FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Robert Wolfe

Manager of Marketing & Communications

240-494-2256

rwolfe@swana.org

The Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee introduced a revised draft of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 HR 2454 that included a number of changes consistent with SWANA’s recommendations in an April 28 letter.

On Friday, May 15, Chairman Waxman introduced a revised draft of HR 2454 that is much more supportive of waste-to-energy operations and recognizes their contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Consistent with SWANA’s recommendations, waste-to-energy operations would no longer be regulated under the cap in this version of the bill. The May 15 draft specifically excludes operations that derive 95% or more of their energy from municipal solid waste.

The revised renewable portfolio standard in HR 2454 includes “qualified waste-to-energy” as an eligible renewable source. Energy derived from the combustion, gasification or pyrolization of municipal solid waste and construction, demolition or disaster debris would qualify as a renewable as long as it meets a number of stipulations.

The draft also includes waste-to-energy as an eligible renewable under the federal renewable purchasing program.

“SWANA is very pleased that the renewable energy and climate benefits of waste-to-energy are now recognized in the climate bill,” said John H. Skinner, Ph.D. SWANA Executive Director and CEO. “While there are still a number of questions and concerns that need to be resolved in the bill’s language, SWANA looks forward to working with the Congress in improving this important legislation,” Skinner added.

About SWANA:

For 40 years, SWANA, the Solid Waste Association of North America, has been the leading professional association in the solid waste management field. SWANA’s mission is “to advance the practice of environmentally and economically sound management of municipal solid waste.” SWANA serves over 8,000 members and thousands more industry professionals with technical conferences, certifications, publications and a large offering of technical training courses. For more information, visit www.SWANA.org.

LEHIGH VALLEY, PA (May 20, 2009) – Mack Trucks, Inc. will again sponsor a Driving Skills Safety Challenge during the WasteExpo 2009 show. The competition will be held in the Silver lot #4 next to the Renaissance Hotel outside the Las Vegas Convention Center on June 9 and 10, 2009. The competition runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, June 9, and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, June 10.

The competition is open to any driver at least 18 years of age with a valid CDL who shows proof of operator training, and is registered for the show. This year’s event will include individual and team competitions (two operators per team).

Contestants will operate their choice of MACK® TerraPro™ Low Entry and Cabover models in a closed course set up to simulate actual refuse conditions. Operators must complete a pre-operation safety check and successfully navigate the skills course. Each individual will have one (1) attempt. Scoring will be based on accuracy and adherence to safety procedures. Specific scoring rules will be provided at the event. Complete rules for the competition can be found at http://www.macktrucks.com/default.aspx?pageid=2218.

First-, second-, and third-place overall event winners will be announced at 4 p.m. Wednesday, June 10 during the Environmental Research and Education Foundation’s (EREF) Auction.

Mack will give away more than $15,000 in prizes during the two-day competition. In addition to trophies, the following prizes will be awarded to the top three finishers in the individual competition, as well as to each operator in the top three two-person teams:

First Place: $500 gift certificate, a GPS navigation display, watch, and sunglasses

Second Place: $300 gift certificate and a Mack Citizen Eco-Drive watch

Third Place: $100 gift certificate and a chrome Mack Bulldog

All contestants will receive a Mack hat, money clip, duffel bag and a thermos with case.

“Refuse industry drivers make a critical contribution to safety every day as they travel crowded urban streets or make thousands of pickups on neighborhood roads,” said Michael Reardon, Mack vice president of marketing. “It takes real skill and awareness to be safe and productive in this type of operation. Mack designed this competition to highlight the professionalism of refuse truck drivers.”

Dedicated to quality, reliability, and total customer satisfaction, Mack Trucks, Inc. has provided its customers with innovative transportation solutions for more than a century. Today, Mack is one of North America’s largest producers of heavy-duty trucks, and MACK® vehicles are sold and serviced in more than 45 countries worldwide. All Mack manufacturing locations are certified to the internationally recognized ISO 9001 standard for quality and ISO 14001 standard for environmental management systems. Mack is also a proud sponsor of Share the Road, an American Trucking Associations’ public information campaign aimed at enhancing the safety of our nation’s roadways.

