Allied Waste Responds to Hurricane Katrina

Allied Waste Industries Inc., a leading waste services company, provided an update on several initiatives that it has put into action since the first hours of the Hurricane Katrina disaster.

Foremost among the company's actions is accounting for employees in the affected area. Allied Waste's immediate focus has been on locating all employees in the region, providing those who have been displaced by the crisis with direct financial assistance and help in supplying food and housing options. The company's outreach, as well as creation of a toll-free phone number (800-234-2677) have helped in establishing contact with and determining the status of most of its approximately 1,200 employees in and around the impacted areas, according to a press release from teh company. Allied Waste encourages employees who have not yet established contact with the company to do so as soon as possible.

The company has also created an employee relief fund with a $1.1 million initial commitment and reports that direct financial support will be provided to Allied Waste employees who have been affected by the disaster through a special    relief fund.  The Allied Waste Employee Relief Fund, established with a $1 million initial contribution from the company and a $100,000 personal contribution by its chief executive officer, is growing rapidly through commitments from Allied Waste employees nationwide, as well as from members of the company's senior management team and its board of directors, according to a press release from the company.

Allied Waste says that it has deployed a significant number of corporate and field leaders to oversee the specific needs of each of the company's operational functions in the area. The company says it has sent roll-off trucks and more than 800 containers to the affected areas and plans to increase the allocation of resources.  Allied Waste is working with local, state and federal authorities to reestablish service to the areas and to aid in the ensuing cleanup efforts.

"Allied Waste employees nationwide are joining together to provide support to the approximately 1,200 fellow employees in and around the impacted areas, many of whom have suffered significant loss," John Zillmer, chairman and CEO of Allied Waste, says. "I have witnessed first hand and am very
proud of our team's extraordinary efforts on behalf of their co-workers and
customers, often in the face of extreme adversity."