Fresh Kills Closing

Democrats and Republicans Battle

Waste Management Inc. (WMI) continues to gain New York City (NYC) contracts to transport massive tons of waste to Virginia and Pennsylvania since the city's decision to gradually close the world's largest landfill, Fresh Kills at Staten Island. WMI's new monopolistic position in the waste industry has enabled it to gain twenty year contracts with NYC. Profits probably are extraordinary (contracts have not been exposed yet) due to WMI's hiring a former NY state attorney general to head up their NYC operation and their hiring of a former Deputy NYC Mayor as a consultant. This places WMI in a close connection to the Republican NYC Mayor, Rudolf Giuliani, and Republican Staten Island Borough President, Guy Molinari, the political driving force to gain Fresh Kills closing by 2001.

Because of the extraordinary amount of waste of NYC and because of the growing protests in Pennsylvania and Virginia, WMI's basic conflict of interest may be exposed - they want more waste to increase their profits. WMI ultimately will lose their basic business of collection and landfills if the Pennsylvania Governor's 21st Century Environment Commission prediction comes true. The commission envisioned the next century as a place with little or no waste. Greenpeace has clearly exposed this basic WMI conflict of interest.

WMI has gained their virtual monopoly position through mergers to gain the most landfill space available in Virginia and Pennsylvania. Through host community payment agreements (legalized bribes), WMI has also been able to gain expansions of landfills so it can totally monopolize the NYC waste business at extraordinary monopolistic profits. Lawsuits by the Brooklyn borough to stop unfair newly planned transfer stations for the entire city will probably eventually also claim antitrust violations by WMI.

Whether in the short or long run, the huge interstate commerce importing of trash to Pennsylvania and Virginia will be another pressure point to press the United States to truly deal with the extraordinary waste produced by manufacturers and households. The citizens will need to gain power over corporations in general, and Waste Management, which represents the status quo in waste management!