Brooklyn Cheesecake & Desert Com (BCKE) SEC Annual Report (10-K) for 2016

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

☑ ANNUAL REPORT UNDER SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended:  December 31, 2016

☐   TRANSITION REPORT UNDER SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Commission file number:  001-13984

MERIDIAN WASTE SOLUTIONS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

12540 Broadwell Road, Suite 2104

Milton, GA30004

(Address of principal executive offices)

(678) 871-7457

(Issuer's telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None
(Title of class)

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.   Yes  ☐   No   ☑

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.   Yes  ☐   No   ☑

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports) and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.   Yes   ☑    No  ☐ 

Indicate by checkmark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Website, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).   Yes   ☑    No  ☐ 

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.   ☐ 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer,  smaller  reporting  company,  or an emerging  growth company.  See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer," "smaller reporting company," and "emerging  growth company"  in  Rule  12b-2  of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company,  indicate  by  check mark if  the registrant  has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided  pursuant  to Section  7(a)(2)(B) of  the Securities Act .  ☐ 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes  ☐   No   ☑

The aggregate market value of registrant's voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates (as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act) computed by reference to the average bid and asked price of such common equity on June 30, 2016, was $18,409,170. As of April 13, 2017, the registrant has one class of common equity, and the number of shares issued and outstanding of such common equity was 6,944,244.

Documents Incorporated By Reference: None. 

MERIDIAN WASTE SOLUTIONS, INC.

ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K

YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2016

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

Except for historical information, this document contains various "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"). These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, among other things, statements regarding our revenue mix, anticipated costs and expenses, development, relationships with strategic partners and other factors discussed under "Business" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations". These forward-looking statements may include declarations regarding our belief or current expectations of management, such as statements indicating that "we expect," "we anticipate," "we intend," "we believe," and similar language. We caution that any forward-looking statement made by us in this Form 10-K or in other announcements made by us are further qualified by important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including without limitation the risk factors set forth in this Form 10-K beginning on page 12.

Item 1. Business

As used in this Annual Report, "we," "us," "our," "Meridian," "Company" or "our Company" refers to Meridian Waste Solutions, Inc.

Our Company

We, through our operating subsidiaries, are an integrated provider of non-hazardous solid waste collection, transfer and disposal services. We currently have all of our operations in Missouri and Virginia but are looking to expand our presence across the Midwest, South and East regions of the United States.

History

Meridian Waste Solutions, Inc. (the "Company") was incorporated in November 1993 in New York. Prior to October 17, 2014, the Company derived revenue by licensing its trademarks to a third party (the "Legacy Business").

On October 17, 2014, the Company entered into that certain Membership Interest Purchase Agreement (the "Purchase Agreement") by and among Here to Serve Holding Corp., a Delaware corporation, as seller ("Here to Serve"), the Company, as parent, Brooklyn Cheesecake & Dessert Acquisition Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, as buyer (the "Acquisition Corp."), the Chief Executive Officer of the Company (the "Company Executive"), the majority shareholder of the Company (the "Company Majority Shareholder") and certain shareholders of Here to Serve (the "Here to Serve Shareholders"), pursuant to which the Acquisition Corp acquired from Here to Serve all of Here to Serve's right, title and interest in and to (i) 100% of the membership interests of Here to Serve – Missouri Waste Division, LLC d/b/a Meridian Waste, a Missouri limited liability company ("HTS Waste"); (ii) 100% of the membership interests of Here to Serve Technology, LLC, a Georgia limited liability company ("HTS Tech"); and (iii) 100% of the membership interests of Here to Serve Georgia Waste Division, LLC, a Georgia limited liability company ("HTS Waste Georgia", and together with HTS Waste and HTS Tech, collectively, the "Membership Interests"). As consideration for the Membership Interests, on October 31, 2014 (the "Closing Date") (i) the Company issued to Here to Serve 452,707 shares of the Company's common stock (the "HTS Common Stock"); (ii) the Company issued to the holder of Class A Preferred Stock of Here to Serve ("Here to Serve's Class A Preferred Stock") 51 shares of the Company's Series A Preferred Stock (the "Series A Preferred Stock"); (iii) the Company issued to the holder of Class B Preferred Stock of Here to Serve ("Here to Serve's Class B Preferred Stock") an aggregate of 71,120 shares of the Company's Series B Preferred Stock (the "Series B Preferred Stock," together with the HTS Common Stock and the Series A Preferred Stock, the "Purchase Price Shares"); and (iv) the Company assumed certain liabilities.

As further consideration, on the Closing Date of the transaction contemplated under the Purchase Agreement, (i) in satisfaction of all accounts payable and shareholder loans, Here to Serve paid to the Company Majority Shareholder $70,000 and (ii) Here to Serve purchased from the Company Majority Shareholder 11,500 shares of the Company's common stock for a purchase price of $230,000. Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, to the extent Purchase Price Shares are issued to individual shareholders of Here to Serve at or upon closing of the Purchase Agreement: (i) shares of common stock of Here to Serve held by the individuals listed on Schedule 2.2 of the Purchase Agreement valued at $2,564,374.95 were cancelled in accordance with such Schedule 2.2; (ii) 50,000 shares of Here to Serve's Class A Preferred Stock valued at $1,000 were cancelled; and (iii) 71,120 shares of Here to Serve's Class B Preferred Stock valued at $7,121,000 were cancelled.

The closing of the Purchase Agreement resulted in a change of control of the Company and the Legacy Business was spun out to a shareholder in connection with the same.

On March 27, 2015, the Company filed a Certificate of Amendment of the Certificate of Incorporation to change the name of the Company from Brooklyn Cheesecake & Desserts Company, Inc. to Meridian Waste Solutions, Inc. (the "Name Change"). On April 15, 2015, the Company received approval from FINRA for the Name Change and to change its stock symbol from BCKE to MRDN.

Corporate Structure

Missouri Waste Operations

Here to Serve – Missouri Waste Division, LLC d/b/a Meridian Waste

Here to Serve – Missouri Waste Division, LLC ("HTS Waste") is a non-hazardous solid waste management company providing collection services for approximately 45,000 commercial, industrial and residential customers in Missouri. We own one collection operation based out of Bridgeton, Missouri. Approximately 100% of HTS Waste's 2016 and 2015 revenue was from collection, utilizing over 60 collection vehicles.

HTS Waste began non-hazardous waste collection operations in May 2014 upon the acquisition of nearly all of the assets from Meridian Waste Services, LLC that in turn became the core of our operations. From our formation through today, we have begun to create the infrastructure needed to expand our operations through acquisitions and market development opportunities.

Christian Disposal, LLC; FWCD

Effective December 22, 2015, the Company consummated the closing of the Amended and Restated Membership Interest Purchase Agreement, dated October 16, 2015, by and among the Company, Timothy M. Drury, Christian Disposal LLC ("Christian Disposal"), FWCD, LLC ("FWCD"), Missouri Waste and Georgia Waste, as amended by that certain First Amendment thereto, dated December 4, 2015, pursuant to which Christian Disposal became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company in exchange for: (i) Thirteen Million Dollars ($13,000,000), subject to working capital adjustment, (ii) 87,500 shares of the Company's Common Stock, (iii) a Convertible Promissory Note in the amount of One Million Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($1,250,000), bearing interest at 8% per annum and (iv) an additional purchase price of Two Million Dollars ($2,000,000), due upon completion of an extension under a certain contract to which Christian Disposal is party (the "Additional Purchase Price"), each payable to the former stockholders of Christian Disposal. The Additional Purchase Price will not become due, because an extension was not, and will not be, granted in connection with the relevant contract.

Christian Disposal, along with its subsidiary, FWCD, is a non-hazardous solid waste management company providing collection and transfer services for approximately 35,000 commercial, industrial and residential customers in Missouri. Christian Disposal's collection operation is based out of Winfield, Missouri. Along with operations in Winfield, Christian Disposal operates two transfer stations, in O'Fallon, Missouri and St. Peters, Missouri, and owns one transfer station, in Winfield, Missouri. Almost all of Christian Disposal and FWCD's 2015 revenue and revenue in 2016 was from collection and transfer, utilizing over 35 collection vehicles.

Christian Disposal began non-hazardous waste collection operations in 1978. Our acquisition of Christian Disposal is a key element of our strategy to create the vertically integrated infrastructure needed to expand our operations. 

Meridian Land Company, LLC (Assets of Eagle Ridge Landfill & Hauling)

Effective December 22, 2015, Meridian Land Company, LLC ("Meridian Land Company"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, consummated the closing of that certain Asset Purchase Agreement, dated November 13, 2015, by and between Meridian Land Company and Eagle Ridge Landfill, LLC ("Eagle"), as amended by that certain Amendment to Asset Purchase Agreement, dated December 18, 2015, to which the Company and WCA Waste Corporation are also party, pursuant to which the Company, through Meridian Land Company, purchased from Eagle a landfill in Pike County, Missouri (the "Eagle Ridge Landfill") and substantially all of the assets used by Eagle related to the Eagle Ridge Landfill, including certain debts, in exchange for $9,506,500 in cash, subject to a working capital adjustment.

The Eagle Ridge Landfill is currently permitted to accept municipal solid waste. The Eagle Ridge Landfill is located in Bowling Green, Missouri. Meridian Land Company currently owns 265 acres at Eagle Ridge with 56.7 acres permitted and constructed to receive waste.

In addition to the Eagle Ridge Landfill, the Company operates, through Meridian Land Company, hauling operations in Bowling Green, Missouri, servicing commercial, residential and roll off customers in this market. The Company will be looking to expand its footprint in the market through an aggressive sales and marketing strategy, as well as through additional acquisitions.

Virginia Waste Operations

The CFS Group, LLC; The CFS Disposal & Recycling Services, LLC; RWG5, LLC

On February 15, 2017, the Company consummated the closing of the Membership Interest Purchase Agreement (the "Virginia Purchase Agreement") by and between the Company and Waste Services Industries, LLC ("Seller"), pursuant to which the Company purchased from Seller 100% of the membership interests of The CFS Group, LLC ("CFS"), The CFS Disposal & Recycling Services, LLC ("CFS Disposal"), RWG5, LLC ("RWG5" and, together with CFS and CFS Disposal, the "CFS Companies"), in exchange for the following: (i) $40,000,000 in cash and assumption of certain capital leases, subject to a working capital adjustment in accordance with Section 2.6 of the Virginia Purchase Agreement and (ii) 500,000 shares of the Company's common stock.

Collectively, the CFS Companies are non-hazardous solid waste management companies providing collection and transfer services for more than 30,000 commercial, industrial and residential customers in Virginia, with its main facility in Petersburg, Virginia and satellite facilities in Lunenberg, Virginia and Prince George, Virginia. Along with the collection operation in Petersburg, the CFS Companies operate a transfer station, in Lunenberg, and two owned landfills, in Petersburg and Lunenberg. Approximately 81% of the CFS Companies' 2015 revenue was from collection and transfer, utilizing over 60 collection vehicles.

Our acquisition of the CFS Companies is a key element of our strategy to create the vertically integrated infrastructure needed to expand our operations.

Customers

For the year ended December 31, 2016, the Company had one contract that accounted for approximately 11% of the Company's revenue. This one contract currently runs through March 2019. During the year ended December 31, 2015, the Company had two contracts that accounted for approximately 44% of the Company's revenues, with one of such contracts accounting for approximately 26% and the other such contract accounting for approximately 18% of the Company's revenues.

Collection Services

Meridian, through its subsidiaries, provides solid waste collection services to approximately 65,000 industrial, commercial and residential customers in the Metropolitan St. Louis, Missouri area, and, recently, approximately 33,000 in Virginia. In 2015, our collection revenue consisted of approximately 17% from services provided to industrial customers, 13% from services provided to commercial customers and 70% from services provided to residential customers.

In our commercial collection operations, we supply our customers with waste containers of various types and sizes. These containers are designed so that they can be lifted mechanically and emptied into a collection truck to be transported to a disposal facility. By using these containers, we can service most of our commercial customers with trucks operated by a single employee. Commercial collection services are generally performed under service agreements with a duration of one to five years with possible renewal options. Fees are generally determined by such considerations as individual market factors, collection frequency, the type of equipment we furnish, the type and volume or weight of the waste to be collected, the distance to the disposal facility and the cost of disposal.

Residential solid waste collection services often are performed under contracts with municipalities, which we generally secure by competitive bid and which give us exclusive rights to service all or a portion of the homes in these municipalities. These contracts usually range in duration from one to five years with possible renewal options. Generally, the renewal options are automatic upon the mutual agreement of the municipality and the provider; however, some agreements provide for mandatory re-bidding. Alternatively, residential solid waste collection services may be performed on a subscription basis, in which individual households or homeowners' or similar associations contract directly with us. In either case, the fees received for residential collection are based primarily on market factors, frequency and type of service, the distance to the disposal facility and the cost of disposal.

Additionally, we rent waste containers and provide collection services to construction, demolition, and industrial sites and some larger commercial locations. We load the containers onto our vehicles and transport them with the waste to a landfill, a transfer station, or a recycling facility for disposal. We refer to this as "roll-off" collection. Roll-off collection services are generally performed on a contractual basis. Contract terms tend to be shorter in length, in some cases having terms of only six months, and may vary according to the customers' underlying projects.

Transfer and Disposal Services

Landfills are the main depository for solid waste in the United States. Solid waste landfills are built, operated, and tied to a state permit under stringent federal, state and local regulations. Currently, solid waste landfills in the United States must be designed, permitted, operated, closed and maintained after closure in compliance with federal, state and local regulations pursuant to Subtitle D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, as amended. We do not operate any hazardous waste landfills, which may be subject to even greater regulations. Operating a solid waste landfill includes excavating, constructing liners, continually spreading and compacting waste and covering waste with earth or other inert material as required, final capping, closure and post-closure monitoring. The objectives of these operations are to maintain sanitary conditions, to ensure the best possible use of the airspace and to prepare the site so that it can ultimately be used for other end use purposes.

Access to a disposal facility is a necessity for all solid waste management companies. While access to disposal facilities owned or operated by third parties can be obtained, we believe that it is preferable to internalize the waste streams when possible. Meridian is targeting further geographic, as well as operational expansion, by focusing on markets with transfer stations and landfills available for acquisition.

Our transfer stations allow us to consolidate waste for subsequent transfer in larger loads, thereby making disposal in our otherwise remote landfills economically feasible. A transfer station is a facility located near residential and commercial collection routes where collection trucks take the solid waste that has been collected. The waste is unloaded from the collection trucks and reloaded onto larger transfer trucks for transportation to a landfill for final disposal. As an alternative to operating a transfer station directly, we could negotiate the use of a transfer station owned by a private party or operated by a competitor, which may not be as profitable as operating our own transfer station. In addition to increasing our ability to internalize the waste that our collection operations collect, using transfer stations reduces the costs associated with transporting waste to final disposal sites because the trucks we use for transfer have a larger capacity than collection trucks, thus allowing more waste to be transported to the disposal facility on each trip.

Our Operating Strengths

Experienced Leadership

We have a proven and experienced senior management team. Our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Jeffrey S. Cosman, and President and Chief Operating Officer, Walter H. Hall, Jr., combine over 35 years of experience in the solid waste industry, including significant experience in  local and regional operations, local and regional accounting,  mergers & acquisitions, integration and the development of disposal capacity. Members of our team have held senior positions at Republic Services, Advanced Disposal, Southland Waste Services and Browning Ferris Industries.  Our team has a proven track record with  development and implementation of strategic marketplace plans, sales, safety, acquisitions, and coordination of assets and personnel. While our senior leadership team creates and drives our overall growth strategy, we rely on a decentralized management structure which does not interfere with local management and may afford us the opportunity to capitalize on growth and cost reduction at the local level.

Vertically Integrated Operations

The vertical integration of our operations allows us to manage the waste stream from the point of collection through disposal, which we hope will enable us to maximize profit by controlling costs and gaining competitive advantages, while still providing high-quality service to our customers. In the St. Louis market, because we have integrated our network of collection, transfer and disposal assets, primarily using our own resources, we generate a steady, predictable stream of waste volume and capture an incremental disposal margin. We charge tipping fees to third-party collection service providers for the use of our transfer stations or landfills, providing a source of recurring revenue. We believe the internalization of waste provides us with a significant cost advantage over our competitors, positioning us well to win additional profitable business through new customer acquisition and municipal contract awards. We also believe this vertically integrated structure enables us to quickly and efficiently integrate future acquisitions of transfer stations, collection operations or landfills into our current operations.

Landfill Assets

We now have three active and strategically located landfills at the core of our integrated operations which we believe provides us a significant competitive advantage, in that we do not need to use our competitors' landfills. Our landfills have substantial remaining airspace.

The value of our landfills may be further enhanced by synergies associated with our vertically integrated operations, including our transfer stations, which enable us to cover a greater geographic area surrounding the landfills, and provide competitive advantages in that we would not need to use our competitors' landfills. In our experience there has generally been a shift towards fewer, larger landfills, which has resulted in landfills that are generally located farther from population centers, with waste being transported longer distances between collection and disposal, typically after consolidation at a transfer station. With landfills, transfer stations and collection services in place, we aim to provide vertically integrated operations that cover the substantial geographic area surrounding the landfill.

Acquisition Integration and Municipal Contracts

Our business model contemplates our ability to execute and integrate value-enhancing, tuck-in acquisitions and win new municipal contracts as a core component of our growth.

