Citywide Waste acquisition unopposed by ACCC

The ACCC will not oppose Cleanaway Waste Management Limited’s proposed acquisition of the waste and recycling business of Citywide Service Solutions Pty Ltd (Citywide Waste).

One of the largest waste management companies in Australia, Cleanaway is vertically integrated through the waste supply chain, from disposals to collections, with operations in all states and territories in Australia. In Melbourne, Cleanaway provides collection and disposal services for commercial and industrial customers and municipal councils. It operates one of the largest landfills in the city — the Melbourne Regional Landfill in Ravenhall — and a network of transfer stations.

Citywide Waste, currently owned by the City of Melbourne Council, provides collections services for municipal councils and commercial and industrial customers. The business also operates the Dynon Road transfer station, which accepts large volumes of putrescible waste and is close to the Melbourne CBD.

The ACCC’s investigation focused on the acquisition’s impact on competition in the supply of putrescible waste disposal services in Melbourne for commercial and industrial waste.

“Our investigation looked at the central and west regions of Melbourne in particular because we were concerned about the loss of competition between Melbourne Regional Landfill and the nearby Dynon Road transfer station located in these regions,” ACCC Commissioner Dr Philip Williams said.

“We reached two key conclusions from our investigation. First, those customers with larger waste collection trucks are able to optimise their waste collection routes to divert volumes to landfills and transfer stations other than the Melbourne Regional Landfill and Dynon Road transfer station.

“This means that should Cleanaway own both facilities, larger collections customers would still be able to take waste volumes to other competitors if needed.

“Second, we found that while some customers preferred the Dynon Road transfer station due to its closeness to the Melbourne CBD and ease of access for smaller waste collection trucks, these customers don’t see Melbourne Regional Landfill as a viable alternative now.

“We therefore found that the acquisition is unlikely to have an impact on those customers.”

The ACCC found the proposed acquisition would be unlikely to substantially lessen competition in the supply of putrescible waste collection and disposal services for both commercial and industrial waste, and municipal waste in Melbourne. It expects other landfills and transfer stations in Melbourne to continue to compete for waste volumes with Cleanaway after the acquisition.

More information, including the Statement of Issues, can be found on the ACCC’s website.

Image credit: iStock.com/Kokkai Ng