Republic Services Inc. saw revenue increase slightly during the first quarter as profits dipped for the nation’s second-largest solid waste management company.

The Phoenix-based firm earned $124.6 million, or 34 cents per diluted share, on revenue of $2 billion. That compares to earnings of $142.9 million, or 38 cents per diluted share, on revenue of $1.98 billion for the first quarter of 2012.

Excluding charges, expenses and benefits, net income would have been $167.4 million, or 46 cents per diluted share, for the first quarter of this year, and $140.9 million, or 38 cents per diluted share for the first quarter of last year, the company reported.

Stock analysts predicted revenue of $2 billion and earnings of 40 cents per share, on average, according to Yahoo Finance.

CEO Donald W. Slager, in a statement, said the company’s first quarter performance “reflects an overall improvement in business conditions. We saw sequential increases in core pricing, volume and margins, which drove our strong Q1 results. We continue to profitably grow our core business as evidenced by year-over-year increases in revenue, earnings and free cash flow.”

Shares of Republic Services were up 86 cents to $34.11 in trading at one point this morning, according to Yahoo Finance.

Posted:   12/19/2012 11:14:59 PM PST

A group of Granada Hills neighbors has filed a lawsuit against Sunshine Canyon Landfill, accusing the operator of allowing noxious trash odors to stink up the community.

Landfill neighbors say an unbearable stench of decomposing trash and gas fumes is coming from the trash site, which takes in more than 9,000 tons of garbage a day.

Residents are forced to keep their windows shut and forgo use of their lawns, according to the complaint, which was filed last week. They say they’re unable to entertain because of embarrassment over the odor, and the smell has caused their home values to plummet.

The lawsuit, which seeks damages, states the community is being exposed “to pollutants, horrific odors, and air contaminants.”

The legal action comes after residents had already filed thousands of complaints with the South Coast Air Quality Management District. Continue reading

Article from Waste & Recycling News
By Jim Johnson @JimJohnsonWRN

Photo courtesy Republic Services Inc. Republic Services Inc. is undergoing a restructuring that’s expected to save millions of dollars each year.

Organizational changes by Republic Services Inc. in both the field and at corporate headquarters are expected to save the company more than $20 million a year, but not impact management closest to the customers.

The Phoenix-based solid waste management company consolidated its management structure at two higher levels, eliminating one of four regional offices and eight of 28 lower-area offices around the country.

Those moves, along with job cuts at its headquarters, will cost about $30 million to implement, but then save $23 million each year. The company did not provide the number of job cuts. Continue reading

Article from Waste & Recycling News
REFUSENICK by John Campanelli
Bill Gates' Cascade Investment LLC now owns more than 24% of Republic Services outstanding stock.Wikimedia Commons Bill Gates’ Cascade Investment LLC now owns more than 24% of Republic Services outstanding stock.

One of Republic Services Inc.’s biggest fans is also one of the world’s richest men.

We’ve reported on Bill Gates’ Cascade Investment LLC buying up shares of RSG stock before. It’s been a pattern for years.

Over the past week, Gates (through his Cascade investment arm) has purchased more than 2.7 million more shares and now owns 89.6 million shares of the Phoenix-based trash company. Those shares represent more than 24% of the company’s outstanding stock and they are worth about $2.45 billion.

What’s the Microsoft co-founder’s attraction to Republic? What’s his end game? What does he see?

I’ll leave that to the financial experts. All I know is that they better be running Windows on all of Republic’s computers.

In an apparent management shakeup, Republic Services, Inc. (Phoenix, AZ) has terminated the employment of its number two executive Kevin Walbrige, executive vice president of operations, and eliminated the position. A Nov. 28 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), indicates that his employment was terminated that day and that CEO Donald W. Slager “has assumed the responsibilities of the principal operating executive.” Walbridge had been promoted to EVP of operations in Oct. 2010 as part of the transition surrounding former CEO James O’Connor’s retirement. Walbridge moved to the corporate office to oversee operations replacing Mr. Slager who became chief executive officer. Company spokesman Will Flower said “I think Kevin’s departure from the company was mutually agreed upon in which both the CEO and Kevin came to the realization that the best thing for the organization was if Kevin were to leave.”

Walbridge previously served as our Senior Vice President of Midwestern Operations from December 2008 until then, and served as our Central Region Vice President from the time he joined us in 1997 through December 2008. Before joining Republic, he served as the Vice President Operations/Co-Owner of National Serv-All from 1996 to 1997, the President of Waste Management of Alameda County from 1993 to 1996, and the Division President of Empire Waste Management from 1985 to 1993.
FROM FORM 8K
November 30, 2011

Item 5.02.
Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.

Republic Services, Inc. (the “Company”) reports that the employment of Kevin C. Walbridge, Executive Vice President – Operations, terminated effective November 28, 2011, and that the Company has eliminated the position of EVP – Operations. The Company’s Chief Executive Officer, Donald W. Slager, has assumed the responsibilities of the principal operating executive.

https://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_18792888

A state agency has filed a notice of intent to cite the operators of Sunshine Canyon Landfill for violating the minimum standard for odor control.

The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery issued the notice late last week after reviewing Sunshine Canyon inspection reports for June and July.

Inspections were conducted by a local enforcement agency composed of city and county officials, who did not return telephone calls Tuesday.

The CalRecycle notice warns Republic Services, operators of Sunshine Canyon, to correct the issue within 90 days to avoid the citation.

Republic spokeswoman Peg Mulloy said the odor problem could be coming from the gas-extraction system, which collects landfill gas and burns it off to prevent it from being released into the air.

“We hired an outside firm to repair or replace gas wells,” Mulloy said. “If we didn’t do this project, there would be deterioration. We expect that to be done in October.”

