Upside of the Downturn: Less Trash

This recession may be hitting the mob in more ways than one. This economic slump is evidently resulting in lower trash volumes.

It's not good news for Waste Management, either. The trash giant reported a 29 percent drop in fourth-quarter profit in part because there was less garbage to haul.

But what's bad for Waste Management may be good for the environment, right? Hey, let's take whatever sunshine we can find in these dark clouds.

The lower trash volumes aren't stemming from a suddenly environmentally aware population or from lower consumption of household stuff that eventually ends up on the sidewalk. It's the frozen construction industry that's to blame. Fewer homes being built results in fewer bins of debris to dispose.

The slump in commodity markets also generated lower returns from the recycling of products like plastics and metals, creating a kind of double whammy for the waste industry. Revenue from waste collection at Waste Management fell by 5.4 percent, while revenue from recycling plummeted 37 percent.

All this negative trash talk had very little impact on investors. Shares of Waste Management were up by nearly 4 percent after the earnings announcement.

Perhaps even they are okay with a little bit less rubbish in the world.

by Megan Barnett