This is perhaps the boldest environmental statement ever made by a US industry. However, the only one that puts the money on the table is a trust fund dedicated to a specific site for remediation. Nevertheless, EPA, lacking a national commitment to advance improved MSW management, listened to whining local governments and greedy private companies and then selected net worth as the financial assurance measure of choice. While telling the American public that our industry can be trusted, and that there will always be money to fix a landfill failure, our industry and EPA have gutted this provision of the landfill criteria. To pledge net worth is like listening to a yellow-shoed con artist sell you snake oil to cure all of your illnesses.
Net worth is worth exactly zero at the bank.
Not a chance. Nor can the public be trusted to approve bonds. It is tied up in holes in the ground and rusting, dirty collection trucks. Neither of which has the net worth to do anything. So the promise is broken.