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Environmental Research and Education Foundation (EREF) – Size of the Solid Waste Industry Study

The solid waste industry is made up a small number of large, national firms plus thousands of small local haulers and municipalities. Prior to 2000, no comprehensive, defensible data was available to adequately define and defensibly measure the actual size of the industry. MSW Consultants principal John Culbertson managed a first-of-its-kind primary source research project on behalf the Environmental Research and Education Foundation to accomplish this task

This project required the development of customized survey questionnaire and processes targeting the public sector, small privately held companies, and publicly traded companies to gather data on employment, revenues, quantities of wastes under management, facilities and vehicles in use, and other industry statistics. The project relied on direct data collection from larger companies as well as extensive statistical sampling of the thousands of players in the industry. Mr. Culbertson developed the project scope of work, managed the compilation of the research and survey data, and assisted with the statistical analysis needed to extrapolate the findings to a national estimate. The project also included development of an economic impact model to evaluate the industry’s economic and tax impacts on the nation’s economy.

An executive summary of the project findings can be found on the EREF website at http://www.erefdn.org/sizeofindustryreport.html and the full report is available for purchase from the Foundation.