=======================Electronic Edition========================
RACHEL’S HAZARDOUS WASTE NEWS #53
—November 30, 1987—
News and resources for environmental justice.
——
Environmental Research Foundation
P.O. Box 5036, Annapolis, MD 21403
Fax (410) 263-8944; Internet: erf@igc.apc.org
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INCREASES IN MIDNIGHT DUMPING ARE EXPECTED BECAUSE OF WASTE HAULER
PROBLEMS HITTING SMALL BUSINESSES
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;