As a management team, we have experience executing large-scale transactions by direct association with our historical success at Republic Services, Advanced Disposal and Browning Ferris Industries.  In addition to significantly expanding our scale of operations, the acquisitions of Christian Disposal and Eagle Ridge Landfill enhanced our geographic footprint by providing us with complementary operations in the state of Missouri. This has helped us realize cost efficiencies through improved internalization by virtue of increased route concentration and more efficient utilization of our assets.

Finally, our management team has demonstrated success in municipal contract bidding, as we currently serve approximately 30 municipalities and townships via contracts, historical arrangements or subscriptions with residents.

Long-Term Contracts

In Missouri, we serve approximately 65,000 residential, commercial, and construction and industrial customers, with no single customer representing more than 11% of revenue in 2016. Our municipal customer relationships are generally supported by contracts ranging from three to seven years in initial duration most with subsequent renewal periods, and we have a historical renewal rate of 100% with such customers. Our standard service agreement is a five-year renewable agreement. We believe our customer relationships, long-term contracts and exceptional retention rate provide us with a high degree of stability as we continue to grow.

Customer Service

We maintain a central focus on customer service and we pride ourselves on trying to consistently exceed our customers' expectations. We believe investing in our customers' satisfaction will ultimately maximize customer loyalty price stability.

Commitment to Safety

The safety of our employees and customers is extremely important to us and we have a strong track record of safety and environmental compliance. We constantly review and assess our policies, practices and procedures in order to create a safer work environment for our employees and to reduce the frequency of workplace injuries.

Our Growth Strategy

Growth of Existing Markets

We believe that as the residential population and number of businesses grow in our existing market, we will see waste volumes increase organically. We seek to remain active and alert with respect to the changing landscapes in the communities in which we already provide service in order obtain long-term contracts for collecting solid waste for residential collection, collection from municipalities, as well as collection from small and large commercial and industrial contracts. Obtaining long-term contracts may enable us to grow our revenue base at the same rate as the underlying economic growth in these markets. Furthermore, securing long-term contracts provides a significant barrier to entry from competitors in these markets.

Expanding into New Markets

Our operating model focuses on vertically integrated operations. We continue to pursue a growth strategy that includes acquiring solid waste companies that complement our existing business. Our goal is to create market-specific, vertically integrated operations consisting of one or more collection operations, transfer stations and landfills.

We plan to start new market development projects in certain disposal-neutral markets in which we will provide services under exclusive arrangements with municipal customers, which facilitates highly-efficient and profitable collection operations and lower capital requirements. We believe this strategic focus positions us to maintain significant share within our target markets, maximize customer retention and benefit from a higher and more stable pricing environment.

Acquisition and Integration

Our revenue model is based on organic growth of operations, the acquisition of established operations in new markets, as well as being able to execute value-adding, tuck-in acquisitions. We hope to direct acquisition efforts towards those markets in which we would be able to provide vertically integrated collection and disposal services and/or provide waste collection services, pursuant to contracts that grant exclusivity. Prior to acquisition, we analyze each prospective target for cost savings through the elimination of inefficiencies and excesses that are typically associated with private companies competing in fragmented industries. We aim to realize synergies from consolidating businesses into our existing operations, which we hope will allow us to reduce capital and expense requirements associated with truck routing, personnel, fleet maintenance, inventories and back-office administration.

Pursue Additional Exclusive Municipal Contracts

We intend to devote significant resources to securing additional municipal contracts. Our management team is well versed in bidding for municipal contracts with over 35 years of experience and working knowledge in the solid waste industry and local service areas in existing and target markets. We hope to procure and negotiate additional exclusive municipal contracts, allowing us to maintain stable recurring revenue but also providing a significant barrier to entry to our competitors in those markets.

Invest in Strategic Infrastructure

We will continue to invest in our infrastructure to support growth and increase our margins. Given the long remaining life of our existing landfill, we will invest resources toward its development and enhancement in order to increase our disposal capacity. Similarly, we will continue to evaluate opportunities to maximize the efficiency of our collection operations.

Waste Industry Overview

The non-hazardous solid waste industry can be divided into the following three categories: collection, transfer and disposal services. In our management's experience, companies engaging in collection and/or transfer operations of solid waste typically have lower margins than those additionally performing disposal service operations. By vertically integrating collection, transfer and disposal operations, operators seek to capture significant waste volumes and improve operating margins.

During the past four decades, our industry has experienced periods of substantial consolidation activity; however, we believe significant fragmentation remains. We believe that there are two primary factors that lead to consolidation:

Competition

The solid waste collection and disposal industry is highly competitive and, following consolidation, remains fragmented, and requires substantial labor and capital resources. The industry presently includes large, publicly-held, national waste companies such as Republic Services, Inc, Waste Connections, Inc., Advanced Disposal, Inc. and Waste Management, Inc., as well as numerous other public and privately-held waste companies. Our existing market and certain of the markets in which we will likely compete are served by one or more of these companies, as well as by numerous privately-held regional and local solid waste companies of varying sizes and resources, some of which have accumulated substantial goodwill in their markets. We also compete with operators of alternative disposal facilities and with counties, municipalities and solid waste districts that maintain their own waste collection and disposal operations. Public sector operations may have financial advantages over us because of potential access to user fees and similar charges, tax revenues and tax-exempt financing.

We compete for collection based primarily on geographic location and the price and quality of our services. From time to time, our competitors may reduce the price of their services in an effort to expand their market share or service areas or to win competitively bid municipal contracts. These practices may cause us to reduce the price of our services or, if we elect not to do so, to lose business.

Our management has observed significant consolidation in the solid waste collection and disposal industry, and, as a result of this perceived consolidation, we encounter competition in our efforts to acquire landfills, transfer stations and collection operations. Competition exists not only for collection, transfer and disposal volume but also for acquisition candidates. We generally compete for acquisition candidates with large, publicly-held waste management companies, private equity backed firms as well as numerous privately-held regional and local solid waste companies of varying sizes and resources. Competition in the disposal industry may also be affected by the increasing national emphasis on recycling and other waste reduction programs, which may reduce the volume of waste deposited in landfills. Accordingly, it may become uneconomical for us to make further acquisitions or we may be unable to locate or acquire suitable acquisition candidates at price levels and on terms and conditions that we consider appropriate, particularly in markets we do not already serve.

Sales and Marketing

We focus our marketing efforts on increasing and extending business with existing customers, as well as increasing our new customer base. Our sales and marketing strategy is to provide prompt, high quality, comprehensive solid waste collection to our customers at competitive prices. We target potential customers of all sizes, from small quantity generators to large companies and municipalities. Because the waste collection and disposal business is a highly localized business, most of our marketing activity is local in nature.

Government Contracts

We are party to contracts with municipalities and other associations and agencies. Many of these contracts are or will be subject to competitive bidding. We may not be the successful bidder, or we may have to substantially lower prices in order to be the successful bidder. In addition, some of our customers may have the right to terminate their contracts with us before the end of the contract term.

Municipalities may annex unincorporated areas within counties where we provide collection services, and as a result, our customers in annexed areas may be required to obtain service from competitors who have been franchised or contracted by the annexing municipalities to provide those services. Some of the local jurisdictions in which we currently operate grant exclusive franchises to collection and disposal companies, others may do so in the future, and we may enter markets where franchises are granted by certain municipalities, thereby reducing the potential market opportunity for us.

Regulation

Our business is subject to extensive and evolving federal, state and local environmental, health, safety and transportation laws and regulations. These laws and regulations are administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, and various other federal, state and local environmental, zoning, air, water, transportation, land use, health and safety agencies. Many of these agencies regularly inspect our operations to monitor compliance with these laws and regulations. Governmental agencies have the authority to enforce compliance with these laws and regulations and to obtain injunctions or impose civil or criminal penalties in cases of violations. We believe that regulation of the waste industry will continue to evolve, and we will adapt to future legal and regulatory requirements to ensure compliance.

The permit for our landfill requires us to post a closure bond, which currently stands at approximately $7.4 million, with premiums in the approximate amount of $250,000.

Our operations are subject to extensive regulation, principally under the federal statutes described below.

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, as amended, or RCRA. RCRA regulates the handling, transportation and disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous wastes and delegates authority to states to develop programs to ensure the safe disposal of solid wastes. On October 9, 1991, the EPA promulgated Solid Waste Disposal Facility Criteria for non-hazardous solid waste landfills under Subtitle D of RCRA. Subtitle D includes location standards, facility design and operating criteria, closure and post-closure requirements, financial assurance standards and groundwater monitoring, as well as corrective action standards, many of which had not commonly been in place or enforced at landfills. Subtitle D applies to all solid waste landfill cells that received waste after October 9, 1991, and, with limited exceptions, required all landfills to meet these requirements by October 9, 1993. All states in which we operate have EPA-approved programs which implemented at least the minimum requirements of Subtitle D and in some states even more stringent requirements.

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, as amended, or "CERCLA." CERCLA, which is also known as Superfund, addresses problems created by the release or threatened release of hazardous substances (as defined in CERCLA) into the environment. CERCLA's primary mechanism for achieving remediation of such problems is to impose strict joint and several liability for cleanup of disposal sites on current owners and operators of the site, former site owners and operators at the time of disposal and parties who arranged for disposal at the facility ( i.e. , generators of the waste and transporters who select the disposal site). The costs of a CERCLA cleanup can be substantial. In addition to ordering remediation work to be undertaken, federal or state agencies can perform remediation work themselves and seek reimbursement of their costs from potentially liable parties, and may record liens to enforce their cost recovery claims. Beyond cleanup costs, federal and state agencies may also assert claims for damages to natural resources, like groundwater aquifers, surface water bodies and ecosystems. Liability under CERCLA is not dependent on the existence or intentional disposal of "hazardous wastes" (as defined under RCRA), but can also be based upon the release or threatened release, even as a result of lawful, unintentional and non-negligent action, of any one of the more than 700 "hazardous substances" listed by the EPA, even in minute amounts.

The Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972, as amended, or the Clean Water Act. This act establishes rules regulating the discharge of pollutants into streams and other waters of the United States (as defined in the Clean Water Act) from a variety of sources, including solid waste disposal sites. If wastewater or stormwater from our transfer stations may be discharged into surface waters, the Clean Water Act requires us to apply for and obtain discharge permits, conduct sampling and monitoring and, under certain circumstances, reduce the quantity of pollutants in those discharges. In 1990, the EPA issued additional rules under the Clean Water Act, which establish standards for management of storm water runoff from landfills and which require landfills that receive, or in the past received, industrial waste to obtain storm water discharge permits. In addition, if a landfill or transfer station discharges wastewater through a sewage system to a publicly-owned treatment works, the facility must comply with discharge limits imposed by the treatment works. Also, if development of a landfill may alter or affect "wetlands," the owner may have to obtain a permit and undertake certain mitigation measures before development may begin. This requirement is likely to affect the construction or expansion of many solid waste disposal sites.

The Clean Air Act of 1970, as amended, or the Clean Air Act. The Clean Air Act provides for increased federal, state and local regulation of the emission of air pollutants. The EPA has applied the Clean Air Act to solid waste landfills and vehicles with heavy duty engines, such as waste collection vehicles. Additionally, in March 1996, the EPA adopted New Source Performance Standards and Emission Guidelines (the "Emission Guidelines") for municipal solid waste landfills to control emissions of landfill gases. These regulations impose limits on air emissions from solid waste landfills. The Emission Guidelines impose two sets of emissions standards, one of which is applicable to all solid waste landfills for which construction, reconstruction or modification was commenced before May 30, 1991. The other applies to all municipal solid waste landfills for which construction, reconstruction or modification was commenced on or after May 30, 1991. These guidelines, combined with the new permitting programs established under the Clean Air Act, could subject solid waste landfills to significant permitting requirements and, in some instances, require installation of gas recovery systems to reduce emissions to allowable limits. The EPA also regulates the emission of hazardous air pollutants from municipal landfills and has promulgated regulations that require measures to monitor and reduce such emissions.

Climate Change . A variety of regulatory developments, proposals or requirements have been introduced that are focused on restricting the emission of carbon dioxide, methane and other gases known as greenhouse gases. Congress has considered legislation directed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. There has been support in various regions of the country for legislation that requires reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, and some states have already adopted legislation addressing greenhouse gas emissions from various sources. In 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Massachusetts, et al. v. EPA that greenhouse gases are an "air pollutant" under the federal Clean Air Act and, thus, subject to future regulation. In a move toward regulating greenhouse gases, on December 15, 2009, the EPA published its findings that emission of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases present an endangerment to human health and the environment because greenhouse gases are, according to EPA, contributing to climate change. On October 30, 2009, the EPA published the greenhouse gas reporting final rule, effective December 29, 2009, which establishes a new comprehensive scheme requiring certain specified industries as well as operators of stationary sources emitting more than established annual thresholds of carbon dioxide-equivalent greenhouse gases to inventory and report their greenhouse gas emissions annually. Municipal solid waste landfills are subject to the rule. In 2009, the EPA also proposed regulations that would require a reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases from motor vehicles. According to the EPA, the final motor vehicle greenhouse gas standards will trigger construction and operating permit requirements for stationary sources that exceed potential-to-emit (PTE) thresholds for regulated pollutants. As a result, the EPA has proposed to tailor these programs such that only large stationary sources, such as electric generating units, cement production facilities, and petroleum refineries will be required to have air permits that authorize greenhouse gas emissions.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, as amended, or OSHA. OSHA establishes certain employer responsibilities, including maintenance of a workplace free of recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious injury, compliance with standards promulgated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and various record keeping, disclosure and procedural requirements. Various standards, including standards for notices of hazards, safety in excavation and demolition work and the handling of asbestos, may apply to our operations.

Flow Control/Interstate Waste Restrictions. Certain permits and approvals, as well as certain state and local regulations, may limit a landfill or transfer station to accepting waste that originates from specified geographic areas, restrict the importation of out-of-state waste or wastes originating outside the local jurisdiction or otherwise discriminate against non-local waste. From time to time, federal legislation is proposed that would allow some local flow control restrictions. Although no such federal legislation has been enacted to date, if such federal legislation should be enacted in the future, states in which we use landfills could limit or prohibit the importation of out-of-state waste or direct that wastes be handled at specified facilities. These restrictions could also result in higher disposal costs for our collection operations. If we were unable to pass such higher costs through to our customers, our business, financial condition and operating results could be adversely affected.

State and Local Regulation. Each state in which we now operate or may operate in the future has laws and regulations governing the generation, storage, treatment, handling, transportation and disposal of solid waste, occupational safety and health, water and air pollution and, in most cases, the siting, design, operation, maintenance, closure and post-closure maintenance of landfills and transfer stations. State and local permits and approval for these operations may be required and may be subject to periodic renewal, modification or revocation by the issuing agencies. In addition, many states have adopted statutes comparable to, and in some cases more stringent than, CERCLA. These statutes impose requirements for investigation and cleanup of contaminated sites and liability for costs and damages associated with such sites, and some provide for the imposition of liens on property owned by responsible parties. Furthermore, many municipalities also have ordinances, local laws and regulations affecting our operations. These include zoning and health measures that limit solid waste management activities to specified sites or activities, flow control provisions that direct or restrict the delivery of solid wastes to specific facilities, laws that grant the right to establish franchises for collection services and then put such franchises out for bid and bans or other restrictions on the movement of solid wastes into a municipality.

Certain state and local jurisdictions may also seek to enforce flow control restrictions through local legislation or contractually. In certain cases, we may elect not to challenge such restrictions. These restrictions could reduce the volume of waste going to landfills in certain areas, which may adversely affect our ability to operate our landfills at their full capacity and/or reduce the prices that we can charge for landfill disposal services. These restrictions may also result in higher disposal costs for our collection operations. If we were unable to pass such higher costs through to our customers, our business, financial condition and operating results could be adversely affected.

Permits or other land use approvals with respect to a landfill, as well as state or local laws and regulations, may specify the quantity of waste that may be accepted at the landfill during a given time period and/or specify the types of waste that may be accepted at the landfill. Once an operating permit for a landfill is obtained, it must generally be renewed periodically.

There has been an increasing trend at the state and local level to mandate and encourage waste reduction and recycling and to prohibit or restrict the disposal in landfills of certain types of solid wastes, such as construction and demolition debris, yard wastes, food waste, beverage containers, unshredded tires, lead-acid batteries, paper, cardboard and household appliances. 

Many states and local jurisdictions have enacted "bad boy" laws that allow the agencies that have jurisdiction over waste services contracts or permits to deny or revoke these contracts or permits based on the applicant's or permit holder's compliance history. Some states and local jurisdictions go further and consider the compliance history of the parent, subsidiaries or affiliated companies, in addition to that of the applicant or permit holder. These laws authorize the agencies to make determinations of an applicant's or permit holder's fitness to be awarded a contract to operate and to deny or revoke a contract or permit because of unfitness unless there is a showing that the applicant or permit holder has been rehabilitated through the adoption of various operating policies and procedures put in place to assure future compliance with applicable laws and regulations. 

Some state and local authorities enforce certain federal laws in addition to state and local laws and regulations. For example, in some states, RCRA, OSHA, parts of the Clean Air Act and parts of the Clean Water Act are enforced by local or state authorities instead of the EPA, and in some states those laws are enforced jointly by state or local and federal authorities.

