Browning-Ferris Industries

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Browning-Ferris Industries or "BFI", was a North American waste management company that was disbanded in 1999. Its name is now a licensed trademark of Allied Waste Industries.

BFI and Waste Management were companies that built an industry. Before each were founded, waste disposal was largely a "mom and pop" industry. While there were strong regional players in the business, there were no nationally known waste companies.

BFI was founded in Texas by an accountant named Tom Fajardo, and was an early competitor to Waste Management, Inc. BFI and Waste Management both began to buy the locally-owned companies and create a national brand. Eventually, BFI collapsed under the weight of running local businesses from a national platform. It was sold to Allied Industries in 1999. Some local units of Allied Waste are still known as BFI in the markets they serve. Earlier, in 1997, some local units of BFI had been sold toSuperoir Services,Waste Management, Inc., and Waste Connections, Inc.^[1]

The BFI branding is still seen today. The company leases two types of dumpsters to individuals and organizations: a standard, ubiquitous blue dumpster for general waste, and a green dumpster for paper recycling only.