Warning: Waste Management Restructures Recycling Pricing
As if you weren’t battered by enough pass along costs already, Waste Management, the nation’s largest solid waste management company restructured it’s recycling pricing, passing more of it’s costs to end consumers.While I’d being doing it if I were CEO of Waste Management, it’s still a bitter pill to swallow.
What they’ve done is to install a minimum recycling processing fee. This protects Waste Management when the floor drops out on recycling commodity charges. Of course this has been the case in most recycling commodity markets in recent months.
Not satisfied with breaking even, they are also expecting a “fair return” on their capital with this move. What this mark up is, is unspecified.
Waste Management says it will still share a portion of any proceeds it makes from recycling sales, but don’t expect to see that until commidty prices recover. Even so, you need to be watchful of commodity prices and Waste Management to ensure they are making good on their word.
Tim, I like this comment. I also recognized this tact by WM when the recycling market fell out. I also see cities wrestling with this concept when there are shared profits clauses in their current municipal contracts. WM is not a fair player and that’s why the industry to protect private clients from overcharges and unfair business practices exists today.
Louis Ippolito
Integrity Waste Environmental