Mack Trucks, Inc. is part of the Volvo Group, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of trucks, buses and construction equipment, drive systems for marine and industrial applications, aerospace components and services, and one of the world’s leading producers of heavy-diesel engines (9-16 liter). The Group also provides complete solutions for financing and service. The Volvo Group, which employs about 100,000 people, has production facilities in 19 countries and sells their products in more than 180 markets. Volvo Group sales for 2008 amounted to over $46 billion. The Volvo Group is a publicly-held company headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden. Volvo Shares are listed on Nasdaq OMX Nordic Exchange and are traded OTC in the U.S.

For more information about Mack, visit our Web site at www.macktrucks.com.

On Tuesday, May 5, 2009, the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) and the National Solid Wastes Management Association submitted joint comments on the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed revisions to AP-42, Fifth Edition, Volume I, Chapter 2.4 Municipal Solid Waste Landfills and the Background Information Document for Updating AP-42 Section 2.4 for Estimating Emissions from Municipal Solid Waste Landfills. These emission standards are very important to the landfill industry because they affect federal, state and local air quality permits.

John H. Skinner, Executive Director and CEO stated that: “SWANA was very pleased to work with NSWMA to provide substantial data to EPA that we believe will significantly improve the emission factors in the EPA document.” Bruce J. Parker, NSWMA President and CEO, stated that: “Both public and private landfill owner/operators have an important stake in ensuring that EPA’s Final AP-42 guidance truly represent the emissions occurring at their landfills.”

SWANA and NSWMA expressed concern on the following issues:

The rejection of non-methane organic compounds concentration data from NSPS/EG Tier 2 studies using the geoprobe method; and

The rejection of data submitted in 2000 and 2001 and the failure of EPA to advise of the rejection until 2009.

The two associations hope that through the further review of new data submitted by their members and a thorough review of current published technical literature, EPA can revise the draft AP-42 and background information document accordingly.

To view the letter SWANA and NSWMA sent to the Environmental Protection Agency, visit http://swana.org/portals/solutions/SWANANSWMAFinalLetter.pdf.

About SWANA:

For 40 years, SWANA, the Solid Waste Association of North America, has been the leading professional association in the solid waste management field. SWANA’s mission is “to advance the practice of environmentally and economically sound management of municipal solid waste.” SWANA serves over 8,000 members and thousands more industry professionals with technical conferences, certifications, publications and a large offering of technical training courses. For more information, visit www.SWANA.org.

About NSWMA:

The National Solid Wastes Management Association (NSWMA) – a sub-association of the Environmental Industry Associations (EIA) – represents for-profit companies in North America that provide solid, hazardous and medical waste collection, recycling and disposal services, and companies that provide professional and consulting services to the waste services industry. NSWMA members conduct business in all 50 states. For more information, visit www.nswma.org.

Contact: Latisha Petteway, (202) 564-4355 / 3191 / petteway.latisha@epa.gov

(Washington, D.C. – May 5, 2009) EPA is announcing next steps on two hazardous waste rules to respond to concerns raised by stakeholders: the Definition of Solid Waste rule and the Emission Comparable Fuels rule.

EPA is planning to hold a public meeting to discuss possible revisions to the Definition of Solid Waste (DSW) rule in response to an administrative petition asking the agency to reconsider and repeal the rule. The rule became effective on December 29, 2008. The meeting is planned for the end of June, and a Federal Register notice with the details of the meeting will be published in May.

The DSW rule modified the regulations for recycling hazardous secondary materials to encourage the recycling of certain materials to help conserve resources. The rule includes conditions designed to ensure that the recycling of the materials is protective of human health and the environment. The rule also takes into account a series of opinions in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on the meaning of the term “discard,” which forms the basis of the definition of solid waste.

Since publication of the DSW rule, the Sierra Club has raised concerns about the effectiveness and protectiveness of the rule and has requested EPA stay the rule in an administrative petition. In addition, the Sierra Club and the American Petroleum Institute have filed judicial petitions for review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Various industry groups have also filed letters opposing the Sierra Club’s administrative petition.