Public Utility Regulation. In many states, public authorities regulate the rates that landfill operators may charge.

Seasonality

Based on our industry and our historic trends, we expect our operations to vary seasonally. Typically, revenue will be highest in the second and third calendar quarters and lowest in the first and fourth calendar quarters. These seasonal variations result in fluctuations in waste volumes due to weather conditions and general economic activity. We also expect that our operating expenses may be higher during the winter months due to periodic adverse weather conditions that can slow the collection of waste, resulting in higher labor and operational costs.

Employees

We have approximately 180 full-time employees. None of our employees are represented by a labor union. We have not experienced any work stoppages and we believe that our relations with our employees are good.

Properties

Our principal executive office is located at 12540 Broadwell Road, Suite 2104, Milton, Georgia and is an approximately 3,500 sq. ft. office space rented at a rate of approximately $3,000 per month. We also lease approximately 8,500 sq. ft. of office space rented at a rate of $23,000 per month in Bridgeton, Missouri and approximately 84,000 sq. ft. of office and warehouse space rented at a rate of approximately $50,000 per month in Petersburg, Virginia. Additional space may be required as we expand our business activities, but we do not foresee any significant difficulties in obtaining additional office facilities if deemed necessary.

Our principal property is comprised of land, three landfills, buildings, and equipment owned and/or leased in Missouri and Virginia.  These properties are sufficient to meet the Company's current operational needs; however, the Company is exploring the potential acquisition and/or leasing of additional properties pursuant to its growth strategies.

Available Information

We electronically file certain documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC). We file annual reports on Form 10-K; quarterly reports on Form 10-Q; and current reports on Form 8-K (as appropriate); along with any related amendments and supplements thereto. From time-to-time, we may also file registration statements and related documents in connection with equity or debt offerings. You may read and copy any materials we file with the SEC at the SEC's Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549. You may obtain information regarding the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. In addition, the SEC maintains an internet website at  www.sec.gov  that contains reports and other information regarding registrants that file electronically with the SEC. 

Item 1A. Risk Factors

RISK FACTORS

You should carefully consider the risks described below, together with all of the other information included in this report, in considering our business and prospects. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones facing the Company. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial also may impair our business operations. The occurrence of any of the following risks could harm our business, financial condition or results of operations.

RISKS RELATED TO OUR COMPANY AND OUR INDUSTRY

WE ARE SUBJECT TO ENVIRONMENTAL AND SAFETY LAWS, WHICH RESTRICT OUR OPERATIONS AND INCREASE OUR COSTS.

We are subject to extensive federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to environmental protection and occupational safety and health. These include, among other things, laws and regulations governing the use, treatment, storage and disposal of wastes and materials, air quality, water quality and the remediation of contamination associated with the release of hazardous substances. Our compliance with existing regulatory requirements is costly, and continued changes in these regulations could increase our compliance costs. Government laws and regulations often require us to enhance or replace our equipment. We are required to obtain and maintain permits that are subject to strict regulatory requirements and are difficult and costly to obtain and maintain. We may be unable to implement price increases sufficient to offset the cost of complying with these laws and regulations. In addition, regulatory changes could accelerate or increase expenditures for closure and post-closure monitoring at solid waste facilities and obligate us to spend sums over the amounts that we have accrued. In order to develop, expand or operate a landfill or other waste management facility, we must have various facility permits and other governmental approvals, including those relating to zoning, environmental protection and land use. The permits and approvals are often difficult, time consuming and costly to obtain and could contain conditions that limit our operations.

WE MAY BECOME SUBJECT TO ENVIRONMENTAL CLEAN-UP COSTS OR LITIGATION THAT COULD CURTAIL OUR BUSINESS OPERATIONS AND MATERIALLY DECREASE OUR EARNINGS.

CERCLA, and analogous state laws provide for the remediation of contaminated facilities and impose strict joint and several liability for remediation costs on current and former owners or operators of a facility at which there has been a release or a threatened release of a hazardous substance. This liability is also imposed on persons who arrange for the disposal of and who transport such substances to the facility. Hundreds of substances are defined as hazardous under CERCLA and their presence, even in small amounts, can result in substantial liability. The expense of conducting a cleanup can be significant. Notwithstanding our efforts to comply with applicable regulations and to avoid transporting and receiving hazardous substances, we may have liability because these substances may be present in waste collected by us. The actual costs for these liabilities could be significantly greater than the amounts that we might be required to accrue on our financial statements from time to time.

In addition to the costs of complying with environmental regulations, we may incur costs to defend against litigation brought by government agencies and private parties. As a result, we may be required to pay fines or our permits and licenses may be modified or revoked. We may in the future be a defendant in lawsuits brought by governmental agencies and private parties who assert claims alleging environmental damage, personal injury, property damage and/or violations of permits and licenses by us. A significant judgment against us, the loss of a significant permit or license or the imposition of a significant fine could curtail our business operations and may decrease our earnings.

OUR BUSINESS IS CAPITAL INTENSIVE, REQUIRING ONGOING CASH OUTLAYS THAT MAY STRAIN OR CONSUME OUR AVAILABLE CAPITAL AND FORCE US TO SELL ASSETS, INCUR DEBT, OR SELL EQUITY ON UNFAVORABLE TERMS.

Our ability to remain competitive, grow and maintain operations largely depends on our cash flow from operations and access to capital. Maintaining our existing operations and expanding them through internal growth or acquisitions requires large capital expenditures. As we undertake more acquisitions and further expand our operations, the amount we expend on capital will increase. These increases in expenditures may result in lower levels of working capital or require us to finance working capital deficits. We intend to continue to fund our cash needs through cash flow from operations and borrowings under our credit facility, if necessary. However, we may require additional equity or debt financing to fund our growth.

We do not have complete control over our future performance because it is subject to general economic, political, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory and other factors. It is possible that our business may not generate sufficient cash flow from operations, and we may not otherwise have the capital resources, to allow us to make necessary capital expenditures. If this occurs, we may have to sell assets, restructure our debt or obtain additional equity capital, which could be dilutive to our stockholders. We may not be able to take any of the foregoing actions, and we may not be able to do so on terms favorable to us or our stockholders.

THE COMPANY'S FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS AND OTHER OBLIGATIONS UNDER THE CREDIT AGREEMENT MAY RESULT IN THE FORECLOSURE OF THE COMPANY'S OR ITS SUBSIDIARIES' PLEDGED ASSETS AND OTHER ADVERSE CONSEQUENCES.

Pursuant to the current Credit Agreement, the Lenders have agreed to extend certain credit facilities to the Company, in an aggregate amount not to exceed $89,100,000, consisting of $65,500,000 aggregate principal amount of Tranche A Term Loans (the "Tranche A Term Loans"), $8,600,000 aggregate principal amount of Tranche B Term Loans (the "Tranche B Term Loans"), $10,000,000 aggregate principal amount of MultiDraw Term Loans (the "MDTL Term Loans"), and up to $5,000,000 aggregate principal amount of Revolving Loans (the "Revolving Loans " and, together with the Tranche A Term Loans, Tranche B Term Loans and the MDTL Term Loans, the "Loans"). As of December 31, 2016, we had an outstanding principal balance of $43,195,000 under the Loans as in effect at such time, which is secured by a first position security interest in substantially all of the Company's assets in favor of Goldman Sachs Specialty Group, LP ("GS"), as collateral agent, for the benefit of the lenders and other secured parties. The Credit Agreement requires us to comply with a number of covenants, including restrictive covenants that limit our ability to, among other things: incur additional indebtedness; create or permit liens on assets; make investments; and pay dividends. A breach of any of these covenants or our inability to comply with the required financial ratios set forth in the Credit Agreement and related documents or the occurrence of certain other specified events could result in an event of default under the Credit Agreement (an "Event of Default"). Events of Default under the Credit Agreement also include, without limitation, the Company's failure to make payments when due, defaults under other agreements, bankruptcy, changes of control and termination of a material contract. Due to our recent failures to comply with the leverage ratio and certain other covenants required under the Prior Credit Agreement, we entered into several amendments thereto. Any future Event(s) of Default under the Credit Agreement, could result in the acceleration of all or a substantial portion of our debt, potential foreclosure on our assets and other adverse consequences.

IF THE COMPANY IS NOT ABLE TO MAINTAIN CERTAIN LEVERAGE RATIOS SET FORTH IN THE CREDIT AGREEMENT, WE ME BE UNABLE TO DRAW DOWN ADDITIONAL FUNDS PURSUANT TO THE CREDIT AGREEMENT, AND AS A RESULT, WE MAY NEED TO SEEK OTHER SOURCES OF CAPITAL, WHICH COULD BE ON LESS FAVORABLE TERMS.

As a result of the Company's failure historically to comply with the leverage ratio under the Prior Credit Agreement, the Company was able to draw down additional funds under the Prior Credit Agreement solely as the result of the execution of the Fourth Amendment. Although the Credit Agreement currently provides for increased leverage ratios, in the future, the Company may not be able to draw down additional funds pursuant to the Credit Agreement until such time as either such leverage ratio complies with the requirements of the Credit Agreement and the Company can show that it reasonably expects to be in pro forma compliance with such ratios or the requisite lenders under the Credit Agreement waive such requirement or otherwise consent to advance additional funds (the Lenders under our Credit Agreement having no requirement to grant such a consent or waiver and there can be no assurance that any such consent or waiver would be forthcoming). Due to certain unanticipated delays in integration of landfill operations, including due to flooding in the St. Louis area in December 2015, the Company had historically not been able to maintain the leverage ratios set forth in the Prior Credit Agreement. The Company's ability to maintain leverage ratios under the Credit Agreement may be beyond the Company's control. If the Company is unable to draw down additional funds pursuant to the Credit Agreement, it may be required to seek other sources of capital, and such capital may only be available on terms that are substantially less favorable than the terms of the Credit Agreement.

WE DEPEND ON A LIMITED NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS FOR OUR REVENUE.

At this time, the Company has a municipal contract that accounts for 11% of our long term contracted revenues for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016. Because we depend on this customer for a large portion of our revenue, a loss of this customer could materially adversely affect our business and financial condition. If this customer were to cease using our services, our business could be materially adversely affected.

GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITIES MAY ENACT CLIMATE CHANGE REGULATIONS THAT COULD INCREASE OUR COSTS TO OPERATE.

Environmental advocacy groups and regulatory agencies in the United States have been focusing considerable attention on the emissions of greenhouse gases and their potential role in climate change. Congress has considered recent proposed legislation directed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and President Obama had indicated his support of legislation aimed at reducing greenhouse gases. EPA has proposed rules to regulate greenhouse gases, regional initiatives have formed to control greenhouse gases and certain of the states in which we operate are contemplating air pollution control regulations that are more stringent than existing and proposed federal regulations, in particular the regulation of emissions of greenhouse gases. The adoption of laws and regulations to implement controls of greenhouse gases, including the imposition of fees or taxes, could adversely affect our collection operations. Changing environmental regulations could require us to take any number of actions, including the purchase of emission allowances or installation of additional pollution control technology, and could make some operations less profitable, which could adversely affect our results of operations.

OUR OPERATIONS ARE SUBJECT TO ENVIRONMENTAL, HEALTH AND SAFETY LAWS AND REGULATIONS, AS WELL AS CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS THAT MAY RESULT IN SIGNIFICANT LIABILITIES.

We risk incurring significant environmental liabilities in connection with our use, treatment, storage, transfer and disposal of waste materials. Under applicable environmental laws and regulations, we could be liable if our operations are found to cause environmental damage to our properties or to the property of other landowners, particularly as a result of the contamination of air, drinking water or soil. Under current law, we could also be held liable for damage caused by conditions that existed before we acquired the assets or operations involved. This risk is of particular concern as we execute our growth strategy, partially though acquisitions, because we may be unsuccessful in identifying and assessing potential liabilities during our due diligence investigations. Further, the counterparties in such transactions may be unable to perform their indemnification obligations owed to us. Additionally, we could be liable if we arrange for the transportation, disposal or treatment of hazardous substances that cause environmental contamination, or if a predecessor owner made such arrangements and, under applicable law, we are treated as a successor to the prior owner. Any substantial liability for environmental damage could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

OUR BUSINESS IS SUBJECT TO OPERATIONAL AND SAFETY RISKS, INCLUDING THE RISK OF PERSONAL INJURY TO EMPLOYEES AND OTHERS.

Providing environmental and waste management services, including operating landfills, involves risks such as vehicular accidents and equipment defects, malfunctions and failures. Additionally, there are risks associated with waste mass instability and releases of hazardous materials or odors. There may also be risks presented by the potential for subsurface chemical reactions causing elevated landfill temperatures and increased production of leachate, landfill gas and odors. Any of these risks could potentially result in injury or death of employees and others, a need to shut down or reduce operation of facilities, increased operating expense and exposure to liability for pollution and other environmental damage, and property damage or destruction.

While we seek to minimize our exposure to such risks through comprehensive training, compliance and response and recovery programs, as well as vehicle and equipment maintenance programs, if we were to incur substantial liabilities in excess of any applicable insurance, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected. Any such incidents could also adversely impact our reputation and reduce the value of our brand. Additionally, a major operational failure, even if suffered by a competitor, may bring enhanced scrutiny and regulation of our industry, with a corresponding increase in operating expense.

INCREASES IN THE COSTS OF FUEL MAY REDUCE OUR OPERATING MARGINS.

The price and supply of fuel needed to run our collection vehicles is unpredictable and fluctuates based on events outside our control, including geopolitical developments, supply and demand for oil and gas, actions by OPEC and other oil and gas producers, war and unrest in oil producing countries, regional production patterns and environmental concerns. Any significant price escalations or reductions in the supply could increase our operating expenses or interrupt or curtail our operations. Failure to offset all or a portion of any increased fuel costs through increased fees or charges would reduce our operating margins.

CHANGES IN INTEREST RATES WOULD AFFECT OUR PROFITABILITY.

Our acquisitions could require us to incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future, which will increase our interest expense. Further, to the extent that these borrowings are subject to variable rates of interest, increases in interest rates will increase our interest expense, which will affect our profitability. We bear exposure to, and are primarily affected by, changes in LIBOR rates.

INCREASES IN THE COSTS OF DISPOSAL MAY REDUCE OUR OPERATING MARGINS.

In 2016, we disposed of approximately 70% of the waste that we collect in landfills operated by others, and that rate may not decrease significantly in the future. We may incur increases in disposal fees paid to third parties. Failure to pass these costs on to our customers may reduce our operating margins. In December 2015, the Company purchased Eagle Ridge Landfill, LLC and, in February 2017, the Company purchased two landfills located in Virginia, as part of the Company's strategy to internalize a majority of its volume. As of  July 2016, the Company has begun to move its volume away from third party landfills. Going forward, the Company may not internalize its volume in its own landfills to the extent desired, which may limit the expected savings it anticipated from the acquisition of Eagle Ridge Landfill, LLC and the CFS Group.

INCREASES IN THE COSTS OF LABOR MAY REDUCE OUR OPERATING MARGINS.

We compete with other businesses in our markets for qualified employees. A shortage of qualified employees would require us to enhance our wage and benefits packages to compete more effectively for employees or to hire more expensive temporary employees. Labor is our second largest operating cost, and even relatively small increases in labor costs per employee could materially affect our cost structure. Failure to attract and retain qualified employees, to control our labor costs, or to recover any increased labor costs through increased prices we charge for our services or otherwise offset such increases with cost savings in other areas may reduce our operating margins.

INCREASES IN COSTS OF INSURANCE WOULD REDUCE OUR OPERATING MARGINS.

One of our largest operating costs is for insurance coverage, including general liability, automobile physical damage and liability, property, employment practices, pollution, directors and officers, fiduciary, workers' compensation and employer's liability coverage, as well as umbrella liability policies to provide excess coverage over the underlying limits contained in our primary general liability, automobile liability and employer's liability policies. Changes in our operating experience, such as an increase in accidents or lawsuits or a catastrophic loss, could cause our insurance costs to increase significantly or could cause us to be unable to obtain certain insurance. Increases in insurance costs would reduce our operating margins. Changes in our industry and perceived risks in our business could have a similar effect.

WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN SUFFICIENT INSURANCE COVERAGE TO COVER THE RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH OUR OPERATIONS, WHICH COULD RESULT IN UNINSURED LOSSES THAT WOULD ADVERSELY AFFECT OUR FINANCIAL CONDITION.

Integrated non-hazardous waste companies are exposed to a variety of risks that are typically covered by insurance arrangements. However, we may not be able to maintain sufficient insurance coverage to cover the risks associated with our operations for a variety of reasons. Increases in insurance costs and changes in the insurance markets may, given our resources, limit the coverage that we are able to maintain or prevent us from insuring against certain risks. Large or unexpected losses may exceed our policy limits, adversely affecting our results of operations, and may result in the termination or limitation of coverage, exposing us to uninsured losses, thereby adversely affecting our financial condition.

OUR FAILURE TO REMAIN COMPETITIVE WITH OUR NUMEROUS COMPETITORS, SOME OF WHOM HAVE GREATER RESOURCES, COULD ADVERSELY AFFECT OUR ABILITY TO RETAIN EXISTING CUSTOMERS AND OBTAIN FUTURE BUSINESS.

