Wmx Technologies

George Soros more than doubled his investment group's stake in WMX Technologies Inc. and said he may seek to boost the company's stock price. Soros Fund Management, an investment advisory business run by the billionaire, began purchasing stock in the Oak Brook, Ill., company during the first quarter of this year. Soros reported that his investment funds at March 31 owned 2.1% of WMX, the world's largest waste-management company. The investment group disclosed Friday that it spent about $511.

WMX Technologies Inc., reporting a fourth-quarter loss of more than $460 million, said Tuesday that it planned to divest $1.5 billion in assets over the next two years and cut 3,000 jobs, including 1,200 this year. The announcement disappointed investors, who sent the company's stock plunging $3.125 to close at $33 on New York Stock Exchange. Under fire from dissatisfied shareholders for months, WMX said its restructuring was geared toward meeting several long-standing demands of investors.

Mexican Firm Announces Deal With Waste Management Unit: Mexico's largest engineering and construction conglomerate, ICA, announced plans for a joint venture with WMX Technologies, parent of Waste Management Inc. environmental services corporation. WMX's Irvine office will provide the Illinois-based corporation's services to the new Mexican company, which will collect nontoxic trash, operate sanitary landfills, clean beaches and streets and provide other similar services in Mexico.

Norah Schumacher's Valley Perspective piece ("Dump Plan Threatens Area Water," July 7) rehashes the numerous inaccuracies and misrepresentations concerning Sunshine Canyon Landfill that have been rejected by every local, regional, state and federal agency that has reviewed this landfill project. Suffice it to say that independent and comprehensive analyses by the Regional Water Quality Control Board, State Department of Water Resources and experts who wrote the book on landfill safety for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have all shown that the landfill liner design is safe.

WMX Technologies Inc., reporting a fourth-quarter loss of more than $460 million, said Tuesday that it planned to divest $1.5 billion in assets over the next two years and cut 3,000 jobs, including 1,200 this year. The announcement disappointed investors, who sent the company's stock plunging $3.125 to close at $33 on New York Stock Exchange. Under fire from dissatisfied shareholders for months, WMX said its restructuring was geared toward meeting several long-standing demands of investors.

Neighbors of the Sunshine Canyon Landfill near Granada Hills often liken the massive dump to the classic horror-movie monster that takes a beating but just won't die. After years of complaining about dust, trash, noise and odors generated by the dump, neighbors celebrated with pinatas and candles when a 230-acre portion of the landfill within the city closed in 1991. But the celebration was short-lived.

Can by can, bottle by bottle, workers in face masks separate recyclables by hand in the midday heat at Sun Valley's Bradley West Landfill. The manual sorting lines at Bradley West are a stark illustration of why many companies have long lost money in recycling: it's a tough, labor-intensive, cumbersome industry. But Oak Brook, Ill.-based WMX Technologies Inc. is betting its future in Sun Valley on recycling profits anyway. The multinational garbage giant, parent of Waste Management Inc.

The Los Angeles Ethics Commission is considering rule changes that might have prevented trash giant WMX Inc. from quietly bankrolling a seismic study that attacked the Sunshine Canyon landfill--which is being built by a rival company--as vulnerable to an earthquake. City and county officials said WMX violated no law when it paid for the study and kept the payment quiet.

Neighbors of the Sunshine Canyon Landfill near Granada Hills often liken the massive dump to the classic horror-movie monster that takes a beating but just won't die. After years of complaining about dust, trash, noise and odors generated by the dump, neighbors celebrated with pinatas and candles when a 230-acre portion of the landfill within the city closed in 1991. But the celebration was short-lived.

Norah Schumacher's Valley Perspective piece ("Dump Plan Threatens Area Water," July 7) rehashes the numerous inaccuracies and misrepresentations concerning Sunshine Canyon Landfill that have been rejected by every local, regional, state and federal agency that has reviewed this landfill project. Suffice it to say that independent and comprehensive analyses by the Regional Water Quality Control Board, State Department of Water Resources and experts who wrote the book on landfill safety for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have all shown that the landfill liner design is safe.

The Los Angeles Ethics Commission is considering rule changes that might have prevented trash giant WMX Inc. from quietly bankrolling a seismic study that attacked the Sunshine Canyon landfill--which is being built by a rival company--as vulnerable to an earthquake. City and county officials said WMX violated no law when it paid for the study and kept the payment quiet.

George Soros more than doubled his investment group's stake in WMX Technologies Inc. and said he may seek to boost the company's stock price. Soros Fund Management, an investment advisory business run by the billionaire, began purchasing stock in the Oak Brook, Ill., company during the first quarter of this year. Soros reported that his investment funds at March 31 owned 2.1% of WMX, the world's largest waste-management company. The investment group disclosed Friday that it spent about $511.

Can by can, bottle by bottle, workers in face masks separate recyclables by hand in the midday heat at Sun Valley's Bradley West Landfill. The manual sorting lines at Bradley West are a stark illustration of why many companies have long lost money in recycling: it's a tough, labor-intensive, cumbersome industry. But Oak Brook, Ill.-based WMX Technologies Inc. is betting its future in Sun Valley on recycling profits anyway. The multinational garbage giant, parent of Waste Management Inc.

Mexican Firm Announces Deal With Waste Management Unit: Mexico's largest engineering and construction conglomerate, ICA, announced plans for a joint venture with WMX Technologies, parent of Waste Management Inc. environmental services corporation. WMX's Irvine office will provide the Illinois-based corporation's services to the new Mexican company, which will collect nontoxic trash, operate sanitary landfills, clean beaches and streets and provide other similar services in Mexico.

U.S. Filter Corp. said it completed its acquisition of WMX Technologies Inc.'s Wheelabrator EOS Inc. unit for stock valued at about $77.4 million. The purchase expands U.S. Filter's water and waste-water treatment systems business. . . . Los Gatos-based Metricom Inc. and Brooklyn Union Gas Co. of New York plan to invest up to $300 million in a joint venture to provide wireless Internet access in large cities in 16 states in the Midwest and Northeast.

A $66,000 North Valley Coalition study concluding that the controversial Sunshine Canyon landfill might not be safe in an earthquake was paid for by WMX Technologies, a business competitor of Browning-Ferris Industries, which owns the dump. The study has been used by opponents of the Granada Hills landfill. The seismic study, conducted by an independent engineering firm, found that during a major earthquake the landfill could collapse, allowing garbage to contaminate water supplies.