

The two representatives lauded association members for the significant changes made in the year since the restructuring of the association, formerly called the National Solid Wastes Management Association. The change comes as the association is becoming more responsive to the needs of its various members.

Following presentations given by Frischkorn and Brandsma, representatives from the association’s sub-groups, the Hazardous Waste Management Association, the National Solid Wastes Management Association, and the Waste Equipment Technology Association, discussed the changes taking place in their individual groups, as well as the need to continue growing their membership. Many noted that the recent improvement in the economy has benefited their segment of the industry.

In particular, Tony Ciofalo, chairman of the NSWMA, pointed out that the association had a good year in 1994, with increased revenues, less spending and a number of legislative victories.

"We defeated flow control and interstate transport regulations," said Ciofalo, "and we received some truck weight relief. And a just compensation law in Virginia set a precedent."

Keynote addresses during the conference were made by Raymond Vickery, assistant secretary for trade development with the U.S. Commerce Department, and William Kristol, chairman of the Project for the Republican Future. The two covered the political landscape, with Vickery noting steps the Commerce Department, along with the Democratic presidential administration, is making to improve trade in U.S. environmental technologies and services overseas.

"What you do is absolutely fundamental to our economy and international trade," he told the assemblage. "Jobs and the environment are not incompatible. This is where our country’s comparative advantage lies – in using the engine of the private sector to lead the world in environmental technology."

Bruce Cummings, managing director for Smith Barney, an investment company headquartered in New York City, gave a presentation covering the capital market overview in the solid waste industry. He expects to see continued mergers in the industry, especially in regards to recycling. While companies that traditionally were not in the solid waste industry are now getting more involved, market share is becoming more acute.

"Continued growth of recycling has reduced volumes of waste disposed at landfills, and, in some markets, produced lower gate disposal rates," Cummings noted. "Offsetting this trend is the decline in fortunes of the resource recovery business and the consequent effect on solid waste stream."

Although many people feel the solid waste industry is controlled primarily by Waste Management Inc. and Browning-Ferris Industries, Cummings showed that is not the case. While WMX and BFI are far and away the largest operations, they only control a small part of the overall industry, with the rest being made up of a number of smaller companies.

Highlighting the changes in the industry, the several recent mergers and acquisitions were touched on: BFI acquiring Attwoods, the fourth largest market player, in a hostile tender offer; WMX offering a cash tender offer for Resource Recycling Technology; Chambers Development agreeing to a merger with U.S.A. Waste, after the latter’s merger with Envirofil; Mid-America Waste looking to explore the sale of the company, or specific assets; and Republic Waste announcing plans to split its solid and hazardous waste operations into separate companies.

On the show floor, however, the real beat of the industry took place.

Manufacturers of heavy-duty equipment noted that interest is so strong for finished products that they have backlogs, with demand for recycling equipment remaining high.

Software designers and programs were in large supply, suggesting that markets are heading to a level that will allow for controls over input and outflow.

While exhibitors reported strong interest by attendees in upgrading and expanding their operations, general attendees were searching for answers on how long the industry will continue to grow, where the industry is headed, and the impact that legislation will have on the industry.

In various sessions and in general conversation, the key issue under debate was flow control. With Congress nearing voting in a flow control ordinance, attendees and speakers, wrangled with thoughts on the way the landscape could change if large-scale flow control issues are passed.

The authors are senior editor and acting editor of Recycling Today.