EPA expects that stakeholders’ input at the public meeting will assist the agency in deciding whether to make revisions to the rule and how such revisions would further ensure that the rule appropriately and safely encourages resource conservation for those hazardous secondary materials that are conditionally excluded. The Federal Register notice announcing the meeting will raise specific questions for consideration, particularly related to reclamation that is not under the control of the generator. Any revisions to the rule would be made through the full public rulemaking process.

EPA is also planning to propose a rule to withdraw the Emission Comparable Fuels (ECF) rule, which became effective on January 20, 2009. The proposal will present the agency’s concerns and request comments from the public after publication in the Federal Register, planned for November 2009. After evaluating the public comments, the EPA will make a decision on whether to repeal the exclusion.

The ECF rule removed regulatory costs by reclassifying certain manufacturing byproducts as non-wastes. ECF is fuel that is produced from a hazardous waste, but which generates emissions when burned in an industrial boiler that are comparable to emissions from burning fuel oil. The materials must also be stored under an elaborate set of requirements. The final rule has been criticized for allowing hazardous waste to evade the hazardous waste regulatory system, and also for being difficult to administer. Industry members have also criticized it because of the detailed and prescriptive conditions for reclassification, which they believe will limit the rule’s use.

More information on the Definition of Solid Waste rule: http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/hazard/dsw/rulemaking.htm

More information on the Emission Comparable Fuels rule: http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/hazard/tsd/td/combust/compfuels/exclusion.htm

HOUSTON – April 29, 2009 – Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE: WMI) today announced financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2009. Net income(a) for the quarter was $155 million, or $0.31 per diluted share, compared with $241 million, or $0.48 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2008. Revenues for the first quarter of 2009 were $2.81 billion compared with $3.27 billion for the same 2008 period. Of the $456 million decrease in revenue, only $132 million, or 4.7% of revenue, comes from operational impacts to the solid waste collection and disposal business. The balance of the decline is due to commodity impacts related to recycling materials, fuel and energy, and non-operational items including foreign currency translation and one fewer work day during the first quarter of 2009.

The Company noted certain items that impacted results in the 2009 and 2008 first quarters. Excluding these items, net income would have been $0.42 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2009 compared with $0.47 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2008.(b)

Results in the first quarter of 2009 included a decrease of $0.11 per diluted share from:

• A $23 million reduction in net income due to charges related to the restructuring announced in February 2009; and

• A $30 million reduction in net income related to the abandonment of SAP software.

Results in the first quarter of 2008 included a net $0.01 per diluted share benefit due to $6 million of net income from income tax audit settlements.

David P. Steiner, Chief Executive Officer of Waste Management, commented, “I am pleased with the way we are performing during this challenging economic environment. We increased our income from operations margin on an as-adjusted basis by 70 basis points compared to the prior year period, and we generated strong cash flow.(b) The majority of our business relates to commercial and residential sources and is generally recession resistant. Internal revenue growth from volume in our commercial and residential collection lines in the first quarter was consistent with our experience during 2008, at about negative 4% each. The fourth quarter volume declines that we saw in our more economically sensitive industrial collection, landfill, transfer & recycling businesses continued into 2009. We expect volumes in these economically sensitive lines of business to remain soft in 2009 and, as a result, we continue to focus on cost and pricing discipline and driving continued efficiency throughout our organization.

“As we anticipated, we saw a negative impact of $0.09 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2009, compared with the prior year period, as a result of the deterioration of the recycling commodities markets. Conditions have stabilized and prices have been trending upward from the lows reached in January. We continue to expect a negative year-over-year impact from recycling operations of $0.15 to $0.20 per diluted share for the full year 2009, most of which is expected to be in the first half of the year.”