Because our industry is highly competitive, we compete with large companies and municipalities, many of whom have greater financial and operational resources. The non-hazardous solid waste collection and disposal industry includes large national, publicly-traded waste management companies; regional, publicly-held and privately-owned companies; and numerous small, local, privately-owned companies. Additionally, many counties and municipalities operate their own waste collection and disposal facilities and have competitive advantages not available to private enterprises. If we are unable to successfully compete against our competitors, our ability to retain existing customers and obtain future business could be adversely affected.

WE MAY LOSE CONTRACTS THROUGH COMPETITIVE BIDDING, EARLY TERMINATION OR GOVERNMENTAL ACTION, OR WE MAY HAVE TO SUBSTANTIALLY LOWER PRICES IN ORDER TO RETAIN CERTAIN CONTRACTS, ANY OF WHICH WOULD CAUSE OUR REVENUE TO DECLINE.

We are party to contracts with municipalities and other associations and agencies. Many of these contracts are or will be subject to competitive bidding. We may not be the successful bidder, or we may have to substantially lower prices in order to be the successful bidder. In addition, some of our customers may terminate their contracts with us before the end of the contract term. If we are not able to replace revenue from contracts lost through competitive bidding or early termination or from lowering prices or from the renegotiation of existing contracts with other revenue within a reasonable time period, our revenue could decline.

Municipalities may annex unincorporated areas within counties where we provide collection services, and as a result, our customers in annexed areas may be required to obtain service from competitors who have been franchised or contracted by the annexing municipalities to provide those services. Some of the local jurisdictions in which we currently operate grant exclusive franchises to collection and disposal companies, others may do so in the future, and we may enter markets where franchises are granted by certain municipalities. Unless we are awarded a franchise by these municipalities, we will lose customers, which will cause our revenue to decline.

We are currently pursuing through a bidding process the renewal of an agreement to which we are currently party, for the operation of a transfer station, scheduled to expire in the fourth quarter of 2016. If we are not awarded renewal of this agreement, we will be forced to utilize other transfer stations which would cause our revenue to decline.

EFFORTS BY LABOR UNIONS TO ORGANIZE OUR EMPLOYEES COULD DIVERT MANAGEMENT ATTENTION AND INCREASE OUR OPERATING EXPENSES.

We do not have any union representation in our operations. Groups of employees may seek union representation in the future, and the negotiation of collective bargaining agreements could divert management attention and result in increased operating expenses and lower net income. If we are unable to negotiate acceptable collective bargaining agreements, we might have to wait through "cooling off" periods, which are often followed by union-initiated work stoppages, including strikes. Depending on the type and duration of these work stoppages, our operating expenses could increase significantly.

POOR DECISIONS BY OUR REGIONAL AND LOCAL MANAGERS COULD RESULT IN THE LOSS OF CUSTOMERS OR AN INCREASE IN COSTS, OR ADVERSELY AFFECT OUR ABILITY TO OBTAIN FUTURE BUSINESS.

We manage our operations on a decentralized basis. Therefore, regional and local managers have the authority to make many decisions concerning their operations without obtaining prior approval from executive officers. Poor decisions by regional or local managers could result in the loss of customers or an increase in costs, or adversely affect our ability to obtain future business.

WE ARE VULNERABLE TO FACTORS AFFECTING OUR LOCAL MARKETS, WHICH COULD ADVERSELY AFFECT OUR STOCK PRICE RELATIVE TO OUR COMPETITORS.

Because the non-hazardous waste business is local in nature, our business in one or more regions or local markets may be adversely affected by events and economic conditions relating to those regions or markets even if the other regions of the country are not affected. As a result, our financial performance may not compare favorably to our competitors with operations in other regions, and our stock price could be adversely affected by our inability to compete effectively with our competitors.

SEASONAL FLUCTUATIONS WILL CAUSE OUR BUSINESS AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS TO VARY AMONG QUARTERS, WHICH COULD ADVERSELY AFFECT OUR STOCK PRICE.

Based on historic trends experienced by the businesses we have acquired, we expect our operating results to vary seasonally, with revenue typically lowest in the first quarter, higher in the second and third quarters, and again lower in the fourth quarter. This seasonality generally reflects the lower volume of waste during the winter months. Adverse weather conditions negatively affect waste collection productivity, resulting in higher labor and operational costs. The general increase in precipitation during the winter months increases the weight of collected waste, resulting in higher disposal costs, as costs are often calculated on a per ton basis. Because of these factors, we expect operating income to be generally lower in the winter months. As a result, our operating results may be negatively affected by these variations. Additionally, severe weather during any time of the year can negatively affect the costs of collection and disposal and may cause temporary suspensions of our collection services. Long periods of inclement weather may interfere with collection operations and reduce the volume of waste generated by our customers. Any of these conditions can adversely affect our business and results of operations, which could negatively affect our stock price.

WE ARE DEPENDENT ON OUR MANAGEMENT TEAM AND DEVELOPMENT AND OPERATIONS PERSONNEL, AND THE LOSS OF ONE OR MORE KEY EMPLOYEES OR GROUPS COULD HARM OUR BUSINESS AND PREVENT US FROM IMPLEMENTING OUR BUSINESS PLAN IN A TIMELY MANNER.

Our success depends substantially upon the continued services of our executive officers and other key members of management, particularly our Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Jeffrey S. Cosman. From time to time, there may be changes in our executive management team resulting from the hiring or departure of executives. Such changes in our executive management team may be disruptive to our business. We are also substantially dependent on the continued service of our existing development and operations personnel because of the complexity of our service and technologies. We have an employment agreement with Mr. Cosman. We maintain a key person life insurance policy on Mr. Cosman. The loss of one or more of our key employees or groups could seriously harm our business.

WE HAVE IDENTIFIED A MATERIAL WEAKNESS IN OUR INTERNAL CONTROLS, WHICH COULD CAUSE STOCKHOLDERS AND PROSPECTIVE INVESTORS TO LOSE CONFIDENCE IN THE RELIABILITY OF OUR FINANCIAL REPORTING.

Currently, the Company has an Audit Committee to oversee the financial reporting process; however, for much of the year ended December 31, 2016, the Company did not have an Audit Committee. Accordingly, based on these material weaknesses, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective during the period covered by this report, December 31, 2016, to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC's rules.

To address these weaknesses, the Company's management has added independent Directors so that the Company will have an Audit Committee that meets regulatory requirements for independence and financial expert experience. The Company also started the process of retaining additional staff to assist its internal staff with compliance issues.

OUR BUSINESS IS SUBJECT TO CHANGING REGULATIONS REGARDING CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND PUBLIC DISCLOSURE THAT HAVE INCREASED BOTH OUR COSTS AND THE RISK OF NON-COMPLIANCE.

We are subject to rules and regulations by various governing bodies, including, for example, the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are charged with the protection of investors and the oversight of companies whose securities are publicly traded. Our efforts to comply with new and changing regulations have resulted in and are likely to continue to result in, increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities. Moreover, because these laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance becomes available. This evolution may result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and additional costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to our disclosure and governance practices. If we fail to address and comply with these regulations and any subsequent changes, our business may be harmed.

WE NEED ADDITIONAL CAPITAL TO DEVELOP OUR BUSINESS.

The development of our services will require the commitment of substantial resources to implement our business plan. In addition, substantial expenditures will be required to enable us to complete projects in the future. Currently, we have a credit agreement with Goldman Sachs Specialty Lending Group. However, it is likely we would need to seek additional financing through subsequent future private or public offerings of our equity securities or through strategic partnerships and other arrangements with corporate partners.

We cannot give any assurance that any additional financing will be available to us, or if available, will be on terms favorable to us. The sale of additional equity securities will result in dilution to our stockholders. The occurrence of indebtedness would result in increased debt service obligations and could require us to agree to operating and financing covenants that would restrict our operations. If adequate additional financing is not available on acceptable terms, we may not be able to implement our business development plan or continue our business operations.

RISKS RELATED TO OWNERSHIP OF OUR SECURITIES

THE MARKET PRICE OF OUR COMMON STOCK IS LIKELY TO BE VOLATILE AND COULD SUBJECT US TO LITIGATION.

The market price of our common stock has been and is likely to continue to be subject to wide fluctuations. Factors affecting the market price of our common stock include:

In addition, if the stock market in general experiences uneven investor confidence, the market price of our common stock could decline for reasons unrelated to our business, operating results or financial condition. The market price of our common stock might also decline in reaction to events that affect other companies within, or outside, our industries even if these events do not directly affect us. Some companies that have experienced volatility in the trading price of their stock have been the subject of securities class action litigation. If we are to become the subject of such litigation, it could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management's attention and resources.

THE OWNERSHIP BY OUR CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF SERIES A PREFERRED STOCK WILL LIKELY LIMIT YOUR ABILITY TO INFLUENCE CORPORATE MATTERS.

Mr. Jeffrey S. Cosman, our chief executive officer, is the beneficial owner of 100% of the outstanding shares of the Company's Series A Preferred Stock. As a result, our chief executive officer would have significant influence over most matters that require approval by our stockholders, including the election of directors and approval of significant corporate transactions, even if other stockholders oppose them. In addition, Mr. Cosman beneficially owns approximately 18% of our issued and outstanding common stock. This concentration of ownership might also have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of our company that other stockholders may view as beneficial.

ALTHOUGH OUR SHARES AND WARRANTS HAVE BEEN APPROVED FOR LISTING ON THE NASDAQ CAPITAL MARKET, OUR SHARES MAY BE SUBJECT TO POTENTIAL DELISTING IF WE DO NOT MEET OR CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN THE LISTING REQUIREMENTS OF THE NASDAQ CAPITAL MARKET.

Our shares and warrants have been approved for listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market  ("Nasdaq"); however Nasdaq has rules for continued listing, including, without limitation, minimum market capitalization and other requirements. Failure to maintain our listing, or delisting from Nasdaq, would make it more difficult for shareholders to dispose of our common stock and more difficult to obtain accurate price quotations on our common stock. This could have an adverse effect on the price of our common stock. Our ability to issue additional securities for financing or other purposes, or otherwise to arrange for any financing we may need in the future, may also be materially and adversely affected if our common stock is not traded on a national securities exchange.

Our stock price could fall and we could be delisted from NASDAQ in which case because they may be considered penny stocks and thus be subject to the penny stock rules, WHICH COULD RESULT IN U.S. broker-dealers BECOMING discouraged from effecting transactions in shares of our common stock.

The SEC has adopted a number of rules to regulate "penny stock" that restricts transactions involving stock which is deemed to be penny stock. Such rules include Rules 3a51-1, 15g-1, 15g-2, 15g-3, 15g-4, 15g-5, 15g-6, 15g-7, and 15g-9 under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These rules may have the effect of reducing the liquidity of penny stocks. "Penny stocks" generally are equity securities with a price of less than $5.00 per share (other than securities registered on certain national securities exchanges or quoted on the NASDAQ Stock Market if current price and volume information with respect to transactions in such securities is provided by the exchange or system). Our securities have in the past constituted, and may again in the future constitute, "penny stock" within the meaning of the rules. The additional sales practice and disclosure requirements imposed upon U.S. broker-dealers may discourage such broker-dealers from effecting transactions in shares of our common stock, which could severely limit the market liquidity of such shares and impede their sale in the secondary market.

A U.S. broker-dealer selling penny stock to anyone other than an established customer or "accredited investor" (generally, an individual with net worth in excess of $1,000,000 or an annual income exceeding $200,000, or $300,000 together with his or her spouse) must make a special suitability determination for the purchaser and must receive the purchaser's written consent to the transaction prior to sale, unless the broker-dealer or the transaction is otherwise exempt. In addition, the "penny stock" regulations require the U.S. broker-dealer to deliver, prior to any transaction involving a "penny stock", a disclosure schedule prepared in accordance with SEC standards relating to the "penny stock" market, unless the broker-dealer or the transaction is otherwise exempt. A U.S. broker-dealer is also required to disclose commissions payable to the U.S. broker-dealer and the registered representative and current quotations for the securities. Finally, a U.S. broker-dealer is required to submit monthly statements disclosing recent price information with respect to the "penny stock" held in a customer's account and information with respect to the limited market in "penny stocks."

Stockholders should be aware that, according to the SEC, the market for "penny stocks" has suffered in recent years from patterns of fraud and abuse. Such patterns include (i) control of the market for the security by one or a few broker-dealers that are often related to the promoter or issuer; (ii) manipulation of prices through prearranged matching of purchases and sales and false and misleading press releases; (iii) "boiler room" practices involving high-pressure sales tactics and unrealistic price projections by inexperienced sales persons; (iv) excessive and undisclosed bid-ask differentials and markups by selling broker-dealers; and (v) the wholesale dumping of the same securities by promoters and broker-dealers after prices have been manipulated to a desired level, resulting in investor losses. Our management is aware of the abuses that have occurred historically in the penny stock market. Although we do not expect to be in a position to dictate the behavior of the market or of broker-dealers who participate in the market, management will strive within the confines of practical limitations to prevent the described patterns from being established with respect to our securities.

THERE MAY BE RESTRICTIONS ON YOUR ABILITY TO RESELL SHARES OF COMMON STOCK UNDER RULE 144.

Currently, Rule 144 under the Securities Act permits the public resale of securities under certain conditions after a six or twelve month holding period by the seller, including requirements with respect to the manner of sale, sales volume restrictions, filing requirements and a requirement that certain information about the issuer is publicly available. At the time that stockholders intend to resell their shares under Rule 144, there can be no assurances that we will be subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act") or, if so, current in our reporting requirements under the Exchange Act, in order for stockholders to be eligible to rely on Rule 144 at such time.

In addition to the foregoing requirements of Rule 144 under the Federal securities laws, the various state securities laws may impose further restrictions on the ability of a holder to sell or transfer the shares of common stock.

SALES OF OUR CURRENTLY ISSUED AND OUTSTANDING STOCK MAY BECOME FREELY TRADABLE PURSUANT TO RULE 144 AND MAY DILUTE THE MARKET FOR YOUR SHARES AND HAVE A DEPRESSIVE EFFECT ON THE PRICE OF THE SHARES OF OUR COMMON STOCK

A substantial majority of our outstanding shares of common stock are "restricted securities" within the meaning of Rule 144 under the Securities Act. As restricted shares, these shares may be resold only pursuant to an effective registration statement or under the requirements of Rule 144 or other applicable exemptions from registration under the Act and as required under applicable state securities laws. Rule 144 provides in essence that an Affiliate (as such term is defined in Rule 144(a)(1)) of an issuer who has held restricted securities for a period of at least six months (one year after filing Form 10 information with the SEC for shell companies and former shell companies) may, under certain conditions, sell every three months, in brokerage transactions, a number of shares that does not exceed the greater of 1% of a company's outstanding shares of common stock or the average weekly trading volume during the four calendar weeks prior to the sale (the four calendar week rule does not apply to companies quoted on the OTC Bulletin Board). Rule 144 also permits, under certain circumstances, the sale of securities, without any limitation, by a person who is not an Affiliate of the Company and who has satisfied a one-year holding period. A sale under Rule 144 or under any other exemption from the Act, if available, or pursuant to subsequent registrations of our shares of common stock, may have a depressive effect upon the price of our shares of common stock in any active market that may develop.

YOU MAY EXPERIENCE DILUTION OF YOUR OWNERSHIP INTEREST BECAUSE OF THE FUTURE ISSUANCE OF ADDITIONAL SHARES OF OUR COMMON STOCK AND OUR PREFERRED STOCK.

In the future, we may issue our authorized but previously unissued equity securities, resulting in the dilution of the ownership interests of our present stockholders. We are currently authorized to issue an aggregate of 80,000,000 shares of capital stock, which includes 4,861,468 shares of blank check preferred stock, par value $0.001, for which the designations, rights and preferences may be established by the Board.

We may also issue additional shares of our common stock or other securities that are convertible into or exercisable for common stock in connection with hiring or retaining employees or consultants, future acquisitions, future sales of our securities for capital raising purposes, or for other business purposes. The future issuance of any such additional shares of our common stock or other securities may create downward pressure on the trading price of our common stock. There can be no assurance that we will not be required to issue additional shares, warrants or other convertible securities in the future in conjunction with hiring or retaining employees or consultants, future acquisitions, future sales of our securities for capital raising purposes or for other business purposes, including at a price (or exercise prices) below the price at which shares of our common stock are trading.

POSSIBLE ADVERSE EFFECT OF ISSUANCE OF PREFERRED STOCK

Our Restated Certificate of Incorporation authorizes the issuance of 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock, of which 4,861,468 shares are available for issuance, with designations, rights and preferences as determined from time to time by the Board of Directors. As a result of the foregoing, the Board of Directors can issue, without further shareholder approval, Preferred Stock with dividend, liquidation, conversion, voting or other rights that could adversely affect the voting power or other rights of the holders of Common Stock. The issuance of Preferred Stock could, under certain circumstances, discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of the Company.

WE DO NOT EXPECT TO PAY DIVIDENDS AND INVESTORS SHOULD NOT BUY OUR COMMON STOCK EXPECTING TO RECEIVE DIVIDENDS.

We have not paid any dividends on our common stock in the past, and do not anticipate that we will declare or pay any dividends in the foreseeable future. Consequently, investors will only realize an economic gain on their investment in our common stock if the price appreciates. Investors should not purchase our common stock expecting to receive cash dividends. Because we do not pay dividends, and there may be limited trading, investors may not have any manner to liquidate or receive any payment on their investment. Therefore, our failure to pay dividends may cause investors to not see any return on investment even if we are successful in our business operations. In addition, because we do not pay dividends we may have trouble raising additional funds, which could affect our ability to expand our business operations.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

Not applicable.

