To some, then, American landfills may appear to be a
lucrative investment. In fact, large companies like WMX,
Laidlaw and Brown Ferris International (BFI) have been
buying up landfills in recent years, according to Chris
Voell, director of technical services at the Solid Waste Association
of North America (SWANA). SWANA’s membership
is composed primarily of municipal officials. Despite
environmentalists’ concerns, Voell is bullish on landfills.
“The new landfill requirements in the last five years will
be years ahead of what we had 15 years ago,” he asserted.