Steiner concluded, “At the beginning of February we restructured the Company to prepare ourselves for a slower economy, and these actions succeeded, saving us approximately $10 million per month in February and March. Consequently, we expect to exceed $120 million in annualized savings from our restructuring. The recession resistant qualities and strong cash flows of our solid waste business, combined with the proactive steps we are taking to strengthen our pricing programs and reduce our costs, give us confidence that we will continue to generate strong cash returns for our shareholders and emerge from this economic downturn even stronger than before. We remain confident that we will meet the 2009 goals that we announced earlier in the year.”



Key Highlights for the First Quarter 2009

• Internal revenue growth from yield on our collection and disposal business was 3.1% when calculated using revenue only from these lines of business.

• Internal revenue growth from volume was negative 8.1%. Adjusting for the effect of one less work day during the first quarter of 2009 compared to the prior year quarter, internal revenue growth from volume was negative 7.4%.

• Operating expenses declined by $367 million, or approximately 17.5%, to $1.73 billion in the first quarter of 2009. As a percentage of revenue, first quarter 2009 operating expenses decreased to 61.4%, which is a 270 basis point improvement compared with the same quarter in 2008, and is a strong performance given the revenue decline.

• Cost savings totaling approximately $20 million were realized for the months of February and March related to the restructuring we announced in February and annualized savings are expected to exceed $120 million. A charge of $38 million was incurred for this restructuring and up to $15 million of additional charges are expected to be incurred in the second and third quarters of 2009.

• A $5 million benefit to net income resulted from the accounting impact of an increase in the 10-year risk free interest rate, which is used to calculate the present value of our remediation liabilities.

• Net cash provided by operating activities was $519 million in the quarter.

• Capital expenditures were $325 million in the quarter, a $112 million increase from the prior year period. This is primarily the result of paying in 2009 expenditures incurred in 2008. We still expect full year capital expenditures to be in the range of $1.1 billion to $1.2 billion.

• $143 million was returned to shareholders through dividend payments in the quarter.

• The effective tax rate in the quarter was approximately 37.2%, which reflects the impact of the implementation of an accounting change.

PHOENIX-April 28, 2009 – Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) today announced that it received CSX Transportation’s (CSXT) first-ever Environmental Award. The award was conferred upon the company at the CSX Environmental Awards dinner to be held in Jacksonville, Florida on April 23.

CSXT is recognizing its freight railroad customers whose shipping practices help to significantly reduce carbon emissions. In 2008, Republic reduced carbon emissions by 38,952,000 tons by shipping refuse on CSXT freight rail. In addition, by choosing to ship via rail, the company conserves fossil fuels and helps alleviate congestion on the roads.

“Environmental responsibility is our business and we’re honored to be recognized for what we do,” said Republic CEO Jim O’Connor. “As stewards of the environment, we ensure that our operations are conducted consistent with environmental best practices and that the quality of the environment is a critical factor in our decision-making.”

Republic is one of 19 CSXT customers who, together in 2008 avoided over 1.2 million tons of carbon emissions by shipping with CSXT versus the highway alternative. These customers are being recognized because they either they led their industry in 2008 using CSXT to reduce their freight emissions or showed the greatest improvement in emissions efficiency in 2008 compared to 2007.

“CSXT is pleased to honor Republic Services with this award,” said Clarence W. Gooden, executive vice president - sales and marketing and chief commercial officer, CSX. “Shipping via freight rail is the most environmentally-friendly mode of surface transportation; one train is as efficient as 280 trucks, and can haul a ton of freight more than 436 miles on a single gallon of fuel.”

Republic Services, Inc. has been building on success since its inception in 1998, becoming an industry-leading provider of waste and environmental services. The company provides trash collection services to commercial, industrial, municipal and residential customers in 40 states and Puerto Rico through its 400 collection companies. Republic Services owns or operates 242 transfer stations, 213 solid waste landfills and 78 recycling facilities. The company is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona and has 34,000 employees. For more information, visit the Republic Services web site at www.republicservices.com.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 21, 2009

Contact: Thom Metzger, 202-364-3751

(Washington, DC) – As America celebrates the 39th annual Earth Day, the nation’s solid waste industry says it plans to continue investing hundreds of millions of dollars over the next decade to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants, create additional renewable sources of energy to reduce America’s dependence on fossil fuels, and continue expanding the amount of recyclables that it processes.

