N.J. Admin. Code § 7:26H-5.10

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 21, November 4, 2024

Section 7:26H-5.10 - Monitoring effective competition; criteria for evaluation

(a) The Department will consider the following criteria in conjunction with the economic indicators listed in (b) below, to monitor and evaluate the presence and extent of effective competition:

1. Existence of barriers to entry into the solid waste collection industry for persons seeking to provide solid waste collection services within a specific geographic area, to a specific class of customers;

2. The structure of the industry, including the number of participating collectors, intensity of competition, and the concentration in ownership of collection or haulage vehicles or other equipment;

3. Existence of observable patterns of anti-competitive behavior exhibited by persons providing solid waste collection services; and

4. Availability of substitute services available.

(b) The Department shall utilize the criteria listed in (a) above in conjunction with commonly accepted economic indicators including, but not limited to, the following:

1. Differentiation of services provided;

2. Financial requirements for entrants, including capital entry or exit costs;

3. Concentration ratios and other measures including, market share, revenues, profitability, number of employees and number of customers, designed to determine the extent of dominance of the market by a limited number of firms;

4. Evidence developed by the Department or other local, state or federal agencies of price-fixing, territory divisions, collusion, or other forms of anti-competitive behavior by persons providing, directly or indirectly, solid waste collection services;

5. The extent and influence of vertical integration of firms in the solid waste collection industry, including:

i. Evidence of joint ownership of collecting, disposal, or supplier firms of the industry;

ii. Patterns of price discrimination in the provision of services by vertically integrated firms; and

iii. Patterns of behavior that suggest that vertically integrated service providers discourage competition with service providers;

6. Product/service pricing and differentiation;

7. Degree of variance off the median price for similar service in similar counties or service areas; and

8. Such other factors as the Department deems appropriate.

N.J. Admin. Code § 7:26H-5.10