Item 2. Properties

Our principal executive office is located at 12540 Broadwell Road, Suite 2104, Milton, Georgia and is an approximately 3,500 sq. ft. office space rented at a rate of approximately $3,000 per month. We also lease approximately 8,500 sq. ft. of office space rented at a rate of $23,000 per month in Bridgeton, Missouri and approximately 84,000 sq. ft. of office and warehouse space rented at a rate of approximately $50,000 per month in Petersburg, Virginia. Additional space may be required as we expand our business activities, but we do not foresee any significant difficulties in obtaining additional office facilities if deemed necessary.

Our principal property is comprised of land, three landfills, buildings and equipment owned and/or leased in Missouri and Virginia. These properties are sufficient to meet the Company's current operational needs; however, the Company is exploring the potential acquisition and/or leasing of additional properties pursuant to its growth strategies.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

We are not currently involved in any litigation that we believe could have a materially adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations. There is no action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation before or by any court, public board, government agency, self-regulatory organization or body pending or, to the knowledge of the executive officers of our Company or any of our subsidiaries, threatened against or affecting our Company, our common stock, any of our subsidiaries or of our Company's or our Company's subsidiaries' officers or directors in their capacities as such, in which an adverse decision could have a material adverse effect.

However, from time to time, we may become involved in various lawsuits and legal proceedings which arise in the ordinary course of business. Litigation is subject to inherent uncertainties, and an adverse result in these or other matters may arise from time to time that may harm our business.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

PART II

Item 5. Market for the Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Market Information

The Company's common stock is currently quoted on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol "MRDN." The Company's common stock was quoted on the OTC Markets effective February 23, 2005 under the symbol "BCAK." Effective March 22, 2006, the Company changed its symbol to "BCKE." Effective April 15, 2015, the Company changed its symbol to "MRDN." On November 3, 2016, the Company effected a 1-for-20 reverse split. Effective January 25, 2017, the Company's common stock was quoted on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol "MRDN".

The following table sets forth the high and low sales price of our common stock on the OTCQB for the most recent fiscal quarter. These prices are based on inter-dealer bid and asked prices, without markup, markdown, commissions, or adjustments and may not represent actual transactions. The share values reflected below have been adjusted to give effect to the 1-for-20 reverse split which we implemented on November 3, 2016.

On April 13, 2017, the closing price for our common stock was $3.56 per share.

Holders

As of April 13, 2017, we had 87 stockholders of record of our common stock. Such number of record holders was derived from the records maintained by our transfer agent, Issuer Direct.

Dividend Policy

The Company has never paid cash dividends on its common stock and does not anticipate paying dividends in the foreseeable future. The payment of future cash dividends is subject to the discretion of the Board of Directors and will depend upon the Company's earnings (if any), general financial condition, cash flows, capital requirements and other considerations deemed relevant by the Board of Directors.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

During the year ended December 31, 2016, we have not issued any securities  that were not registered under the Securities Act and not previously disclosed in the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or Current Reports on Form 8-K.

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

Compensation-Setting Process

During 2016, our board of directors were responsible for overseeing our executive compensation program, establishing our executive compensation philosophy, and determining specific executive compensation, including cash and equity. Unless otherwise stated, the discussion and analysis below is based on decisions by the board of directors.

During 2016, our board of directors considered one or more of the following factors when setting executive compensation, as further explained in the discussions of each compensation element below:

Executive Compensation Program Components

Base Salary

We provide base salary as a fixed source of compensation for our executive officers, allowing them a degree of certainty when having a meaningful portion of their compensation "at risk" in the form of incentive cash bonuses and equity awards covering the shares of a company for whose shares there has been limited liquidity to date. The board of directors recognizes the importance of base salaries as an element of compensation that helps to attract highly qualified executive talent.

Base salaries for our executive officers were established primarily based on individual negotiations with the executive officers when they joined us and reflect the scope of their anticipated responsibilities, the individual experience they bring, the board members' experiences and knowledge in compensating similarly situated individuals at other companies, our then-current cash constraints, and a general sense of internal pay equity among our executive officers.

The board does not apply specific formulas in determining base salary increases. In determining base salaries for 2016 for our continuing named executive officers, no adjustments were made to the base salaries of any of our named executive officers as the board determined, in their independent judgment and without reliance on any survey data, that existing base salaries, taken together with other elements of compensation, provided sufficient fixed compensation for retention purposes.

Employment Contracts, Termination of Employment and Change in Control Arrangements

Jeffrey Cosman - Employment Agreement, Director Agreement and Restricted Stock Agreement

On March 11, 2016, the Company entered into an employment agreement with Mr. Cosman, which the parties amended as of November 29, 2016 and as of December 5, 2016 (as amended, the "Cosman Employment Agreement"). Mr. Cosman is currently the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Company, and prior to the execution and delivery of the Cosman Employment Agreement, the terms of Mr. Cosman's employment were governed by that certain previous employment agreement assumed by the Company in connection with the Company's purchase of certain membership interests owned by such previous employer on October 17, 2014. The Cosman Employment Agreement has an initial term from March 11, 2016 through December 31, 2017, and the term will automatically renew for one (1) year periods unless otherwise terminated in accordance with the terms therein. Mr. Cosman will receive a base salary of $525,000 and Mr. Cosman's compensation will increase by 5% on January 1 of each year. Mr. Cosman may also receive a cash bonus based on the Company's performance relative to its annual target performance, as well as an annual equity bonus in the form of options, in accordance with the Company's 2016 Equity and Incentive Plan (the "Plan") and subject to the restrictions contained therein, in an amount equivalent to 6% of the value of all acquisitions by the Company or its subsidiaries of substantially all the assets of existing businesses or of controlling interests in existing business entities during the preceding year. The exercise price of such options shall be the closing price of the Company's common stock on the date of grant, or such higher price as may be required pursuant to the Plan.

Upon any termination of Mr. Cosman's employment with the Company, except for a termination for Cause (as such term is defined therein), Mr. Cosman shall be entitled to a severance payment equal to the greater of (i) two years' worth of the then-existing base salary and (ii) the last year's bonus.

On March 11, 2016, the Company entered into a director agreement with the Company's Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Jeffrey Cosman, as amended by the First Amendment to Director Agreement entered into by the parties on April 13, 2016 (the "Cosman Director Agreement").

On March 11, 2016, the Company entered into a restricted stock agreement with Mr. Cosman (the "Cosman Restricted Stock Agreement"), pursuant to which 212,654 shares of the Company's common stock, subject to certain restrictions set forth in the Cosman Restricted Stock Agreement, were issued to Mr. Cosman pursuant to the Cosman Employment Agreement and the Plan.

Joseph D'Arelli - Employment Agreement

On November 29, 2016, the Company entered into an executive employment agreement with Mr. D'Arelli which the parties amended as of December 5, 2016 (as amended, the "D'Arelli Employment Agreement"). Mr. D'Arelli previously served as the Company's Corporate Controller. Under the D'Arelli Employment Agreement, Mr. D'Arelli shall serve as the Chief Financial Officer of the Company for an initial term of twenty-four (24) months, with automatic renewal for one (1) year periods thereafter, unless otherwise terminated pursuant to the terms contained therein. Mr. D'Arelli will receive a base salary of $300,000. Mr. D'Arelli may also receive an annual bonus of up to $50,000, or such larger amount approved by the Board, as well as an annual equity bonus (in the form of options, in accordance with the Plan and subject to the restrictions contained therein) in an amount equivalent to 0.5% of the value of all acquisitions by the Company or its subsidiaries of substantially all the assets of existing businesses or of controlling interests in existing business entities during the preceding year. The exercise price of such options shall be the closing price of the Company's common stock on the date of grant, or such higher price as may be required pursuant to the Plan. Additionally, Mr. D'Arelli has received 15,000 restricted shares of the Company's common stock in connection with his employment.

Walter H. Hall, Jr. - Director Agreement and Employment Agreement

On March 11, 2016, the Company entered into a director agreement with Mr. Walter H. Hall, Jr., as amended by the First Amendment to Director Agreement entered into by the parties on April 13, 2016 (the "Hall Director Agreement"), concurrent with Mr. Hall's appointment to the Board of Directors of the Company (the "Board") effective March 11, 2016 .

On March 11, 2016, the Company entered into an executive employment agreement with Mr. Hall which the parties amended as of December 5, 2016 (as amended, the "Hall Employment Agreement"). Under the Hall Employment Agreement, Mr. Hall shall serve as the President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company for an initial term of thirty-six (36) months, with automatic renewal for one (1) year periods thereafter, unless otherwise terminated pursuant to the terms contained therein. Mr. Hall will receive a base salary of $300,000 beginning upon the Company's closing of acquisitions in the aggregate amount of $35,000,000 from the date the Hall Employment Agreement is executed. Mr. Hall may also receive an annual bonus of up to $175,000, or such larger amount approved by the Board, as well as an annual equity bonus (in the form of options, in accordance with the Plan and subject to the restrictions contained therein) in an amount equivalent to 2% of the value of all acquisitions by the Company or its subsidiaries of substantially all the assets of existing businesses or of controlling interests in existing business entities. Additionally, Mr. Hall received 100,000 restricted shares of the Company's common stock upon the execution of the Hall Employment Agreement. The exercise price of such options shall be the closing price of the Company's common stock on the date of grant, or such higher price as may be required pursuant to the Plan.

Thomas J. Cowee Director Agreement

On November 1, 2016, the Company entered into a director agreement with Thomas J. Cowee (the "Cowee Director Agreement"). Under the Cowee Director Agreement, Mr. Cowee shall serve as Director for an initial term to last until the next annual stockholders meeting, unless otherwise ending pursuant to the terms contained therein. Mr. Cowee will receive a monthly cash stipend of $1,500 for his service as a Director, which shall increase to $2,000 per month for as long as he serves as a chair of either the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee or Nominating Committee. Mr. Cowee may also receive additional cash stipends for attending meetings of the Board and committee meetings, whether in-person or telephonically. Additionally, Mr. Cowee was issued One Thousand (1,000) shares of the Company's common stock upon the execution of the Cowee Director Agreement, and, upon the last day of each fiscal quarter commencing in the quarter when the Cowee Director Agreement became effective, the number of shares of the Company's common stock equivalent to $7,500, as determined based on the average closing price on the three trading days immediately preceding the last day of such quarter. Mr. Cowee also received, upon execution of the Cowee Director Agreement, a non-qualified stock option to purchase up to Three Thousand Seven Hundred Fifty (3,750) shares of the Company's common stock at an exercise price per share equal to $20.00, which shall be exercisable for a period of five years and vest in equal amounts over a period of three years at the rate of Three Hundred Thirteen (313) shares per fiscal quarter at the end of such quarter, commencing in the quarter in which the Cowee Director Agreement became effective, and pro-rated for the number of days the Mr. Cowee serves on the Board during the fiscal quarter.

Jackson Davis Director Agreement and Non-Qualified Stock Options Agreement

On November 1, 2016, the Company entered into a director agreement with Jackson Davis (the "Davis Director Agreement"). Under the Davis Director Agreement, Mr. Davis shall serve as Director for an initial term to last until the next annual stockholders meeting, unless otherwise ending pursuant to the terms contained therein. Mr. Davis will receive a monthly cash stipend of $1,500 for his service as a Director, which shall increase to $2,000 per month for as long as he serves as a chair of either the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee or Nominating Committee. Mr. Davis may also receive additional cash stipends for attending meetings of the Board and committee meetings, whether in-person or telephonically. Additionally, Mr. Davis was issued One Thousand (1,000) shares of the Company's common stock upon the execution of the Davis Director Agreement, and, upon the last day of each fiscal quarter commencing in the quarter when the Davis Director Agreement became effective, the number of shares of the Company's common stock equivalent to $7,500, as determined based on the average closing price on the three trading days immediately preceding the last day of such quarter. Mr. Davis also received, upon execution of the Davis Director Agreement, a non-qualified stock option to purchase up to Three Thousand Seven Hundred Fifty (3,750) shares of the Company's common stock at an exercise price per share equal to $20.00, which shall be exercisable for a period of five years and vest in equal amounts over a period of three years at the rate of Three Hundred Thirteen (313) shares per fiscal quarter at the end of such quarter, commencing in the quarter in which the Davis Director Agreement became effective, and pro-rated for the number of days the Mr. Davis serves on the Board during the fiscal quarter.

Joseph Ardagna Director Agreement and Non-Qualified Stock Options Agreement

On November, 2016, the Company entered into a director agreement with Joseph Ardagna (the "Ardagna Director Agreement"). Under the Ardagna Director Agreement, Mr. Ardagna shall serve as Director for an initial term to last until the next annual stockholders meeting, unless otherwise ending pursuant to the terms contained therein. Mr. Ardagna will receive a monthly cash stipend of $1,500 for his service as a Director, which shall increase to $2,000 per month for as long as he serves as a chair of either the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee or Nominating Committee. Mr. Ardagna may also receive additional cash stipends for attending meetings of the Board and committee meetings, whether in-person or telephonically. Additionally, Mr. Ardagna was issued One Thousand (1,000) shares of the Company's common stock upon the execution of the Ardagna Director Agreement, and, upon the last day of each fiscal quarter commencing in the quarter when the Ardagna Director Agreement became effective, the number of shares of the Company's common stock equivalent to $7,500, as determined based on the average closing price on the three trading days immediately preceding the last day of such quarter. Mr. Ardagna also received, upon execution of the Ardagna Director Agreement, a non-qualified stock option to purchase up to Three Thousand Seven Hundred Fifty (3,750) shares of the Company's common stock at an exercise price per share equal to $20.00, which shall be exercisable for a period of five years and vest in equal amounts over a period of three years at the rate of Three Hundred Thirteen (313) shares per fiscal quarter at the end of such quarter, commencing in the quarter in which the Ardagna Director Agreement became effective, and pro-rated for the number of days the Mr. Ardagna serves on the Board during the fiscal quarter.

Item 6. Selected Financial Data

Meridian Waste Solutions, Inc., a smaller reporting company, is not required to provide information required by this item.

Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Overview

We intend for this discussion to provide information that will assist in understanding our consolidated financial statements, the changes in certain key items in those consolidated financial statements, and the primary factors that accounted for those changes, as well as how certain accounting principles affect our consolidated financial statements. This discussion should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016 and year ended December 31, 2015.

Plan of Operation

The platform operation of the Company is our subsidiary Here To Serve Missouri Waste Division, LLC. HTS Waste is in the business of collection of non-hazardous solid waste. Our revenue is generated primarily by collection services provided to residential customers, as well as commercial and temporary roll-off customers. The Company's agreement with Goldman Sachs Specialty Lending Group, has allowed the Company to focus on pursuing waste solutions opportunities in the Midwest, in order to differentiate itself from its larger competitors. With respect to our platform operation in St. Louis, the Company is focused on building in and around this initial marketplace. We are continuing to evaluate our infrastructure needs, placing importance on revenue and cash-flow growth. The Company is specifically focused on bidding on municipal contracts in the St. Louis market, as well as acquisitions throughout the Midwest to drive this plan. The Company plans to remain vigilant in understanding the many solutions in the waste industry and adapting to the changing landscape in order to maximize the returns of its capital in the marketplace. The Company has executed its first step with its agreement with Goldman Sachs Specialty Lending Group to build the capital structure needed to execute its forward strategy.

The CFS Group, LLC; The CFS Disposal & Recycling Services, LLC; RWG5, LLC

On February 15, 2017, the Company consummated the closing of the Membership Interest Purchase Agreement by and between the Company and Waste Services Industries, LLC, pursuant to which the Company purchased from Seller 100% of the membership interests of The CFS Group, LLC, The CFS Disposal & Recycling Services, LLC, RWG5, LLC, in exchange for the following: (i) $40,000,000 in cash and assumption of certain capital leases, subject to a working capital adjustment in accordance with Section 2.6 of the Virginia Purchase Agreement and (ii) 500,000 shares of the Company's common stock.

Collectively, the CFS Companies are non-hazardous solid waste management companies providing collection and transfer services for more than 30,000 commercial, industrial and residential customers in Virginia, with main facilities in Petersburg, Virginia and satellite facilities in Lunenberg, Virginia and Prince George, Virginia. Along with collection operations in Petersburg, the CFS Companies operate a transfer station, in Lunenberg, and own two landfills, in Petersburg and Lunenberg. Approximately 81% of the CFS Companies' 2015 revenue was from collection and transfer, utilizing over 60 collection vehicles.

Our acquisition of the CFS Companies is a key element of our strategy to create the vertically integrated infrastructure needed to expand our operations.

The acquisition was accounted for by the Company using acquisition method under business combination accounting. Under this method, the purchase price paid by the acquirer is allocated to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed as of the acquisition date based on the fair value. By the application of "push-down" accounting, our assets, liabilities and equity were accordingly adjusted to fair value on February 15, 2017. Determining the fair value of certain assets and liabilities assumed is judgmental in nature and often involves the use of significant estimates and assumptions.

