ACCC will not oppose Cleanaway’s proposed acquisition of Citywide Waste

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

Following an investigation, the ACCC found the 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.

Philip Williams, Commissioner for ACCC, said the investigation looked at the central and west regions of Melbourne in particular.

“We were concerned about the loss of competition between Melbourne Regional Landfill and the nearby Dynon Road transfer station located in these regions,” said Williams.

“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.”

Williams said this means 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,” he said.

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

Cleanaway is one of the largest waste management companies in Australia. It 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 Melbourne, the Melbourne Regional Landfill in Ravenhall, and a network of transfer stations.

Citywide Waste, owned by the City of Melbourne council, offers collection services for municipal councils, commercial and industrial customers and operates the Dynon Road transfer station which accepts large volumes of putrescible waste.

The ACCC expects rival landfills and transfer stations in Melbourne to continue to compete for waste volumes with Cleanaway after the acquisition.

For more information, visit: www.accc.gov.au/