City Still Weighing WMI's Bid

Erickinson (ND) officials in April denied Waste Management Inc.'s request to operate a trash service in the city because they were in the midst of a solid-waste ordinance study. They have since stepped up their study of privatization vs. city-owned refuse collection. As of August, they reportedly appear to favor owning all waste collection in town.

A city administrator said the landfill, which also bales and buries waste from several surrounding communities, will likely remain open at least 45 more years--if its remains under city control. He explained that by the city's managing its own waste systems, the people of the city can set the policies.

The Bismarck Tribune (ND) produced the following statistics regarding Waste Management Inc.'s operations in North Dakota:

The nation's largest waste handling company as of August operates in the eastern two-thirds of the state, owns three of the state's five private landfills, 10 hauling companies, and two inert landfills.

State health department regulators, according to the Tribune, said that Waste Management has a "fairly clean record" in North Dakota…on par with any other (North Dakota) landfill."

A department spokesperson, interviewed by the Tribune, said that [private] companies must meet operational requirements; submit monthly and annual reports; do groundwater monitoring, with analysis by an independent lab; and stay within its tonnage cap. Each landfill is inspected, on site, between three and five times a year.

With regard to community concerns for WMI's importing waste into the state, he said that the state has no rules' prohibiting importing of out-of-state waste because that is classified as interstate commerce.