Executive Overview

General Overview of Our Business

The following table reflects the combined revenues for the Company for the years ended December 31, 2014, December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2016 (dollars in thousands):

Our 2016 revenue has grown significantly due to the acquisitions of Christian Disposal and Meridian Land Company. As our revenues continue to grow in this existing market, we plan to increase the rate of this growth by increasing our presence in the commercial and "roll-off" business. Roll-off service is the hauling and disposal of large waste containers (typically between 10 and 40 cubic yards) that are loaded on to and off of the collection vehicle. Management also expects continued growth through additional mergers and acquisitions. The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto .

Results of Operations

Summary of Statements of Operations for the Year Ended December 31, 2016 and 2015:

Revenue

The Company's revenue for the year ended December 31, 2016 was $31,727,673, a 135% increase over the December 31, 2015 revenue of $13,506,097. This increase is due to the continued growth of HTS Waste, the acquisitions of Christian Disposal and Eagle Ridge, and the expansion into other service product lines. Christian Disposal revenue for the year ended December 31, 2016 was approximately $13,600,000 and Eagle Ridge revenue for the same period was approximately $3,600,000.

Gross Profit

Gross profit percentage for the year ended December 31, 2016 is approximately 28%.  This is an increase of approximately 3% from the year ended December 31, 2015. The increase is significant in that it shows management's ability to improve efficiencies of operations. The Company is utilizing the synergies of its recent acquisitions, such as creating density in some of its routes, which creates cost savings. In addition, there was a decrease in landfill costs as the Company began internalizing its waste.

Operating Expenses

Operating expenses were $22,898,723 or 72% of revenue, for the year ended December 31, 2016, as compared to $17,640,895 or 131% of revenue, for the year ended December 31, 2015. The high level of operating expenses in both periods is due to recurring costs of operations, including professional fees, compensation and general and administrative expenses, including insurance and rental expense and certain other incremental items relating to the acquisitions in December 2015, primarily including payments to third party professionals for accounting and valuation services. During the year-ended December 31, 2016, the Company experienced impairment expense of its customer lists of $1,255,267. Compensation and related expense increased approximately $1,400,000, depreciation and amortization expense increased approximately $900,000 and bad debt expense increased approximately $500,000 for the year ended December 31, 2016 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2015.

Other expenses

Other expense for the year ended December 31, 2016, was $3,559,377, as compared to $4,961,488 for the year ended December 31, 2015. The change is attributable to an approximate increase in interest expense of $3,400,000 and increase in gain on contingent liability of $1,000,000. For the year ended December 31, 2015 the Company incurred a loss on extinguishment of debt of approximately $1,900,000. Lastly, there was an increase in unrealized gain on change in fair value of derivative liability of approximately $1,800,000 for the year ended December 31, 2016 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2015.

Net Loss

Net loss for the year ended December 31, 2016, was $17,671,669 or loss per share of $13.95, as compared to $19,231,890 or loss per share of $26.58, for the year ended December 31, 2015.

Segment Information

Not applicable.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

The following table summarizes total current assets, current liabilities and working capital at December 31, 2016, compared to December 31, 2015:

The change in working capital (deficit) is due primarily to the following changes to current assets and current liabilities. The increase in short-term investments of approximately $2,000,000 offset by a decrease in cash of approximately $1,900,000. Accounts Receivable and prepaid expenses increased by approximately $1,300,000. Contingent liability decreased by $1,000,000 offset by an increase of approximately $3,000,000 in accounts payable and accrued expenses.

Short-term investments increased due to the Company needing to collateralize a letter of credit for a performance bond. Cash decreased primarily because of the acquisition of equipment. Accounts receivable increased due to increased sales. The contingent liability decrease is the result of the loss of a potential renewal as part of the Christian disposal acquisition. Accounts payable and accrued expenses increased as a result of increased sales.

At December 31, 2016, we had a working capital deficit of $8,762,052, as compared to a working capital deficit of $5,871,251, at December 31, 2015, an increase of $2,890,801. This lack of liquidity is mitigated by the Company's ability to generate positive cash flow from operating activities. In the year ended December 31, 2016, cash generated from operating activities, was approximately $70,000. In addition, as of December 31, 2016, the Company had approximately $800,000 in cash and cash equivalents and $1,954,000 in short-term investments to cover its short term cash requirements. Further, the Company has approximately $12,000,000 of borrowing capacity on its multi-draw term loans and revolving commitments with Goldman Sachs as discussed below.

The Company purchased approximately $6 million of equipment while increasing long term debt by approximately $2,600,000 during the year ended December 31, 2016. The increase in debt was due to the Company borrowing on its revolving commitments with Goldman Sachs as discussed below. Liquidity is the ability of a company to generate funds to support its current and future operations, satisfy its obligations, and otherwise operate on an ongoing basis.

Our primary uses of cash have been for working capital purposes to support our operations and our efforts to become a reporting company with the SEC. All funds received have been expended in the furtherance of growing our business operations, establishing our brand and making sure our work is completed with efficiency and of the highest quality. The following trends are reasonably likely to result in a material decrease in our liquidity over the near to long term:

We are not aware of any known trends or any known demands, commitments or events that will result in our liquidity increasing or decreasing in any material way. We are not aware of any matters that would have an impact on future operations.

We currently have no material commitments for capital expenditures. In order to fund future growth and expansion through acquisitions and capital expenditures, the Company may be required to raise capital through the sale of its securities.

In order to fund future expansion through acquisitions and capital expenditures, the Company may be required to raise capital through the sale of its securities on the public market.

Goldman Sachs Credit Agreement

On December 22, 2015, in connection with the closing of acquisitions of Christian Disposal, LLC and certain assets of Eagle Ridge Landfill, LLC, the Company was extended certain credit facilities by certain lenders, consisting of $40,000,000 aggregate principal amount of Tranche A Term Loans, $10,000,000 aggregate principal amount of commitments to make Multi-Draw Term Loans and up to $5,000,000 aggregate principal amount of Revolving Commitments. During the three months ended March 31, 2016, the Company borrowed $2,150,000 in relation to the Revolving Commitments. At June 30, 2016, the Company had a total outstanding balance of $42,900,000 consisting of the Tranche A Term Loan and draw of the Revolving Commitments. The loans are secured by liens on substantially all of the assets of the Company and its subsidiaries. The debt has a maturity date of December 22, 2020 with interest paid monthly at an annual rate of approximately 9% (subject to variation based on changes in LIBOR or another underlying reference rate). In addition, there is a commitment fee paid monthly on the unused Multi-Draw Term Loan commitments and Revolving Commitments at an annual rate of 0.5%.

The proceeds of the loans were used to partially fund the acquisitions referenced above and refinance existing debt with Praesidian, among other things. The Company re-paid in full and terminated its agreements with Praesidian which effected the cancellation of certain warrants that the Company issued to Fund III for the purchase of 46,592 shares of the Company's common stock and to Fund III-A for the purchase of 18,060 shares of the Company's common stock. In consideration for the cancellation of the Praesidian Warrants, the Company issued to Praesidian Capital Opportunity Fund III, LP, 57,653 shares of common stock and issued to Praesidian Capital Opportunity Fund III-A, LP, 22,348 shares of common stock. Due to the early termination of the notes and cancellation of the warrants, the Company recorded a loss on extinguishment of debt of $1,899,161 in the year ended December 31, 2015.

In addition, in connection with the credit agreement, the Company issued warrants to Goldman, Sachs & Co. for the purchase of shares of the Company's common stock equivalent to a 6.5% Percentage Interest (as defined therein) at a purchase price equal to $449,553, exercisable on or before December 22, 2023. The warrants grant the holder certain other rights, including registration rights, preemptive rights for certain capital raises, board observation rights and indemnification.

The parties to the Credit Agreement have entered into certain amendments to the Credit Agreement, described in the Recent Developments section herein, which provided, among other things, limited waivers by the lenders of certain failures of the Company and its affiliates to deliver certain financial statements and related deliverables and to comply with certain financial covenants under the Credit Agreement, and which amended the terms of the Credit Agreement to address such failures. Failures included maintaining certain EBITDA amounts and leverage ratios.

Amended and Restated Credit and Guaranty Agreement

On February 15, 2017 (the "Restatement Date"), the Company closed an Amended and Restated Credit and Guaranty Agreement (the "Credit Agreement") by and among the Company and all subsidiaries, (the "Companies"), and certain subsidiaries of the Company, as Guarantors, the Lenders party thereto from time to time and Goldman Sachs Specialty Lending Group, L.P., as Administrative Agent, Collateral Agent, and Lead Arranger. The Credit Agreement amended and restated the Credit and Guaranty Agreement entered into as of December 22, 2015 (the "Closing Date") by and among the Company, certain of the Companies, and certain subsidiaries of the Company, as Guarantors, the Lenders party thereto from time to time and Goldman Sachs Specialty Lending Group, L.P., as Administrative Agent, Collateral Agent, and Lead Arranger (as amended prior to the Restatement Date, the "Prior Credit Agreement").

Pursuant to the Credit Agreement, the Lenders thereunder have agreed to extend certain credit facilities to the Companies, in an aggregate amount not to exceed $89,100,000, consisting of $65,500,000 aggregate principal amount of Tranche A Term Loans (the "Tranche A Term Loans"), $8,600,000 aggregate principal amount of Tranche B Term Loans (the "Tranche B Term Loans"), $10,000,000 aggregate principal amount of MDTL Term Loans (the "MDTL Term Loans"), and up to $5,000,000 aggregate principal amount of Revolving Commitments (the "Revolving Commitments", the Revolving Commitments together with the Tranche A Term Loans, Tranche B Term Loans and the MDTL Term Loans, the "Loans"). The principal amount of the Tranche A Term Loans in the Credit Agreement is $25,500,000 greater than the principal amount provided in the Prior Credit Agreement; the Tranche B Term Loans were not contemplated in the Prior Credit Agreement; and the principal amount of the MDTL Term Loans and Revolving Credit Agreements in the Credit Agreement are the same as provided in the Prior Credit Agreement. The proceeds of the Tranche A Term Loans made on the Closing Date were used to pay a portion of the purchase price for the acquisitions made in connection with the closing of the Prior Credit Agreement, to refinance existing indebtedness, to fund consolidated capital expenditures, and for other purposes permitted under Section 2.5 of the Prior Credit Agreement. The proceeds of the Tranche A Term Loans and Tranche B Term Loans made on the Restatement Date shall be applied by Companies to (i) partially fund the Restatement Date Acquisition (as defined below), (ii) refinance existing indebtedness of the Companies, (iii) pay fees and expenses in connection with the transactions contemplated by the Credit Agreement, and (iv) for working capital and other general corporate purposes.

The "Restatement Date Acquisition" means the acquisition of all membership interests of CFS, CFS Disposal and RWG5, as contemplated in the Purchase Agreement (defined below).

The proceeds of the Revolving Loans will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes. The proceeds of the MDTL Term Loans may be used for Permitted Acquisitions (as defined in the Credit Agreement). The Loans are evidenced, respectively, by that certain Tranche A Term Loan Note, Tranche B Term Loan Note, MDTL Note and Revolving Loan Note, all issued on February 15, 2017 (collectively, the " Notes "). Payment obligations under the Loans are subject to certain prepayment premiums, in addition to acceleration upon the occurrence of events of default under the Credit Agreement.

The amounts borrowed pursuant to the Loans are secured by a first position security interest in substantially all of the Company's and the Companies' assets in favor of Agent, in accordance with that certain Amended and Restated Pledge and Security Agreement dated as of February 15, 2017.

The amended and restated credit and guaranty agreement which among other things provides for the Company to deliver certain financial statements and related deliverables and to comply with certain financial covenants under the amended and restated credit and guaranty agreement.

Inflation and Seasonality

Based on our industry and our historic trends, we expect our operations to vary seasonally. Typically, revenue will be highest in the second and third calendar quarters and lowest in the first and fourth calendar quarters. These seasonal variations result in fluctuations in waste volumes due to weather conditions and general economic activity. We also expect that our operating expenses may be higher during the winter months due to periodic adverse weather conditions that can slow the collection of waste, resulting in higher labor and operational costs.

Critical Accounting Policies

Basis of Consolidation

The consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2016 include the operations of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Here To Serve Missouri Waste Division, LLC, Meridian Land Company, LLC, Here to Serve Technology, LLC and Christian Disposal, LLC. The following two subsidiaries of the Company, Here To Serve Georgia Waste Division, LLC and Here to Serve Technology, LLC, a Georgia Limited Liability Company had no operations during the period.

All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Impairment of long-lived assets

The Company periodically reviews its long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the assets may not be fully recoverable. The Company recognizes an impairment loss when the sum of expected undiscounted future cash flows is less that the carrying amount of the asset. The amount of impairment is measured as the difference between the asset's estimated fair value and its book value.

Use of Estimates

Management estimates and judgments are an integral part of consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP). We believe that the critical accounting policies described in this section address the more significant estimates required of management when preparing our consolidated financial statements in accordance with GAAP. We consider an accounting estimate critical if changes in the estimate may have a material impact on our financial condition or results of operations. We believe that the accounting estimates employed are appropriate and resulting balances are reasonable; however, actual results could differ from the original estimates, requiring adjustment to these balances in future periods.

Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable are recorded at management's estimate of net realizable value. At December 31, 2016 and 2015 the Company had approximately $3,000,000 and $2,300,000 of gross trade receivables, respectively. Our reported balance of accounts receivable, net of the allowance for doubtful accounts, represents our estimate of the amount that ultimately will be realized in cash. We review the adequacy and adjust our allowance for doubtful accounts on an ongoing basis, using historical payment trends and the age of the receivables and knowledge of our individual customers. However, if the financial condition of our customers were to deteriorate, additional allowances may be required.

Revenue Recognition

The Company follows the guidance of ASC 605 for revenue recognition. In general, the Company records revenue when persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, services have been rendered or product delivery has occurred, the sales price to the customer is fixed or determinable and collectability is reasonably assured.

We generally provide services under contracts with municipalities or individual customers. Municipal and commercial contracts are generally long-term and often have renewal options. Advance billings are recorded as deferred revenue, and revenue is recognized over the period services are provided. We recognize revenue when all four of the following criteria are met:

Intangible Assets

Intangible assets that are subject to amortization are reviewed for potential impairment whenever events or circumstances indicate that carrying amounts may not be recoverable. Assets not subject to amortization are tested for impairment at least annually.

Goodwill

Goodwill is the excess of our purchase cost over the fair value of the net assets of acquired businesses. We do not amortize goodwill, but as discussed in the Intangible Assets section above, we assess our goodwill for impairment at least annually.

Landfill Accounting

Capitalized landfill costs

Cost basis of landfill assets - We capitalize various costs that we incur to make a landfill ready to accept waste. These costs generally include expenditures for land (including the landfill footprint and required landfill buffer property); permitting; excavation; liner material and installation; landfill leachate collection systems; landfill gas collection systems; environmental monitoring equipment for groundwater and landfill gas; and directly related engineering, capitalized interest, on-site road construction and other capital infrastructure costs. The cost basis of our landfill assets also includes asset retirement costs, which represent estimates of future costs associated with landfill final capping, closure and post-closure activities. These costs are discussed below.

Final capping, closure and post-closure costs - Following is a description of our asset retirement activities and our related accounting:

We develop our estimates of these obligations using input from our operations personnel, engineers and accountants. Our estimates are based on our interpretation of current requirements and proposed regulatory changes and are intended to approximate fair value. Absent quoted market prices, the estimate of fair value is based on the best available information, including the results of present value techniques. In many cases, we contract with third parties to fulfill our obligations for final capping, closure and post closure. We use historical experience, professional engineering judgment and quoted and actual prices paid for similar work to determine the fair value of these obligations. We are required to recognize these obligations at market prices whether we plan to contract with third parties or perform the work ourselves. In those instances where we perform the work with internal resources, the incremental profit margin realized is recognized as a component of operating income when the work is performed.

Once we have determined the final capping, closure and post-closure costs, we inflate those costs to the expected time of payment and discount those expected future costs back to present value. During the year ended December 31, 2016 we inflated these costs in current dollars until the expected time of payment using an inflation rate of 1.78 %. We discounted these costs to present value using the credit-adjusted, risk-free rate effective at the time an obligation is incurred, consistent with the expected cash flow approach. Any changes in expectations that result in an upward revision to the estimated cash flows are treated as a new liability and discounted at the current rate while downward revisions are discounted at the historical weighted average rate of the recorded obligation. As a result, the credit-adjusted, risk-free discount rate used to calculate the present value of an obligation is specific to each individual asset retirement obligation. The weighted average rate applicable to our long-term asset retirement obligations at December 31, 2016 is approximately 9.0 %.

We record the estimated fair value of final capping, closure and post-closure liabilities for our landfills based on the capacity consumed through the current period. The fair value of final capping obligations is developed based on our estimates of the airspace consumed to date for the final capping. The fair value of closure and post-closure obligations is developed based on our estimates of the airspace consumed to date for the entire landfill and the expected timing of each closure and post-closure activity. Because these obligations are measured at estimated fair value using present value techniques, changes in the estimated cost or timing of future final capping, closure and post-closure activities could result in a material change in these liabilities, related assets and results of operations. We assess the appropriateness of the estimates used to develop our recorded balances annually, or more often if significant facts change.

