The New York Times shines a spotlight on Houston, home to the nation’s largest waste handler in Waste Management, as well as to the worst recycling rate of any major metropolitan area in the nation.

Cheap land, a lack of political will, and an “independent streak” among the Houston populace translates into an anemic 2.6 recycling rate. Compare that to San Francisco at the opposite end of the spectrum, which recycles close to 70 percent of its waste, or New York, which is just above the national average at 34 percent.

“But city officials say real progress will be hard to come by. Landfill costs here are cheap. The city’s sprawling, no-zoning layout makes collection expensive, and there is little public support for the kind of effort it takes to sort glass, paper and plastics. And there appears to be even less for placing fees on excess trash.

‘We have an independent streak that rebels against mandates or anything that seems trendy or hyped up,’ said Mayor Bill White, who favors expanding the city’s recycling efforts. ‘Houstonians are skeptical of anything that appears to be oversold or exaggerated. But Houstonians can change, and change fast.’”



They’ll have to, lest the rest of the nation leave them behind.

Dr. Marcus Eriksen, director of research for the Algalita Marine Research Federation, is attempting to cross the Pacific Ocean on a raft constructed entirely of trash. The Long Beach, Calif.-based nonprofit is dedicated to the protection of the marine environment and its watersheds through research, education and restoration. Eriksen hopes to draw the world’s attention to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and help raise awareness of the need to reduce plastic waste.

The voyage, already six weeks long, was almost deep-sixed when several of the bottles used for flotation lost their caps and filled with water. But the craft was rescued and repaired, and continues its slow progress.

You can watch a CNN video about the raft trip here.

One of the more interesting side notes to come out of Waste Management’s spurned bid for Republic was just who was against the deal. According to the Associated Press, the investment office for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, which owns 15.6 percent of Republic and 2.3 percent of Waste Management, was a vocal opponent of the offer.

“The investment office also thinks the deal undervalues the target company, lacks strategic rationale, and believes the regulatory process will be arduous and risky,” says the AP report. “And it says Republic’s shareholders would be best served by the proposed purchase of Allied.”

Just three weeks after Republic agreed to buy Allied, the solid waste industry once again finds itself firmly in the media spotlight with yesterday’s announcement that Waste Management is seeking to scuttle the Republic-Allied deal by buying Republic. Here’s a brief round-up of what some major media outlets are saying about the offer:

Reuters: “Republic shares had been off 17 percent since word leaked of the company’s plan to bid for Allied, which created the opening Waste Management needed to offer a competing proposal, JPMorgan analyst Scott Levine wrote in a note to clients.

Republic’s strong business in Las Vegas is an especially compelling asset, said [Waste Management CEO David] Steiner, who said Waste Management hadn’t yet started to figure out how many landfills the combined company would have.”

Forbes.com: “Speaking at a Forbes conference several months ago, CEO Steiner said that one key to Waste Management’s future — and a possible driver of the Republic deal — is cornering the waste-to-energy business. With 227 landfills, the company already produces 2 gigawatts of ‘green’ power for 2 million homes. Waste Management burns trash to produce electricity, by tapping the methane produced in burning to create natural gas.”

Bloomberg.com: “Waste Management would likely borrow to pay for Republic, ‘adding considerable debt to the capital structure versus where they are today,’ Fitch analyst Stephen Brown said today in a telephone interview. ‘Equity investors are looking at the overall cost and having some concern about that.”’

The Wall Street Journal: “The three largest U.S. waste companies control more than two-thirds of the nation’s permitted landfill capacity, according to a February 2007 report by the Solid Waste Association of North America, a group of mostly municipal trash officials. A merger of $13-billion Waste Management and $3-billion Republic, in sales, would leave just under half the country’s permitted landfill capacity in the control of the combined company.”

Business Week: “A Republic-Allied deal would create a company with a market share of 17% to 18% in North America, a credible rival to Waste Management’s 24% share, according to Stewart Scharf, an equity analyst at Standard & Poor’s. But Waste Management’s Republic bid would boost its market share to 30%, putting even more distance between Waste Management and its second-place rival, Allied Waste, with a market share of 10% or 11% … Robert Lande, a law professor at the University of Baltimore and a director of the American Antitrust Institute, says by itself a 30% market share wouldn’t raise concerns—at least judging by the record of regulators in the Bush Administration. However, garbage hauling is a very local business, and the competitive landscape would need to be analyzed metropolitan area by metropolitan area, Lande says.”