A Very Big Deal

You Know a Story is Big When Bill Gates feels compelled to weigh in on it. So, it is with the unfolding Republic-Allied-Waste Management saga.

Gates, the creator of Microsoft and one of the richest men on the planet, owns more than 15 percent of Republic's shares and 2.3 percent of Waste Management's, according to press reports. He recently urged Waste Management to drop its pursuit of Republic (which is planning a merger with Allied), calling the acquisition effort “ill-timed and poorly conceived.”

Keeping up with all of the twists and turns, such as Gates' comments and, more important, the firms' various machinations, can be a challenge for a monthly magazine. However, we have dipped our toe into the pool with Michael Fickes' feature (“The Ripening of Republic, p. 24) analyzing Republic's growth over the past decade and how it has become strong enough to reach a merger agreement with the second-largest firm and also be desired by the largest. It's the kind of broad overview and analysis you've come to expect in Waste Age.

This issue went to press in early August. For the most up-to-date information on this unfolding story, please visit www.wasteage.com.

Chaz has racked up a number of honors — including a national ASBPE award — in recent years.

David Mitchell, our senior art director, also has brought home an award. He won a bronze award in the ASBPE's Central-Southeast Region's “Front Cover-Computer Generated” category for the January 2007 issue of Waste Age. His work illustrated our “Clearing the Air” story on the 2007 engine emission requirements.

Sadly for us, David is changing careers. His three years of top-quality work are much appreciated. Fortunately, Art Director David Ramares remains an integral part of our Waste Age family, and he is in the middle of creating an exciting new look for our publication.

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The author is the editor of Waste Age