The High Cost of Cheap Labor and Services
Why Only Considering Price Can Cost you Big
Going cheap is not always the best option for business, especially for mission critical operations. Everyone wants to save money where possible in business, but sometimes spending a bit of money is better to protect the interest of your brand. For example, going the cheapest route for garbage hauling in New Jersey very recently cost some businesses quite heavily. Here are some examples of the High Cost of Cheap Labor and Services some business have faced.
Federal agents have been following organized crime connections to New Jersey waste services for over a decade, and many arrests have been made of unlicensed haulers who lead businesses in with the promise of an extremely low upfront rate. Some of these cheap hauling companies had been in business for more than 20 years before they were finally tracked down and caught by the government.
If your business is linked to a service like this, you can quickly lose your reputation for a crime that is not even really your fault – the crime that you committed was looking at price above all else. As the saying goes, “you get what you pay for.”
Unlicensed Garbage Hauling in New Jersey
In order to understand the depth of the implications that connections with an unlicensed business can cause you, you must understand the politics of New Jersey waste.
Unlicensed garbage haulers have had the ability to operate with limitations in New Jersey, and they do not have to pay any licensing fees to the state. In most cases, this is the margin that allows these companies to charge lower prices to their clientele, some of whom will happily take the discount without properly vetting the business that is behind it.
Because these unlicensed companies do not report to the state, they often do not take any of the state requirements for professional garbage hauling seriously. They do not pay any annual fee assessments, nor do they file any sort of yearly report with the state. These fraudulent companies will often try to shave expenses off of their books by getting rid of garbage in the cheapest possible way. In most cases, this means dumping that garbage illegally.
Illegal dumping affects huge numbers of people in New Jersey. Not only that, but the connections of the underground crime market for garbage hauling stretch into New York and Philadelphia as well. As a matter of fact, the connections ran so deep as to cause the state of New Jersey to tighten its regulations in recent years, a topic that was a major cause of concern for many companies who found themselves unable to get out from under the thumb of coerced arrangements with garbage collection companies controlled by the Mafia.
Increased Enforcement of Licensing
Starting in 2014 and continuing to the present day, the state of New Jersey finally took a hardline stand against unlicensed garbage brokers. The Department of Environmental Protection is just one example of the state agencies that have begin to crack down on the brokers of unlicensed garbage pickup services. More importantly to you, however, is the crackdown on the companies that use these unlicensed brokers and garbage collectors. Here is where the high cost of cheap labor and services really starts to take effect.
That’s right – simply trying to do business on the cheap without properly vetting the company that is providing the services may get an otherwise innocent company into legal hot water. Once one government agency starts looking at a company, that opens the floodgates for any other agency to look at that company with more scrutiny as well. Many companies have been completely put out of business because of financial audits that were originally started based upon the association with unlicensed garbage collection services.
Solid and hazardous waste brokers in New Jersey are now responsible for hiring only those transporters who can show that they have an A-901 transportation license to legally haul solid and hazardous waste. Additionally, the transporters that those companies use must have a CPCN.
The Crackdown
Currently, the DEP is working in conjunction with the Division of Solid and Hazardous Waste to identify any field broker that does not have a license from the state. There are a number of initiatives that are ensnaring many of these shady brokerage companies, including field investigations, county partner organization involvement and licensed transporters being given more support when they report a crime.
Companies that are found to be in violation of the new regulations will not only be required to stop conducting business in the state, but they may also be fined. The DEP has also consolidated a full list of brokers who are licensed under the A-901 distinction, so if you are looking for a legitimate garbage hauling service, you can double check your partner using that official government list.
If you are receiving garbage disposal services from a company that has not been vetted, then you risk the day to day operations of your company as well as the long term legal scrutiny. It is usually better to check your associations now so that you can break any contracts that need to be broken before the association is discovered by the state. Those companies that do so are treated with much more leniency. The high cost of cheap labor and services is just not worth it.
The Power Cleanouts Alternative
If you are looking for a fully licensed, world class garbage disposal service in the state of New Jersey, then look no farther than Power Cleanouts. As a legitimate hauling company with years of experience, we give you the service that you need without all of the legal hassles and government oversight. Give us a call when you are ready to invest in a service that will pay off for your business for years to come.
Source
http://www.northjersey.com/news/crime-and-courts/feds-arrest-several-from-north-jersey-in-waste-hauling-industry-busts-1.346334
http://www.state.nj.us/sci/pdf/Solid%20Waste%20Report.pdf
http://www.nj.gov/dep/enforcement/advisories/2014-08.pdf
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The High Cost of Cheap Labor and Services. Last edited April 2, 2017.