Changes in inflation rates or the estimated costs, timing or extent of future final capping, closure and post-closure activities typically result in both (i) a current adjustment to the recorded liability and landfill asset and (ii) a change in liability and asset amounts to be recorded prospectively over either the remaining capacity of the related discrete final capping or the remaining permitted and expansion airspace (as defined below) of the landfill. Any changes related to the capitalized and future cost of the landfill assets are then recognized in accordance with our amortization policy, which would generally result in amortization expense being recognized prospectively over the remaining capacity of the final capping or the remaining permitted and expansion airspace of the landfill, as appropriate. Changes in such estimates associated with airspace that has been fully utilized result in an adjustment to the recorded liability and landfill assets with an immediate corresponding adjustment to landfill airspace amortization expense.

For unpermitted airspace to be initially included in our estimate of remaining permitted and expansion airspace, the expansion effort must meet all of the criteria listed above. These criteria are evaluated by our field-based engineers, accountants, managers and others to identify potential obstacles to obtaining the permits. Once the unpermitted airspace is included, our policy provides that airspace may continue to be included in remaining permitted and expansion airspace even if certain of these criteria are no longer met as long as we continue to believe we will ultimately obtain the permit, based on the facts and circumstances of a specific landfill.

When we include the expansion airspace in our calculations of remaining permitted and expansion airspace, we also include the projected costs for development, as well as the projected asset retirement costs related to the final capping, closure and post-closure of the expansion in the amortization basis of the landfill.

Once the remaining permitted and expansion airspace is determined in cubic yards, an airspace utilization factor ("AUF") is established to calculate the remaining permitted and expansion capacity in tons. The AUF is established using the measured density obtained from previous annual surveys and is then adjusted to account for future settlement. The amount of settlement that is forecasted will take into account several site-specific factors including current and projected mix of waste type, initial and projected waste density, estimated number of years of life remaining, depth of underlying waste, anticipated access to moisture through precipitation or recirculation of landfill leachate, and operating practices. In addition, the initial selection of the AUF is subject to a subsequent multi-level review by our engineering group, and the AUF used is reviewed on a periodic basis and revised as necessary. Our historical experience generally indicates that the impact of settlement at a landfill is greater later in the life of the landfill when the waste placed at the landfill approaches its highest point under the permit requirements.

After determining the costs and remaining permitted and expansion capacity at our landfill, we determine the per ton rates that will be expensed as waste is received and deposited at the landfill by dividing the costs by the corresponding number of tons. We calculate per ton amortization rates for the landfill for assets associated with each final capping, for assets related to closure and post-closure activities and for all other costs capitalized or to be capitalized in the future. These rates per ton are updated annually, or more often, as significant facts change.

It is possible that actual results, including the amount of costs incurred, the timing of final capping, closure and post-closure activities, our airspace utilization or the success of our expansion efforts could ultimately turn out to be significantly different from our estimates and assumptions. To the extent that such estimates, or related assumptions, prove to be significantly different than actual results, lower profitability may be experienced due to higher amortization rates or higher expenses; or higher profitability may result if the opposite occurs. Most significantly, if it is determined that expansion capacity should no longer be considered in calculating the recoverability of a landfill asset, we may be required to recognize an asset impairment or incur significantly higher amortization expense. If at any time management makes the decision to abandon the expansion effort, the capitalized costs related to the expansion effort are expensed immediately.

Derivative Instruments

The Company enters into financing arrangements that consist of freestanding derivative instruments or are hybrid instruments that contain embedded derivative features. The Company accounts for these arrangements in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification topic 815, Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities ("ASC 815") as well as related interpretations of this standard. In accordance with this standard, derivative instruments are recognized as either assets or liabilities in the balance sheet and are measured at fair values with gains or losses recognized in earnings. Embedded derivatives that are not clearly and closely related to the host contract are bifurcated and are recognized at fair value with changes in fair value recognized as either a gain or loss in earnings. The Company determines the fair value of derivative instruments and hybrid instruments based on available market data using appropriate valuation models, considering the rights and obligations of each instrument.

The Company estimates fair values of derivative financial instruments using various techniques (and combinations thereof) that are considered consistent with the objective measuring fair values. In selecting the appropriate technique, the Company considers, among other factors, the nature of the instrument, the market risks that it embodies and the expected means of settlement. For less complex derivative instruments, such as freestanding warrants, the Company generally uses the Black Scholes model, adjusted for the effect of dilution, because it embodies all of the requisite assumptions (including trading volatility, estimated terms, dilution and risk free rates) necessary to fair value these instruments. Estimating fair values of derivative financial instruments requires the development of significant and subjective estimates that may, and are likely to, change over the duration of the instrument with related changes in internal and external market factors. In addition, option-based techniques (such as Black-Scholes model) are highly volatile and sensitive to changes in the trading market price of our common stock. Since derivative financial instruments are initially and subsequently carried at fair value, our income (expense) going forward will reflect the volatility in these estimates and assumption changes. Under the terms of this accounting standard, increases in the trading price of the Company's common stock and increases in fair value during a given financial quarter result in the application of non-cash derivative loss. Conversely, decreases in the trading price of the Company's common stock and decreases in trading fair value during a given financial quarter result in the application of non-cash derivative gain.

Deferred Revenue

The Company records deferred revenue for customers that were billed in advance of services. The balance in deferred revenue represents amounts billed in October, November and December for services that will be provided during January, February and March.

Stock-Based Compensation

Stock-based compensation is accounted for based on the requirements of the Share-Based Payment Topic of ASC 718 which requires recognition in the consolidated financial statements of the cost of employee and director services received in exchange for an award of equity instruments over the period the employee or director is required to perform the services in exchange for the award (presumptively, the vesting period). The ASC also require measurement of the cost of employee and director services received in exchange for an award based on the grant-date fair value of the award.

Pursuant to ASC Topic 505-50, for share based payments to consultants and other third-parties, compensation expense is determined at the "measurement date." The expense is recognized over the service period of the award. Until the measurement date is reached, the total amount of compensation expense remains uncertain. The Company initially records compensation expense based on the fair value of the award at the reporting date. In addition, the Company issued restricted shares during the year ended December 31, 2016 with an estimated value of approximately $6,300,000 .

Fair Value Measurement

ASC Topic 820 establishes a fair value hierarchy, giving the highest priority to quoted prices in active markets and the lowest priority to unobservable data and requires disclosures for assets and liabilities measured at fair value based on their level in the hierarchy. Also, ASC Topic 820 provides clarification that in circumstances, in which a quoted price in an active market for the identical liabilities is not available, a reporting entity is required to measure fair value using one or more of the techniques provided for in this update.

The standard describes a fair value hierarchy based on three levels of input, of which the first two are considered observable and the last unobservable, that may be used to measure fair value, which are the following:

Level 1 - Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets and liabilities.

Level 2 - Input other than Level 1 that are observable, either directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices for similar assets of liabilities; quoted prices in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the asset or liabilities.

Level 3 - Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities.

Our assessment of the significance of a particular input to the fair value measurement in its entirety requires judgment, and considers factors specific to the asset or liability.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

There were no off-balance sheet arrangements during the fiscal years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 that have or are reasonably likely to have a current or future effect on our financial condition, changes in financial condition, revenues or expenses, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources that is material to our interests.

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

We do not hold any derivative instruments and do not engage in any hedging activities.

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

Our consolidated financial statements begin on page F-1 which appear at the end of this Annual Report.

Item 9A Controls and Procedures

a. Disclosure Controls and Procedures

In connection with the preparation and filing of this Annual Report, we completed an evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures under the supervision and with the participation of our chief executive officer and chief financial officer. This evaluation was conducted pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

Management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2016. In making this assessment, management used the framework set forth in the report Internal Control - Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013), or COSO (2013).

Based on the evaluation, management concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of December 31, 2016 due to the material weaknesses noted below in "Management's Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting". A material weakness is a control deficiency, or combination of control deficiencies, that results in more than a remote likelihood that a material misstatement of the financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis by employees in the normal course of their work.

b. Management's Assessment of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

As evidenced by the material weaknesses described below, we determined that entity-level controls related to the control environment did not operate effectively resulting in material weaknesses in such COSO (2013) component. The deficiencies in control environment each represent a separate material weakness. These material weaknesses contributed to an environment where there is a more than a remote likelihood that a material misstatement of the interim and annual financial statements could occur and not be prevented or detected.

Control Environment/Entity Level Controls

Lack of an Audit Committee – Currently, the Company has an Audit Committee to oversee the financial reporting process. However, for much of the year ended December 31, 2016, the Company did not have an Audit Committee.

Lack of Form Authorization and Timely Approval with Related Parties and for significant corporate transactions – During the year ended December 31, 2016, certain related party transactions and significant corporate transactions were not formerly authorized and approved by the Board of Directors before execution (although authorization and approval was ultimately obtained).

Lack of Segregation of Duties - Our finance and accounting department is understaffed and accordingly we cannot maintain sufficient segregation of duties within the financial reporting process.

Lack of Review and Disclosure Controls – During the year ended December 31, 2016, there was a lack of effective monitoring review controls with respect to accounting for complex transactions and preparation of the financial statements and the financial statement disclosures.

Because of the material weaknesses described above, management believes that, as of December 31, 2016, we did not maintain effective internal control over financial reporting based on the COSO (2013) criteria.

Management believes that the material weaknesses set forth above did not have an effect on our Company's financial results.

c. Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Management has reported to the Audit Committee the content of the material weaknesses identified in our assessment. Addressing these weaknesses is a priority of management and we are in the process of remediating the cited material weaknesses. For example, as noted above, an Audit Committee has been established. The Company is also actively evaluating its internal control structure to identify the need for additional resources to ensure appropriate segregation of duties.

Except as disclosed in the preceding paragraphs, there have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period covered by this report that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect our internal control over financial reporting.

Item 9B. Other Information

None.

PART III

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance

Information Concerning the Board of Directors and Executive Officers of the Company

The following table and text sets forth the names and ages of all our directors and executive officers and our key management personnel. All of our directors serve until the next annual meeting of stockholders and until their successors are elected and qualified, or until their earlier death, retirement, resignation or removal. Executive officers serve at the discretion of the Board of Directors, and subject the terms and conditions of their employment agreements, are elected or appointed to serve until the next Board of Directors meeting following the annual meeting of stockholders, and until their successors are elected and qualified, or until their earlier death, resignation or removal. Also provided is a brief description of the business experience of each director and executive officer and the key management personnel during the past five years and an indication of directorships held by each director in other companies subject to the reporting requirements under the Federal securities laws.

All directors hold office until the next annual meeting of shareholders and until their successors are elected and qualified.

Officers are appointed by the Board of Directors and serve at the discretion of the Board.

Jeffrey S. Cosman, age 46, Chief Executive Officer, Director

Jeffrey S. Cosman combines over 10 years' experience in the solid waste industry, which includes local operations, local and regional accounting and corporate finance. Mr. Cosman has served as the Chief Executive Officer and a Director of the Company since October 31, 2014, and has managed the operations of Here to Serve - Missouri Waste Division, LLC and Here to Serve - Georgia Waste Division, LLC since May 2014. In 2012, Mr. Cosman purchased Rosewood Communication Supply, a warehouse centric telecom parts and supplies distributor. In 2010, Mr. Cosman shifted his career focus back to the solid waste industry, founding, in 2010, Legacy Waste Solutions, LLC, a compressed natural gas consulting business. Prior to that, in the early 2000's, Mr. Cosman became involved in start-up technology in the medical device industry, following his work at Republic Services from February 1996 until February 1999, where, in his role in Corporate Finance, Mr. Cosman assisted due diligence of acquisitions, provided accounting guidance in over 168 transactions totaling $1.6 Billion in annualized revenue, supported corporate controllers in monthly reporting and assisted in the preparation of a registration statement for Republic Services. From 1993 through 1996, Mr. Cosman had a career in professional baseball with the New York Mets' minor league organization. In addition, Mr. Cosman has experience in mobile-based app development, medical device sales leadership and capital raising. Mr. Cosman holds a B.B.A. in Managerial Finance and Banking and Finance, and a Bachelors of Accountancy from the University of Mississippi.  The Board of Directors believes that Mr. Cosman's "ground up" experience in the solid waste industry, together with his background in related fields, as well as finance, will support the Company's growth plans as it moves forward in implementing its transition into the waste industry.

Mr. Cosman is the majority shareholder in Here To Serve Holding Corp, an OTC Markets company based in Milton, Georgia. Mr. Cosman has approximately 65% of the outstanding shares of Here To Serve Holding Corp. The Company does not have an arrangement with Here To Serve or Mr. Cosman for past, current or future services to be performed between Here To Serve and Meridian Waste Solutions, Inc. Mr. Cosman may in the future consult from time to time with Here To Serve on matters that do not conflict with the operation of the Company. Mr. Cosman spends several hours a month on Here To Serve.

Additionally, Mr. Cosman has a minority equity interest in Rush The Puck, LLC, a limited liability company in which Mr. Cosman and his wife are the sole members. The Company does not have an arrangement with Rush The Puck, LLC or Mr. Cosman for past, current or future services to be performed between Rush The Puck LLC and Meridian Waste Solutions, Inc. Mr. Cosman spends approximately one hour per week on Rush The Puck, LLC.

Joseph D'Arelli, age 47, Chief Financial Officer

Joseph D'Arelli, age 47 has almost 25 years of experience in public accounting, including partnership and senior management positions. He has extensive experience in auditing public and private companies in such industries as Waste Management, Financial Services; Broker/Dealers; Distribution and Technology Companies. From October 2012 until May of 2016 he was a Partner/Shareholder at D'Arelli Pruzansky, P.A. and is licensed in the states of Florida and New York. He continues his affiliations with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA), Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants (FICPA), and is a Certified Public Accountant in the states of Florida and New York. Mr. D'Arelli has a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting from St. John's University.

On September 30, 2016, the SEC issued an Order Instituting Cease-and-Desist Proceedings Pursuant to Section 21C of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Making Findings, and Imposing a Cease-and-Desist Order (collectively, the "Order") against D'Arelli Pruzansky, P.A. (the "Firm"), Joseph D'Arelli, CPA, and Mitchell Pruzansky, CPA (collectively, the "Respondents"). Mr. D'Arelli, currently the Company's Chief Financial Officer, was a partner and shareholder of the Firm from October 2012 through May 2016. Respondents have consented to the Order pursuant to Offers of Settlement, accepted by the SEC, pursuant to which Respondents neither admitted nor denied the findings in the Order. During a Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) inspection in July 2015, the Firm was informed that it had failed to comply with the SEC's partner rotation requirements because Mr. D'Arelli and Mr. Pruzansky performed quarterly reviews after being the lead audit partner for five consecutive audits, with respect to two issuer audit clients. In August 2015, the Firm reviewed all of its engagements and self-reported instances of such rotation issue regarding additional issuer audit clients. Respondents have been ordered to cease and desist from committing or causing any violations and any future violations of Sections 10A(j) and 13(a) of the Exchange Act and Rules 10A-2 and 13a-13 thereunder and to pay, jointly and severally, a civil penalty of $50,000.

Walter H. Hall, age 58, President, Chief Operating Officer, Director

Walter H. Hall, age 58, brings 25 years of management experience in the waste industry. Most recently Mr. Hall served as Chief Operating Officer for Advanced Disposal Services, Inc., from 2001 through 2014, where he had direct responsibility for profit and loss decisions, development and implementation of strategic marketplace plans, sales, safety, acquisitions, and coordination of assets and personnel for a company having operations in multiple states with annual revenues in excess of $1 billion. Prior to that, Mr. Hall held positions as President and General Manager with Southland Waste Systems and Southland Waste Systems of Georgia, respectively, following six years with Browning Ferris Industries as District Manager and Regional Operations Manager. Mr. Hall has an undergraduate degree from Mississippi College. The Board of Directors believes that Mr. Hall's extensive and directly applicable experience within the waste industry makes him ideally qualified to help lead the Company towards continued growth.

Thomas J. Cowee, age 60, Director, Audit Committee Chair

Thomas J. Cowee, age 60, has 38 years of experience in the environmental industry, including 15 years as a Chief Financial Officer. After retiring from Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd in December 2012, Mr. Cowee began serving as a board director for companies and is currently serving as a director for Enviro Group, LLC and STC Investors, LLC, both privately owned environmental companies, positions he has held since 2015. Enviro Group, LLC is a hazardous trucking and transfer company, and STC Investors, LLC is primarily a refinery services and trucking company. Previously Mr. Cowee served as a director on the board of Rizzo Group, LLC, a privately owned solid waste collection, transfer and recycling business from 2014 to 2016, until sold. Mr. Cowee was Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd, from 2005 to 2012. Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd, was a publicly traded solid waste collection, transfer, recycling and landfill business, with operations in the United States and Canada. Mr. Cowee joined IESI Corporation in 1997 as its Chief Financial Officer and in 2000 was appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer until IESI Corporation was acquired by Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd in 2005. From 1995 to 1997, he was Assistant Corporate Controller of USA Waste Services, Inc., and from 1979 to 1995 he held various field accounting positions with Waste Management Inc. Mr. Cowee has a B.Sc. in accounting from The Ohio State University. Mr. Cowee is qualified to serve on our Board of Directors because of his extensive experience in the environmental and waste industry, including serving as a director.

