Waste_Inbox

By Allan Gerlat

Waste companies are increasingly not just the folks who pick up the trash. More and more, they're playing a social role as law enforcer.

Two different stories from last week's Waste Expo underscored that trend. In one, companies talked about the importance and challenges of drivers being on the watch for anything unusual, illegal or dangerous as they drive through neighborhoods doing their routes. The other role as enforcer is not so voluntary: The federal government is cracking down on illegal alien workers in the United States, and the waste industry is a prime target industry for that enforcement.

Both are important community roles that the waste industry is well suited for. One's got a lot more feel-good potential than the other.

The waste industry has taken steps to be a strong helper to local police. Waste Management has begun a Waste Watch program, while Republic Services instituted the We're Looking Out for You project. Both aim to train their workers to be aware of suspicious circumstances or behavior, and to know what to do and not do about it.

It's a great concept. It can go a long way to help transform the waste company from those guys that do distasteful work to people that are working to make our communities better. It can truly help our towns and cities. And it can't hurt when waste companies need to do some less popular projects such as siting a landfill.

The enforcement area centers on immigration, which has of late heated up as a front-burner controversy, particularly with the new law in Arizona regarding aliens and documentation. A speaker at Waste Expo indicated the federal government is ramping up its efforts to check on alien documentation, and the waste industry is a prime target for the U.S. Employers may be pressed to show proof of their workers' status.

While certainly different in nature than the police aid, the waste industry can likewise be proactive to make sure they are in compliance and don't generate more problems for themselves.

And in its own way, that too is a service to society. We know the waste industry is an integral part of our lives. These are two more issues that should, for everyone, bring that point home.

Allan Gerlat is editor of Waste & Recycling News. Past installments of this column are collected in the Inbox archive.

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