Case $3-$ WMX Technologies Inc.: Turning Trash into CashGetting rid of garbage isnt as simple as it used to be$.$ Recycling is mandated, environmental protection regulations areextremely rigorous, landfills are overburdened, and waste disposal incinerators are as welcome in many communities asnuclear power plants. For years, WMX Technologies grew and profited by acquiring and operating landfills all over the United States. Providing solid and hazardous waste management programs and environmental technologies has helpedpropel WMX from a $$180-$million$-$a$-$year garbage hauler to a $$10-$billion$-$a$-$year environmental services company. WMXcollects recyclables from about $11$ million residential and $1$ million commercial and industrial customers in the UnitedStates, Canada, Europe, South America, the Pacific Rim, and the Middle East.By the year $2000,$ about forty U$.$S$.$ states had enacted laws requiring that $10$ to $50$ percent of all trash be diverted fromtraditional methods of waste disposal. For WMX$,$ these impending requirements mean strategic changes. Many waste$-$generating companies were forced to find new ways to deal with the byproducts of their operations. WMX responded by moving into recycling, forming joint ventures to supply paper, can, and plastics manufacturers with recyclable materials collected from firms that generate them. By managing all in$-$house waste disposal, WMX believed it could solve its customers' problems while saving them money. Alcoa, Boeing, DuPont, General Motors, General Electric, and other Fortune $500$ companies contracted with WMX to oversee hazardous waste disposal, water and air treatment, and recycling. At GM$\text{'}$s Saturn plant, for example, WMX sells metal to a local recycler, trucks wooden shipping pallets to a distillery for use as boiler fuel, and ships foundry sand to a concrete block company.Although WMX can point to several successful operations, the company is faced with problems that are squeezing itsprofits. Industry experts insist that although recycling is environmentally responsible, it is not necessarily economically viable. Company executives report that they must spend $$175$ to collect and sort $1$ ton of recyclable material but can sell it for only about $$40.$ Still, WMX must continue providing a potentially unprofitable service because the public approves ofrecycling and in many cities garbage collection and recycling are part of the same system.Environmental problems tarnished the companys reputation and pose a threat to its success. WMX ran a hazardous wastedisposal facility in Chicago that was the largest in the nation. It was a model of safe hazardous waste disposal, with state$-$of$-$the$-$art technology. But after a $1991$ incinerator explosion released fumes and brought allegations of environmental andworker safety violations, the organization suspended operations pending a full investigation.WMX must also cope with intense industry competition, especially from its chief rival, Browning$-$Ferris Industries. BFI operates in $545$ locations in North America, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, and South America. To keep its operations as simple as possible, and to avoid the environmental entanglements that are choking WMX$,$ Browning$-$Ferris got out of the hazardous waste business altogether. The companys manager of marketing and operations for recycling systems recently announced the opening of a $$10$ million recycling facility in Silicon Valley, California. Built primarily to handle commercial waste, the BFI superplant lists Sun Microsystems, Del$-$Monte, and Toyota among its accounts. State$-$of$-$the$-$art sorters reclaim recyclables from about $96$ tons of commercial waste a day. In addition, the company has residential contracts with cities, including San Jose, to collect curbside glass, tin and aluminum cans, plastic, and newspaper.To remain competitive, WMX slashed spending, consolidated its complex corporate structure, and enlarged its operations. A major new recycling program in Fort Worth is Texas's largest. In a move designed to capture a share of the $$1$ billionNew York City trash hauling business, WMX purchased a $14-$acre trash$-$handling plant in the Bronx. The organization's global ventures include a waste sorting plant in Nice, France, a $$150-$million plant in Hong Kong, and one of the world's largest recycling facilities in the world in the Netherlands.WMX must be able to assure potential customers that it can and will comply with environmental laws. Any doubts on thecustomers part could delay or even doom a project. Stringent landfill and incinerator regulations, which have closed about$14,000$ small municipal dumps, have hurt WMX$.$ For example, Indiana officials decided to re$-$review WMX$\text{'}$s applicationto expand an existing waste disposal facility until they could be certain that the plans met all applicable regulations. Foryears, losses painted a cloudy picture for WMX$\text{'}$s future. However, the company's revenues rose $11$ percent. Analystsattribute this positive sign to two trends: $($l$)$ a more favorable economy and increased markets for recycled materials ingeneral, and $(2)$ WMXs revamped internal programs for becoming more competitive.Question: What types of issues or concerns are of great importance to WMX customers?