“The solid waste industry has long moved beyond simply collecting trash. We are leaders in responding to the most pressing environmental concerns of the day, including addressing climate change and developing new sources of renewable energy,” said Bruce Parker, president and CEO of the National Solid Wastes Management Association (NSWMA), which represents the private sector solid waste industry in the United States.

“Today, just about every waste collector is examining its fleet of trucks to conserve energy. That includes working with manufacturers to develop more fuel efficient, cleaner-burning vehicles powered with alternative fuels and using hybrid engines,” said Parker. Hybrid technology is particularly promising for garbage trucks because of their stop-and-go nature.

“The industry has for years invested in trucks fueled by liquefied natural gas, ultra-low sulfur fuel and other low-emission fuels. Now, many operators are looking to alternative fuels like biodiesel and even methane gas from landfills to run their trucks,” said Parker. Both alternative fuel and hybrid trucks have been used in many cities, including San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Fort Worth and Denver.

Waste companies are also using routing software and GPS systems to make routes more efficient, regularly checking tire pressure, and being vigilant about routine maintenance in order to make fleets more efficient than ever before, said Parker.

“With more than 130,000 total trucks collecting waste and recyclables in U.S. cities, these efforts combined will significantly reduce greenhouse emissions and improve air quality,” he noted.

In addition to reducing the impact of its fleet, waste management companies continue to pioneer technologies that turn trash into sources of clean, renewable energy. The industry currently operates 470 landfill-gas-to-energy projects, providing electricity and heat for corporate and government users in 44 states. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has identified another 520 landfills as potential candidates for similar energy projects.

“Landfill-gas-to-energy projects address global warming by capturing methane, which is a greenhouse gas,” Parker noted.

The EPA estimates that using methane as renewable, “green” energy brings environmental and energy benefits equivalent to eliminating the CO2 emissions of 195 million barrels of oil a year. The Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has noted that landfill-gas recovery directly reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

Recycling and composting offer another greenhouse-reduction success story. The industry recycled or composted slightly more than one third of all municipal solid wastes in 2007, conserving precious resources, protecting air and water from potential pollution and leading to a 2.5 percent reduction in America’s total greenhouse gas emissions

“The solid waste industry is proud of its environmental achievements, but we’re not sitting on our laurels. Independent research determined that between 1974 and 1997, greenhouse gas emissions from solid waste and recycling declined by 78 percent, even while waste generation increased by 70 percent. Our collective efforts have made a difference, and we continue to raise the bar,” said Parker.

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NSWMA – a sub-association of the Environmental Industry Associations – represents for-profit companies in North America that provide solid, hazardous and medical waste collection, recycling and disposal services, and companies that provide professional and consulting services to the waste services industry. For more information about how America’s solid waste management professionals are serving as environmental health and safety stewards, protecting our environment and serving our communities, please visit http://www.everydayenvironmentalists.org/environmentalists.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts: Amanda Pratt, Rumpke Consolidated Companies, Inc. 513-741-2637; Bruce Parker, EIA, 202-364-3720

Environmental Industry Associations Honors Rumpkes with Life Time Achievement Award

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Tuesday, June 9, William J. Rumpke Sr. and his cousin and business partner Thomas B. Rumpke (posthumously) will be inducted into the Environmental Industry Associations’ (EIA) Hall of Fame.

EIA is the nonprofit trade association that represents for-profit companies in the waste service and equipment industry throughout North America. The

EIA Hall of Fame is for industry leaders who over the course of more than 20 years have made significant contributions to the industry and their community.

William (Bill) Rumpke Sr. is the president, chief executive officer, and chairman of the board at Rumpke Consolidated Companies, a company his father started in 1932. Thomas (Tom) Rumpke was an owner, co-president, and chief executive officer of the company until his death in 2004. Before becoming a waste services company, the family business was originally a hog farm where Bill and Tom at a young age helped collect garbage to feed the family’s hogs. In 1965, Bill and Tom partnered to create Rumpke Container Service. About 15 years later with the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, they formed the corporation’s environmental affairs and compliance department, recognizing the need to further point their business toward long-term environmental sustainability.