The number of complaints about foul smells from the landfill jumped more than tenfold in the last few years, according to state officials.

More than 600 complaints were registered in 2010, compared to fewer than 50 in 2008.

Sunshine Canyon Landfill is one of the nation’s largest integrated waste management facilities, taking in 9,500 tons of trash daily. It is actually two adjacent landfills – one on city land, one in county jurisdiction – that merged operations in 2009.

“We understand it’s a problem and we don’t want it to be,” Mulloy said of the odor issues. “We are looking at every possible cause and then we are taking every possible action to reduce and eliminate the odors.”

Mulloy said the company discontinued taking waste from one customer that was considered a potential source of the odor. She also said the city/county permit required Sunshine Canyon to cover one of the side slopes with green waste, which may also have caused the odor.

“We stopped that practice because of the odors generated,” Mulloy said.

Meanwhile, a Sunshine Canyon Landfill-Community Advisory Committee meeting will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. Thursday at the Knollwood Country Club, 12024 Balboa Boulevard, Granada Hills. The meeting will include officials from Sunshine, who will discuss how the odors are being mitigated.

https://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_18004281

ODOR: Complaints by residents against Sunshine Canyon have increased tenfold in two years.

(South Coast Air Quality Management)

SYLMAR – A pungent odor emanating from the Sunshine Canyon landfill over the last two years has left nearby residents holding their noses and local officials scratching their heads.

The number of complaints about foul smells from the landfill wafting over neighborhoods and schools has jumped more than tenfold in the last two years, according to state officials. More than 600 complaints were registered in 2010, compared to less than 50 in 2008.

This year since Jan. 1 alone, at least 676 complaints have been filed with the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

“How much is enough for this community?” said a frustrated Wayde Hunter, president of North Valley Coalition, a nonprofit organization which was formed more than 20 years ago.

“There’s just been an exponential increase in days when there is an odor,” he said. “I’m frantic, I just don’t know what to do.”

But the landfill’s operators and local environmental officials have yet to discover the source of the stench.

Sunshine Canyon Landfill, which takes in 9,500 tons of trash each day, is run by Republic Services, one of the largest integrated waste management companies in the United States.

“We know there is an odor issue, and that is unacceptable to us,” said Peg Mulloy, spokeswoman for Republic. “Right now, we don’t know where (the odor is) coming from. We’re focusing all our efforts on trying to find the problem.”

Mulloy said new general manager David Cieply has been hired as part of the company’s effort to bring in new people to help solve the problem at the landfill.

“The key is, we admit that there are odors and we know there is a problem,” she said. “We know people are unhappy.”

The AQMD has issued 15 violations against operators of the landfill so far this year, compared to four for the same time period in 2010.

The landfill, at 14747 San Fernando Rd., in Sylmar is about two miles north of Van Gogh Elementary School in Granada Hills, where children, parents, and teachers complain they smell a foul odor each morning until about 10 a.m.

“It usually dissipates by recess,” said Gale Gundersen, who called in a complaint to the AQMD on Thursday.

She said the increase in odors began last year.

“It’s a strong garbage smell,” she said.

The AQMD violation notices do not come with fines, but the agency in January ordered the landfill to fix the problem, said Sam Atwood, a spokesman for the air-quality regulating agency.

In very rare circumstances, a landfill is ordered to cease operations, Atwood said. “We’ve received hundreds of complaints and that shows there is a problem,” Atwood said.

The Los Angeles Unified School district is documenting the problem as well. So far, the district has no accounts of students who have been sickened or hospitalized because of the odor, said John Sterritt, director of environmental health and safety for LAUSD.

“The kids are overcome by the odor, and we think that’s a really big problem,” said Bill Piazza, an environmental assessment coordinator for LAUSD.

Along with the AQMD, Los Angeles city and county officials last month formed a 90-day action plan. Landfill operators are supposed to reduce the number of trucks delivering trash during peak hours, use soil, instead of tarps, to cover the trash at the end of the day, and install several DustBoss odor control units in areas where trash is deposited.

Landfill operators also must conduct odor patrols from 6 to 10 a.m. and 6 to 10 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.

The city and county formed a joint enforcement team in 2008 to supervise Sunshine Canyon. Sunshine is actually two side-by-side landfills – one on city land, one in county jurisdiction – that merged operations in 2009.

“We’re very concerned about it,” said Tony Bell, spokesman for Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, whose district includes the landfill. He said the county Department of Public Works has been in talks with Republic to make sure the 90-day plan of action is implemented.

While no cause is known for sure, city and county officials speculate the odor could be caused by types and quantities of trash received, methods of handling the trash, and/or a faulty landfill gas collection system among other factors.

City Councilman Greig Smith said officials are collecting all the notices of violation as well as other information, in case legal action against the operators of the landfill becomes necessary.

“We can order them to close the doors which is in our purview,” Smith said. “The onus is on their backs to perform. It’s taken so ridiculously long.”

https://www.wasterecyclingnews.com/headlines2.html?id=1266420718

Warren Buffett likes trash.

The well-known investor, whose every financial move is watched closely by Wall Street, has substantially increased his investment in Republic Services Inc., the nation´s No. 2 solid waste management company.

In a new filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Buffett´s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. says it held 8,290,500 shares of the company´s stock as of the end of 2009.

That compares with 3,625,000 shares at the end of last year´s third quarter.

Buffett joins billionaire buddy Bill Gates with substantial holdings in Republic Services. Gates has been a long-time investor in the company, and Buffett only started buying stock within recent months. Berkshire Hathaway, a publicly traded company, owns stock in about 40 other firms.

Contact Waste & Recycling News senior reporter Jim Johnson at 937-964-1289 or jpjohnson@crain.com