Waste Management Spent $220,000 Lobbying Congress on Climate Bill

Date: August 18, 2009

Source: News Room

Waste Management Inc. spent $220,000 in the second quarter to lobby Congress on electronic waste, landfill gas-to-energy, a gas pipeline tax credit, and other issues, according to a recent disclosure report and the Associated Press. With the Waxman-Markey climate change bill looming and its implications to reshape the economics of the waste industry, the company joined with others including the major trade associations to remind Congress about the environmental benefits of initiatives already in practice.

In particular, the industry was focused on two fronts: that waste-to-energy be exempt from a cap-and-trade system of pollution credits and that the energy produced qualify as a renewable source to meet the proposed portfolio standards in the bill. The renewable portfolio standard (RPS) requires a certain percentage of a utility's power plant capacity or generation to come from renewable or alternative energy sources. The company also lobbied lawmakers to prohibit the export of electronic waste except under more stringent conditions, partly in response to conditions abroad especially in China where e-waste recycling has had a devastating impact on human and environmental health and to protect a viable local business. The company also supports a tax credit for the production of pipeline quality gas from landfill gas.

Sign up to receive our free Weekly News Bulletin