An EPA study (not yet formally released) says we should expect an increase in midnight dumping. The study says small generators of hazardous waste--principally automotive maintenance shops and dry cleaners--are being forced out of business trying to comply with "small generator" hazardous waste disposal rules. Rather than go out of business, they'll probably choose "midnight dumping," the study suggests.

The study says there are several problems with hazardous waste disposal for small firms. Chief among them is the way the waste hauling industry is organized: the industry is a monopoly in many areas; this problem is "widespread," the study says. Where monopoly prevails, disposal prices are high and escalating, and "coercion, intimidation, and threatened boycott" are present. Coercion, intimidation and threatened boycott are the tactics brought to this industry by organized crime.

The study was completed by trade associations but will be distributed by Karen Brown, EPA Small Business Ombudsman, Mail Stop A149-C, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460; phone (202) 557-1938, Ask for a copy of "Hazardous Waste Pickup Problems Among Automotive Maintenance and Dry Cleaning Firms;" dated July, 1987.
--Peter Montague, Ph.D.

Descriptor terms: waste hauling industry; epa; hazardous waste; waste disposal technologies; small generators;