In the 1970s, the company expanded to include service markets in Indiana and Kentucky and in the late 1980s; the Rumpkes developed their own hydraulic systems (Rumpke Hydraulics & Machining), container shop (Rumpke Industrial Equipment Service Center), and then purchased a recycling company, Pickaway County Community Action Recycling, which later became Rumpke Recycling in 1989. Following more than 200 acquisitions, Rumpke Consolidated’s revenue exceeded $270 million annually. Today, the company’s revenue is $376 million and the firm is one of the largest privately-owned waste and recycling hauling companies in the United States with 2,300 employees, 1,700 trucks, 8 landfills, 7 recycling centers, and 20 transfer stations.

In addition, in 1984, the Rumpkes partnered with Getty’s Synthetic Fuel (now Montauk Energy Capital) to collect methane gas, a clean renewable source of alternative energy, from the company’s largest landfill in Ohio. Thirty-three thousand homes are heated every day with this renewable fuel, and the company is also investigating technology to fuel their collection fleets with methane if feasible, which helps to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

At the same time the company was expanding its waste collection and disposal services, Bill and Tom formed Rumpke Amusements and built a ballpark in Cincinnati, called Rumpke Park, which today still serves the local community for softball and youth baseball.

Over the years, the Rumpkes have funded the local boy scouts, built a new weight room for a Cincinnati high school, and regularly made donations to schools, hospitals, and other local events, a practice that continues at the company.

“People pick up on a company that cares and Tom and I wanted them to know that caring is what our company is all about,” said Bill Rumpke Sr. “I’m 69 years old, but still enjoy coming to work.”

Bill’s and Tom’s accomplishments have been recognized. In 1999, they received an Entrepreneur of the Year award from Ernst & Young. They have received annual recognition from Keep Cincinnati Beautiful and Great American Clean-Up for their commitment to local environmental clean-ups.

The University of Cincinnati Goering Center awarded them with a 2004 Tri-State Family Business of the Year Award. Bill has continued the company’s community spirit winning the 2005 Cincinnati Better Business Bureau Torch Award in Marketplace Ethics and a 2007 Dayton, Ohio Better Business Bureau Eclipse Award in Business Ethics as well as a Volunteers of America Ohio Valley Award. The company’s largest landfill was recognized with a 2007 Landfill Excellence in Operations Award.

According to Bill and Tom’s sons some of the company’s success is a result of a great love for their work and the employees who form the Rumpke organization. “I gain more respect for my dad each and everyday. He always leads by example. He shares the care and consideration he shows his children with his team of employees. His integrity and commitment to doing the right thing, as well as his drive to strategically develop the Rumpke organization, is a testament to his strength and courage. I admire and cherish the values he has instilled in me and the overall Rumpke organization,” said Bill’s son Bill Rumpke Jr., Chief Operating Officer at Rumpke.

“My father loved working at Rumpke and talking with the employees; whether it was a driver, landfill operator or one of the managers. He considered every employee part of the Rumpke family, he will always live in the heart of Rumpke,” said Todd Rumpke, Tom’s son and regional vice president of Rumpke’s Southeast Market.

“We are honored to recognize Bill and Tom for their life-time of dedicated service to the waste industry and the communities they serve,” said Bruce Parker, President and CEO, Environmental Industry Associations. “Their dedication and positive achievements in professional and community initiatives has made Bill and Tom a powerful example of leadership in the waste and recycling industry. Remarkably, they are the second generation of Rumpkes inducted into the EIA Hall of Fame, as their fathers received this honor in 2000.

The awards ceremony will take place on Tuesday, June 9 in Las Vegas, Nevada, as part of the waste industry’s national trade show, WasteExpo 2009.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 14, 2009

Contact: David Biderman, 202-364-3743

(Washington, DC) – Washington, DC – The National Solid Wastes Management Association (NSWMA) has produced Spanish versions of its Be Safe, Be Proud series of four safety-training videos, and is making them available to garbage companies and local governments. The Spanish versions will help those companies and governments with Spanish-speaking employees reduce their accidents and injuries.

