Houston, Texas based Waste Management, Inc. is the largest solid waste management company in the United States serving nearly 20 million municipal, commercial, industrial, and residential customers through a network of 379 collection operations, 342 transfer stations, 283 active landfills, 17 waste-to-energy plants, and 116 recycling plants.[1]  With approximately 48,000 employees and 24,000 collection and transfer vehicles Waste Management collects 83 million tons of solid waste annually and landfills an additional 45 million tons of third party waste.  In 2006 they earned revenues of $13.4 billion. 

In 1998 Waste Management was acquired by USA Waste Services Inc. which took over its name.  At the time of the merger, USA Waste was the third largest waste corporation in the US and Waste Management the largest.  Consolidation of the companies was challenged on anti-trust grounds by the Department of Justice and several State Attorney Generals, including the New York AG.[2]  After agreeing to sell off waste collection and disposal operations in 13 states the merger was approved.

In 2001 Waste Management settled a class action lawsuit accusing it of violations of federal securities laws in connection with its 1998 merger with USA Waste Services and its statements about financial performance in the first three quarters of 1999.[3]  The suit was settled for $457 million adding to the $229 million that Waste Management and its auditing firm, Arthur Andersen, agreed to pay to settle another class-action suit earlier that same year for inflating the company's earnings by more than $1 billion between 1993 and 1996.

Contaminated Landfills
The EPA's National Priorities List of hazardous properties identifies Waste Management as a potential responsible party in connection with 75 contaminated landfill locations (16 of which Waste Management currently owns).  Waste Management estimates their liability in connection with these sites at anywhere from $268 to $458 million.[4]  

Contact Info
Facility Contact: Jay Kaplan
Phone: 718-533-5310
Email: jkaplan2@wm.com
Website: www.wm.com
NYSDEC Registration #: 41T23

Waste Management of NY 3850 Review Ave. is one of 21 waste transfer stations in New York City and New Jersey that have contracts with the city to receive DSNY-managed waste.[5]  Currently, the facility is permitted to receive a maximum of 958 tons per day (tpd) of waste.  However, if the city's 2004 Solid Waste Management Plan is realized, Waste Management Review Ave. will begin exporting waste by barge or rail, and maximum waste capacity will be increased to 1,464 tpd.[6] 

Truck-to-Rail, Truck-to-Barge
If the rail export option is selected, the LIRR Maspeth Railyard, located at Maspeth Ave. and Rust St., would be equipped to serve as a staging area for waste loading.  In this case, waste would be offloaded from collection vehicles at the Review Ave. site, transferred to dray trucks, and transported to the Maspeth railyard for export.  If the city's truck-to-rail plan comes to fruition it will generate approximately 81 collection vehicle trips per day and 144 dray truck trips per day.[7] 

Because the truck-to-barge plan does not require outbound tractor trailers or inbound and outbound dray trucks, it will result in significantly less traffic than the truck-to-rail plan.  However, in order to accommodate barge traffic the bulkheads will need to be improved and the sediments adjacent to the bulkheads will need to be dredged.  Because Newtown Creek has historically hosted heavy industries that dumped contaminated wastes without regard for modern pollution control standards, and given the proximity of the WM Review Ave. facility to the Keyspan and Phelps Dodge Superfund sites and the Greenpoint Oil Spill; all dredging will require appropriate pollution control measures (e.g. closed clamshell buckets, silt curtains etc.) and all dredged material will need to be disposed of at facilities certified to handle toxic waste.

Traffic and Truck Routing
48^th street and Greenpoint Ave. are local truck routes that provide access from the north of the site, while Laurel Hill Blvd. and 56^th Rd. provide access from the south and Review Ave. from the west.

Air Quality[8]
Emissions from inbound and outbound collection vehicles, inbound and outbound long haul tractor trailers, and on-site waste handling vehicles and machinery all contribute to air pollution in and around the WM Review Ave. waste transfer station.

Smell[9]
In order to comply with NYSDEC requirements for effective odor control, an increase in the putrescible solid waste capacity at the WM Review Ave. facility would require the installation of an odor control system.

Noise
The city tested noise levels at the WM Review Ave. facility as part of an environmental review required by the 2004 Solid Waste Management Plan.  In order to evaluate the impact of on-site noise on off-site locations, noise measurements generated from indoor and outdoor sources were combined to determine the location of the 55 dBA contour line, i.e. the points at which noise attenuates below 55 decibels as perceived by the human ear.  The 55 dBA contour line was found to be approximately 213 feet from the property line in the direction of the nearest residential housing, located at Varick St. and Nassau Ave., which is 1,023 feet from the waste transfer station.[10]

Transfer or Disposal Destination, 2006[11]
In 2006 Waste Management NY 3850 Review Ave. handled 284,935 tons of material; this sum represents 2.3% of all waste exported through transfer stations in New York City.

Material	Amount (tons)	Facility Name	Location
Putrescible Solid Waste	196,575	Laurel Highlands Landfill	Johnstown, PA
Putrescible Solid Waste	87,442	Shade Landfill	Cairnbrooke, PA
Putrescible Solid Waste	918	Harlem River Transfer	Bronx, NY
Metal	55	Boulder Resources	Manhattan, NY