Dive Brief:
- Kalish Environmental is launching a waste management business in the Las Vegas Valley region of Nevada. Steve Kalish was president of Silver State Disposal — which was bought by Republic Services — and he's back in the industry after his 10-year non-compete agreement expired. Republic currently controls trash collection and recycling for most of southern Nevada.
- Kalish said in a statement to Channel 8's I-Team — which indicated he might be targeting casinos and hotels — that he wants to "customize waste management programs for companies of all sizes" with strategies to "save money and reduce your environmental footprint."
- Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani has complained that customer costs have risen in the last 10 years, but services for half of residents have been cut from two pickups a week to one.
Dive Insight:
The TV station is setting the scene for a possible "garbage war."
On the one side, Kalish Environmental announced its presence with green stickers affixed to newspapers delivered to neighborhoods where casino executives live, which ask, "Are you paying too much for waste removal?" Steve Kalish said he thinks he can reduce the volume of garbage created by most businesses, thus reducing their collection costs.
On the other, Republic is a major source of campaign donations in local elections, the I-Team noted.
Competition is generally a good thing for customers, which is a concept being debated in Toronto. And though the mergers and acquisitions trend among big companies like Waste Management is driving the industry, smaller waste collection companies like Corpus Christi, TX-based K2 have been able to make an impact. It will be interesting to see if Kalish can do the same.
