Increasingly, more municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills are becoming privatized, now controlling the bulk of waste in the U.S.
Today, about half of them are privately owned, with industry controlling 85 to 90 percent of permitted capacity, estimates Michael E. Hoffman, managing director of environmental services research for Stifel. This is in contrast to 17 percent that were privately owned in 1984 and 36 percent in 1998, according to a report by the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA).
