Waste truck operator acquisition given green light

After a March announcement that Cleanaway would be acquiring Citywide Waste, the ACCC has announced it will not be blocking the acquisition.

This will give Cleanaway full ownership of the Dynon Road transfer station in Melbourne in addition to the Melbourne Regional Landfill in Ravenhall, one of the city’s biggest landfills.

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Cleanaway is already vertically integrated through the waste supply chain, from disposals to collections, with operations in all states and territories in Australia.

The ACCC’s investigation focused on the acquisition’s impact on competition in the supply of putrescible waste (solid waste with organic material) 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 Philip Williams says.

“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.”