Feds Probe Trash Firms

More than 60 waste firms are under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service, according to recent media reports. A law enforcement official told The Associated Press that investigators are looking into allegations of intimidation and price-fixing.

Bruce Parker, president and CEO of the Washington-based National Solid Wastes Management Association (NSWMA), says any firm guilty of illegal conduct “should be punished with the full force of the law.” However, “NSWMA consists of thousands of legitimate trash companies that comply with local, state and federal laws,” he says. “To the extent that this current federal investigation finds evidence of illegal behavior, it would be both unfair and a gross disservice to the men and women in the industry to use this isolated occurrence to resurrect old stereotypes about the solid waste industry.”