How has the public sector side of the waste business — both contractors and operations — changed?
Mickey: Economics have a dynamic impact on the public sector. When the economy is tight, cities, counties and states will look to create additional revenue sources. We see that in the Northeast through taxes — and that’s what they are — on disposal, etc. What is troubling is when the city turns and gets back into the collection side of the business because they take away the private company’s ability to perform and provide service. And they’re doing so in most cases with economics that are driven [by circumstances that are a lot different] than what the privates face. On the landfill side, it’s a competitive business. I would hope that the same application of [regulations] apply to the counties and the cities as they do to the private side of the business. In many cases they do, but in some cases they don’t.
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