By Christian Finkbeiner

Allied Waste Industries Inc. last year purchased Browning-Ferris Industries, taking the latter’s place as the world’s second-largest publicly held waste-management company.

Based in Scottsdale, Ariz., the company compacts and transports solid waste and offers recycling services. It uses landfills to dispose of material for which there is no market or for which the market price is not cost-effective to warrant processing.

As of the end of last year, Allied Waste Industries operated 340 waste-collection companies, 148 transfer stations where solid waste is compacted, 151 landfills and 95 recycling stations in 42 states.

Browning-Ferris Industries was the 86^th-largest donor to General Assembly members during the 1999 election cycle. The company gave $31,920 to 64 legislators:

• 41 Republican lawmakers received $19,190.
• 23 Democratic legislators got $12,120.

The top recipients, getting $1,250 each from Browning-Ferris, were Sen. Richard L. Saslaw, D-Springfield, and the late Sen. Richard J. Holland, D-Windsor.

Browning-Ferris gave $1,000 each to Delegate David B. Albo, R-Springfield; Delegate Thomas W. Moss Jr., D-Norfolk; Sen. Martin E. Williams, R-Newport News; and Sen. John H. Chichester, R-Fredericksburg.

Virginia is the second-leading importer of refuse from other states, and Virginia officials have tried to block the influx of trash. Waste haulers have a strong interest in this issue.

Besides Browning-Ferris Industries, Waste Management Inc. was a generous donor – No. 99 on the list – to state legislators last year. The company gave $27,250 to members of the General Assembly.