As New Hampshire grapples with the mounting challenge of solid waste management and disposal, private waste management companies have stepped up their lobbying efforts. With a slew of bills introduced in this year’s legislative session aimed at improving landfill safety and environmental protection, these companies have looked to influence waste policy and shape New Hampshire’s solid waste landscape with increased lobbying efforts.

According to reports filed with the New Hampshire Secretary of State, lobbying expenditures in the first quarter indicate that waste management companies have hired lobbyists at a cost of $60,000. Over the past three years, these companies have collectively spent approximately $250,000 in New Hampshire on lobbying efforts. Casella Waste Systems and Waste Management, two of the major players in New Hampshire’s waste industry have accounted for the significant portion of money spent on lobbying, while WIN Waste Innovations has spent comparatively less.

This year, Casella Waste Systems’ subsidiary North Country Environmental Services, which operates a landfill in Bethlehem and is proposing to operate another controversial landfill close to Forest Lake in Dalton, has spent $18,000 on one of its lobbyist firms, Demers & Prasol Inc. Another lobbying firm working for NCES is Dennehy & Bouley Group LLC, with Concord Mayor Jim Bouley and his son, Jackson Bouley serving as lobbyists for the company for at least four and three years respectively.

To read the full story, visit https://www.concordmonitor.com/Waste-Industry-s-lobbying-expenditures-in-New-Hampshire-50686012.
Author: Sruthi Gopalakrishnan, Concord Monitor
Image: Geoff Forester, Concord Monitor

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