The series of videos include Be Safe, Be Proud; Be Safe, Be Proud - At the Landfill; Be Safe, Be Proud - At the Transfer Station; and Be Safe, Be Proud for Supervisors and Route Managers. The 18-20 minute videos feature actual solid waste employees in real workplace hazard situations faced by drivers and helpers on collection routes or by workers at landfills and transfer stations. They help users reduce accidents, injuries, and fatalities.

“In any and every language, making safety a top priority helps reduce fatalities, injuries, and accidents,” said David Biderman, NSWMA’s General Counsel and safety director. He added, “NSWMA continues to work hard to improve safety in the solid waste industry, and our Be Safe, Be Proud videos are an important component of that effort.”

The videos were developed under a grant awarded by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

NSWMA promotes industry safety as a core value. Solid waste collection, processing and disposal are potentially dangerous activities, if they are not performed by workers who are properly trained and operating equipment that is not properly maintained. In addition to these videos, NSWMA offers a weekly newsletter, other training materials and a public-education program to help employers and employees reduce fatalities, injuries and accidents. These efforts have had a positive impact: The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported that the fatality rate for collectors of trash/recyclables substantially decreased in 2007 from 2006.

Order forms are available at www.nswma.org or by calling the NSWMA Publications Department at 800-424-2869.

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NSWMA – a sub-association of the Environmental Industry Associations – represents for-profit companies in North America that provide solid, hazardous and medical waste collection, recycling and disposal services, and companies that provide professional and consulting services to the waste services industry. NSWMA members conduct business in all 50 states. For more information, visit www.nswma.org.

The Delaware House of Representatives recently passed legislation that would establish a framework for a statewide residential curbside recycling system. The proposed program would be funded by the Delaware Recycling Fund through a new $3 per ton tax on trash. The bill now is pending in the Delaware Senate. The Maryland-Delaware Solid Waste Association (MDSWA) opposes the tax in this legislation.

These new taxes would be assessed unequally. Local governments that already offer a program to all residents would be exempt from paying the tax. But many of Delaware residents – who recycle on their own, use the Delaware Solid Waste Authority or pay a private hauler for recycling – would not be exempt and would be forced to pay. The exemption would not be offered to local businesses that have recycling programs. The tax would apply to all trash, including construction and demolition waste, commercial waste, and municipal solid waste. There would be no exceptions for businesses or schools already recycling or who are planning a recycling program.

Creating further inequities, local governments that are exempt from paying the tax could receive state funding through the program, creating situations where non-exempt communities will subsidize exempt communities.

“The Maryland-Delaware Solid Waste Association opposes the new $3 per ton trash tax because our members believe that it is not good public policy,” said MDSWA’s Director Alice Jacobsohn. “Delaware residents should not be fooled by the term ‘assessment’ or ‘fee’ in the bill. The supporters of the legislation should be upfront with their constituents. They are proposing a new tax!”

Jacobsohn added, “Americans already are reeling from inflation at the gas station and supermarket. Delaware residents living on fixed incomes – such as senior citizens or those living on social security – are especially vulnerable. Why add to their cost of living with an unnecessary new tax?”

Many people in Delaware already have recognized the need to recycle without state legislation. In fact, more than 60,000 Delaware households already are recycling. And the number of households engaging in recycling efforts is increasing every day.

Jacobsohn concluded, “Most MDSWA members already are engaged in recycling. Many of them have been for years. They are looking to increase this area of their businesses, making recycling available to their customers. New taxes only serve to hinder this on-going progress.”

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MDSWA is a trade association that serves the interests of solid wastes and recyclables collection and management companies of all sizes in Delaware. Members also include engineering, financial, and legal firms as well as manufacturers and distributors of equipment and products used for the management of wastes and recyclables. We are a chapter of the National Solid Wastes Management Association with members in all fifty states.