The Waste Management Scandal - A Simple Overview

The biggest company behind garbage disposal is also behind one of the biggest accounting frauds. This video talks about the growth of Waste Management and details the fraud.

Note: This video was originally created in May of 2019 but was never released. I'm putting it out now with only minor editing changes as part of the channel's big 5-year celebration.

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Company Declines:
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[samwill]

A company doing some illegal, immoral and everyone involved getting a slap on the wrist? I'm shocked. Shocked I say.

[ExiILe]

I thought you were above doing trashy scandals.

[neoc]

The problem with all of these scandals is not enough people go to prison over it and the fees aren't enough to discourage the behavior.

[JP]

My hometown just dropped WM as the town's garbage collectors a few weeks ago. They were charging to pick up trash but they weren't doing it. Some parts of town would go 3-4 weeks without WM picking anything up and the residents would still be charged for it. Some residents would even sit on the porch and watch WM drive by without picking anything up. When they called to complain, they were basically called liars. This went on for years before the city dropped them and took bids and got someone better.

[ryansproviero]

“I'm in the waste management business. Everybody immediately assumes you're mobbed up. It's a stereotype, and it's offensive.”

— Tony Soprano

[johncollie]

I just got cans from WM this month and honestly didn’t know they ever had an Enron-style scandal. Inflating a company’s value must’ve been the it-thing for businessmen in the 90s!

[rtsconsulting]

I wouldn't mind more corporate scandal content. I know you asked for feedback on the anniversary vid . Congrats and keep up the good work!

[berry]

This one was personal. My daddy worked as a Sanitation Engineer (Garbage man) for them for over 10+ years and when he got injured during the job they treated him like utter trash. 🚮 They're dead to me 😡🔥. But, thanks for the video.

[kjell]

This was a fun video to watch. My dad testified on behalf of the SEC as an accounting expert during the WM trial. He passed just over 11 months ago, and when we went through his stuff he still had all the paperwork and notes from his testimony.

[montybrown]

I hadn't heard of this scandal. The most upsetting bit to me is the two tiered justice system. Normal person steals - jail and restitution. Company CEO steals - fined for less than they stole. And as far as I'm concerned Purdue Pharma (and undoubtedly others) are very much so still benefitting from the lack of corporate accountability.

[ulfricstormcloak]

My dad works for the EPA and he was tasked with investigating and shutting down a landfill that was polluting our nearby creek. He was offered bribes to look the other way and when he declined it they gave him death threats so he just brought the sherif with him every time after that. He proved they were polluting the creek and got the landfill shit down and capped so no more pollution went into the creek but the multi million dollar fine imposed on the company became a few tens of thousands of dollars since the owner was friends with people in the state government.

[Carstuff]

I remember the scandal. I also see that, in my area at least, Waste Management has screwed the pooch again. To the point that starting December 1st, WM is no longer handling my town's trash and recycling. And there are many other towns and cities in my area that are no longer using Waste Management.

[averagewhiteguy]

As someone in the accounting field, I really appreciate how accounting focused this video was. While I like your normal videos, this kind of video is nice too.

[joho]

You didn't mention Wayne Huizenga, one of the founders of Waste Management. He had left the company to found Blockbuster by the time the accounting scandal occurred, but still a fascinating figure.

Fun Fact: In the early 1970's, their motto was "satisfaction guaranteed or double your garbage back".

[GeorgeWMays]

It is a myth that management's job is to maximize shareholder value. In practice, their role is to keep their own paychecks and benefits coming in. To borrow from Mel Brooks' Governor Lepetomane, "We have to keep our phoney baloney jobs here, gentlemen!" Thanks for another great video.

[GZUS]

I was born in and lived in Jacksonville, Florida in the 70s-2000s.

WM was involved in a major lawsuit there referred to as the "Hipps Road Dump Site". It was where the US Navy contracted WM to dispose of waste from a nearby base. WM dumped all kinds of waste there including hazardous materials.

After years of dumping at Hipps Road and Exline road, WM simply buried the waste and then sold the land off. Eventually, 100s of families moved to the area and built homes etc.

We were all on well water there. I remember as a child the water would come out yellow or dark brown. Everybodys' water around there was the same, so we all just thought it was normal. I even remember my mom always boiling the water before using it for anything. When she would, a black thick film would form at the top and she would scoop it off.

Eventually, WM settled.

[ThatFanBoyGuy]

I had another "Waste Management Scandal" in my local township growing up. My local township decided there were too many garbage trucks perusing the township, so they made the very unpopular decision that everybody in the township had to use a single garbage disposal company, and they decided that Waste Management would be that single garbage disposal company. Of course, since it technically was a monopoly, they raised prices, which made people unhappy. Needless to say, the idea didn't last too long, and the township eventually let go of the idea that its citizens could only use 1 garbage disposal company. Also needless to say, many people, like my parents, decided to drop Waste Management once the monopoly was lifted.

[michaelstaley]

I never even knew of this scandal until now, makes you wonder how many big companies and corporations are beyond corrupt

[aoedelunarei]

There is a trash company in my town that has jacked up prices to ridiculous amounts. Every competitive company that comes in gets bought out then shut down, while the prices keep rising. The latest competitor who offered services at a far more reasonable price was suddenly privately bought then merged with absolutely no word to city residents and customers. We were all automatically switched back to the main company who is $70 above what the old company did. Our town is now gaining petitions and looking into suing the trash company for monopoly practices

[ChedWick]

Because it's so difficult to prosecute the actual people behind these businesses making these decisions, it's just gonna keep happening.