Jackson Davis, age 45, Director, Nominating Committee Chair

Jackson Davis, age 45, has more than 20 years of experience in technology and technology leadership, previously holding roles with software development companies providing mobile infrastructure management and wholesale financing solutions. Mr. Davis holds a BSBA in Decision Science with concentration in Management Information Systems from East Carolina University and has extensive experience in guiding organizational business strategy to propel improvement and maximum impact, while focusing on cost-efficiency and productivity. He is currently Director of Financial and Business Services Applications for Cox Enterprises a leading communications, media, and automotive services company with revenues of $18 billion. Prior to Joining Cox Enterprises in July of 2016; Mr. Davis held various roles at Cox Communications, most recently being Director of Corporate Business Systems, from August 2002 through July 2016. Mr. Davis is qualified to serve on our Board of Directors because of his extensive experience in the fields of technology and infrastructure management.

Joseph Ardagna, age 55, Director, Compensation Committee Chair

Joseph Ardagna, age 55, brings 30 years of experience of managing businesses in the restaurant industry. Mr. Ardagna is currently an owner/operator of Peace, Love and Pizza, a chain of pizza restaurants in Atlanta, founded in December 2012. Mr. Ardagna is responsible for all aspects of the business including overseeing the operation of four pizza restaurants and the construction of a new store scheduled to open in February 2017. Prior to that, from 1990 until 2012, Mr. Ardagna owned and operated Taco Mac Restaurants, a 28-restaurant chain in Atlanta and the Carolinas having approximately $90 million in yearly sales at such time, as one of the two founding partners responsible for managing the business, where he oversaw all aspects of the business, including finance, legal, compensation, site selection, design and development, licensing and brand development. Mr. Ardagna sold a majority of his interest in Taco Mac Restaurants to a private equity group in 2012, but currently still sits on its board of directors. In 2013, Mr. Ardagna started a new venture in the restaurant industry in Atlanta and currently oversees the operation of four pizza restaurants and the construction of a new store scheduled to open in February 2017. Mr. Ardagna has an undergraduate degree from Bowdoin College in 1984 and serves on the Board of Trustees at the New Hampton School in New Hampshire. Mr. Ardagna is qualified to serve on our Board of Directors because his extensive business experience.

Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance

Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 requires the Company's officers and directors, and persons who own more than ten percent (10%) of a registered class of the Company's equity securities to file reports of ownership and changes in ownership with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Officers, directors and greater than ten percent stockholders are required by SEC regulations to furnish the Company with copies of all Section 16(a) forms they file.

Based solely on our review of certain reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the reports required to be filed with respect to transactions in our common stock during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, were timely, except for the late filing of Forms 4 related to the issuance of 962 shares of common stock to each of Joseph Ardagna, Thomas Cowee and Jackson Davis, as of December 31, 2016 pursuant to their respective Director Agreements.

Board Committees

Our board of directors has established an audit committee, a nominating and corporate governance committee, and a compensation committee. Each committee has its own charter, which is available on our website at www.mwsinc.com. Information contained on our website is not incorporated herein by reference. Each of the board committees has the composition and responsibilities described below.

Members will serve on these committees until their resignation or until otherwise determined by our Board of Directors.

Audit Committee

We have a separately-designated standing Audit Committee established in accordance with Section 3(a)(58)(A) of the Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"). The Audit Committee consists of Mr. Cowee, Mr. Davis and Mr. Ardagna, each of whom qualifies as "independent" within the meaning of Rule 10A-3 under the Exchange Act and the Nasdaq Stock Market Rules. Mr. Thomas J. Cowee has been appointed as the Chair of the Audit Committee, effective November 1, 2016. Our board has determined that Mr. Cowee is currently qualified as an "audit committee financial expert", as such term is defined in Item 407(d)(5) of Regulation S-K.

The Audit Committee oversees our accounting and financial reporting processes and oversees the audit of our financial statements and the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. The specific functions of this Audit Committee include, without limitation:

Compensation Committee

We have a stand-alone Compensation Committee, which consists of Mr. Ardagna, Mr. Davis and Mr. Cowee, each of whom is "independent" within the meaning of the Nasdaq Stock Market Rules. In addition, each member of our Compensation Committee qualifies as a "non-employee director" under Rule 16b-3 of the Exchange Act. Our Compensation Committee assists the board of directors in the discharge of its responsibilities relating to the compensation of the board of directors and our executive officers. Mr. Ardagna has been appointed as the Chair of the Compensation Committee, effective November 1, 2016.

The Compensation Committee's compensation-related responsibilities include, without limitation:

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

We have a stand-alone Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, which consists of Mr. Cowee, Mr. Davis and Mr. Ardagna, each of whom is "independent" within the meaning of the Nasdaq Stock Market Rules. The purpose of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is to recommend to the board nominees for election as directors and persons to be elected to fill any vacancies on the board, develop and recommend a set of corporate governance principles and oversee the performance of the board. Mr. Davis has been appointed as the Chair of the Nominating Committee, effective November 1, 2016.

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee's responsibilities include:

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee may delegate any of its responsibilities to subcommittees as it deems appropriate. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is authorized to retain independent legal and other advisors, and conduct or authorize investigations into any matter within the scope of its duties.

Code of Business Conduct and Ethics

We have adopted a code of business conduct and ethics applicable to our principal executive, financial and accounting officers and all persons performing similar functions. A copy of that code is available on our corporate website at  www.mwsinc.com . We expect that any amendments to such code, or any waivers of its requirements, will be disclosed on our website.

Legal Proceedings

There are no material proceedings to which any director or officer, or any associate of any such director or officer, is a party that is adverse to our Company or any of our subsidiaries or has a material interest adverse to our Company or any of our subsidiaries. No director or executive officer has been a director or executive officer of any business which has filed a bankruptcy petition or had a bankruptcy petition filed against it during the past ten years. No director or executive officer has been convicted of a criminal offense or is the subject of a pending criminal proceeding during the past ten years. No director or executive officer has been the subject of any order, judgment or decree of any court permanently or temporarily enjoining, barring, suspending or otherwise limiting his involvement in any type of business, securities or banking activities during the past ten years. No director or officer has been found by a court to have violated a federal or state securities or commodities law during the past ten years.

Item 11. Executive Compensation

Executive Compensation

The following Summary Compensation Table sets forth all compensation earned, in all capacities, during the fiscal years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 by each of the executive officers.

Option Grants

We did not grant any options to any of our executive officers during the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015.

Compensation of Directors

At this time, each of our independent directors, pursuant to their Director Agreements with the Company, receives, in addition to equity compensation, a monthly cash stipend of $1,500 and, for so long as the Director serves as the chair of either the Audit Committee, the Compensation Committee or the Nominating Committee the amount of such monthly cash stipend shall be increased to $2,000. In addition, each Director receives a cash stipend of (i) $500 for every telephonic meeting of the Board that the Director attends which is longer than forty-five minutes; (ii) $500 for every telephonic meeting of a Committee of the Board that the Director attends that is longer than forty-five minutes; and (iii) $1,000 for every in-person meeting that the Director attends.

Executive Compensation Program Components

Base Salary

We provide base salary as a fixed source of compensation for our executive officers, allowing them a degree of certainty when having a meaningful portion of their compensation "at risk" in the form of equity awards covering the shares of a company for whose shares there has been limited liquidity to date. The board of directors recognizes the importance of base salaries as an element of compensation that helps to attract highly qualified executive talent.

Base salaries for our executive officers were established primarily based on individual negotiations with the executive officers when they joined us and reflect the scope of their anticipated responsibilities, the individual experience they bring, the board members' experiences and knowledge in compensating similarly situated individuals at other companies, our then-current cash constraints, and a general sense of internal pay equity among our executive officers.

The board does not apply specific formulas in determining base salary increases. In determining base salaries for 2015 for our continuing named executive officers, no adjustments were made to the base salaries of any of our named executive officers as the board determined, in their independent judgment and without reliance on any survey data, that existing base salaries, taken together with other elements of compensation, provided sufficient fixed compensation for retention purposes.

Employment Contracts, Termination of Employment and Change in Control Arrangements

Jeffrey Cosman - Employment Agreement, Director Agreement and Restricted Stock Agreement

On March 11, 2016, the Company entered into an employment agreement with Mr. Cosman, which the parties amended as of November 29, 2016 and as of December 5, 2016 (as amended, the "Cosman Employment Agreement"). Mr. Cosman is currently the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Company, and prior to the execution and delivery of the Cosman Employment Agreement, the terms of Mr. Cosman's employment were governed by that certain previous employment agreement assumed by the Company in connection with the Company's purchase of certain membership interests owned by such previous employer on October 17, 2014. The Cosman Employment Agreement has an initial term from March 11, 2016 through December 31, 2017, and the term will automatically renew for one (1) year periods unless otherwise terminated in accordance with the terms therein. Mr. Cosman will receive a base salary of $525,000 and Mr. Cosman's compensation will increase by 5% on January 1 of each year. Mr. Cosman may also receive a cash bonus based on the Company's performance relative to its annual target performance, as well as an annual equity bonus in the form of options, in accordance with the Company's 2016 Equity and Incentive Plan (the "Plan") and subject to the restrictions contained therein, in an amount equivalent to 6% of the value of all acquisitions by the Company or its subsidiaries of substantially all the assets of existing businesses or of controlling interests in existing business entities during the preceding year. The exercise price of such options shall be the closing price of the Company's common stock on the date of grant, or such higher price as may be required pursuant to the Plan.

Upon any termination of Mr. Cosman's employment with the Company, except for a termination for Cause (as such term is defined therein), Mr. Cosman shall be entitled to a severance payment equal to the greater of (i) two years' worth of the then-existing base salary and (ii) the last year's bonus.

On March 11, 2016, the Company entered into a director agreement with the Company's Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Jeffrey Cosman, as amended by the First Amendment to Director Agreement entered into by the parties on April 13, 2016 (the "Cosman Director Agreement").

On March 11, 2016, the Company entered into a restricted stock agreement with Mr. Cosman (the "Cosman Restricted Stock Agreement"), pursuant to which 212,654 shares of the Company's common stock, subject to certain restrictions set forth in the Cosman Restricted Stock Agreement, were issued to Mr. Cosman pursuant to the Cosman Employment Agreement and the Plan.

Joseph D'Arelli - Employment Agreement

On November 29, 2016, the Company entered into an executive employment agreement with Mr. D'Arelli which the parties amended as of December 5, 2016 (as amended, the "D'Arelli Employment Agreement"). Mr. D'Arelli previously served as the Company's Corporate Controller. Under the D'Arelli Employment Agreement, Mr. D'Arelli shall serve as the Chief Financial Officer of the Company for an initial term of twenty-four (24) months, with automatic renewal for one (1) year periods thereafter, unless otherwise terminated pursuant to the terms contained therein. Mr. D'Arelli will receive a base salary of $300,000. Mr. D'Arelli may also receive an annual bonus of up to $50,000, or such larger amount approved by the Board, as well as an annual equity bonus (in the form of options, in accordance with the Plan and subject to the restrictions contained therein) in an amount equivalent to 0.5% of the value of all acquisitions by the Company or its subsidiaries of substantially all the assets of existing businesses or of controlling interests in existing business entities during the preceding year. The exercise price of such options shall be the closing price of the Company's common stock on the date of grant, or such higher price as may be required pursuant to the Plan. Additionally, Mr. D'Arelli has received 15,000 restricted shares of the Company's common stock in connection with his employment.

Walter H. Hall, Jr. - Director Agreement and Employment Agreement

On March 11, 2016, the Company entered into a director agreement with Mr. Walter H. Hall, Jr., as amended by the First Amendment to Director Agreement entered into by the parties on April 13, 2016 (the "Hall Director Agreement"), concurrent with Mr. Hall's appointment to the Board of Directors of the Company (the "Board") effective March 11, 2016 (the "Effective Date").

On March 11, 2016, the Company entered into an executive employment agreement with Mr. Hall which the parties amended as of December 5, 2016 (as amended, the "Hall Employment Agreement"). Under the Hall Employment Agreement, Mr. Hall shall serve as the President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company for an initial term of thirty-six (36) months, with automatic renewal for one (1) year periods thereafter, unless otherwise terminated pursuant to the terms contained therein. Mr. Hall will receive a base salary of $300,000 beginning upon the Company's closing of acquisitions in the aggregate amount of $35,000,000 from the date the Hall Employment Agreement is executed. Mr. Hall may also receive an annual bonus of up to $175,000, or such larger amount approved by the Board, as well as an annual equity bonus (in the form of options, in accordance with the Plan and subject to the restrictions contained therein) in an amount equivalent to 2% of the value of all acquisitions by the Company or its subsidiaries of substantially all the assets of existing businesses or of controlling interests in existing business entities. Additionally, Mr. Hall received 100,000 restricted shares of the Company's common stock upon the execution of the Hall Employment Agreement. The exercise price of such options shall be the closing price of the Company's common stock on the date of grant, or such higher price as may be required pursuant to the Plan.

Thomas J. Cowee Director Agreement

On November 1, 2016, the Company entered into a director agreement with Thomas J. Cowee (the "Cowee Director Agreement"). Under the Cowee Director Agreement, Mr. Cowee shall serve as Director for an initial term to last until the next annual stockholders meeting, unless otherwise ending pursuant to the terms contained therein. Mr. Cowee will receive a monthly cash stipend of $1,500 for his service as a Director, which shall increase to $2,000 per month for as long as he serves as a chair of either the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee or Nominating Committee. Mr. Cowee may also receive additional cash stipends for attending meetings of the Board and committee meetings, whether in-person or telephonically. Additionally, Mr. Cowee was issued One Thousand (1,000) shares of the Company's common stock upon the execution of the Cowee Director Agreement, and, upon the last day of each fiscal quarter commencing in the quarter when the Cowee Director Agreement became effective, the number of shares of the Company's common stock equivalent to $7,500, as determined based on the average closing price on the three trading days immediately preceding the last day of such quarter. Mr. Cowee also received, upon execution of the Cowee Director Agreement, a non-qualified stock option to purchase up to Three Thousand Seven Hundred Fifty (3,750) shares of the Company's common stock at an exercise price per share equal to $20.00, which shall be exercisable for a period of five years and vest in equal amounts over a period of three years at the rate of Three Hundred Thirteen (313) shares per fiscal quarter at the end of such quarter, commencing in the quarter in which the Cowee Director Agreement became effective, and pro-rated for the number of days the Mr. Cowee serves on the Board during the fiscal quarter.

Jackson Davis Director Agreement and Non-Qualified Stock Options Agreement

On November 1, 2016, the Company entered into a director agreement with Jackson Davis (the "Davis Director Agreement"). Under the Davis Director Agreement, Mr. Davis shall serve as Director for an initial term to last until the next annual stockholders meeting, unless otherwise ending pursuant to the terms contained therein. Mr. Davis will receive a monthly cash stipend of $1,500 for his service as a Director, which shall increase to $2,000 per month for as long as he serves as a chair of either the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee or Nominating Committee. Mr. Davis may also receive additional cash stipends for attending meetings of the Board and committee meetings, whether in-person or telephonically. Additionally, Mr. Davis was issued One Thousand (1,000) shares of the Company's common stock upon the execution of the Davis Director Agreement, and, upon the last day of each fiscal quarter commencing in the quarter when the Davis Director Agreement became effective, the number of shares of the Company's common stock equivalent to $7,500, as determined based on the average closing price on the three trading days immediately preceding the last day of such quarter. Mr. Davis also received, upon execution of the Davis Director Agreement, a non-qualified stock option to purchase up to Three Thousand Seven Hundred Fifty (3,750) shares of the Company's common stock at an exercise price per share equal to $20.00, which shall be exercisable for a period of five years and vest in equal amounts over a period of three years at the rate of Three Hundred Thirteen (313) shares per fiscal quarter at the end of such quarter, commencing in the quarter in which the Davis Director Agreement became effective, and pro-rated for the number of days the Mr. Davis serves on the Board during the fiscal quarter.

Joseph Ardagna Director Agreement and Non-Qualified Stock Options Agreement

On November, 2016, the Company entered into a director agreement with Joseph Ardagna (the "Ardagna Director Agreement"). Under the Ardagna Director Agreement, Mr. Ardagna shall serve as Director for an initial term to last until the next annual stockholders meeting, unless otherwise ending pursuant to the terms contained therein. Mr. Ardagna will receive a monthly cash stipend of $1,500 for his service as a Director, which shall increase to $2,000 per month for as long as he serves as a chair of either the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee or Nominating Committee. Mr. Ardagna may also receive additional cash stipends for attending meetings of the Board and committee meetings, whether in-person or telephonically. Additionally, Mr. Ardagna was issued One Thousand (1,000) shares of the Company's common stock upon the execution of the Ardagna Director Agreement, and, upon the last day of each fiscal quarter commencing in the quarter when the Ardagna Director Agreement became effective, the number of shares of the Company's common stock equivalent to $7,500, as determined based on the average closing price on the three trading days immediately preceding the last day of such quarter. Mr. Ardagna also received, upon execution of the Ardagna Director Agreement, a non-qualified stock option to purchase up to Three Thousand Seven Hundred Fifty (3,750) shares of the Company's common stock at an exercise price per share equal to $20.00, which shall be exercisable for a period of five years and vest in equal amounts over a period of three years at the rate of Three Hundred Thirteen (313) shares per fiscal quarter at the end of such quarter, commencing in the quarter in which the Ardagna Director Agreement became effective, and pro-rated for the number of days the Mr. Ardagna serves on the Board during the fiscal quarter.

Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters

The following table sets forth, as of April 13, 2017, certain information with respect to the beneficial ownership of our common stock by each shareholder known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our Common Stock and by each of our current directors and executive officers. Each person has sole voting and investment power with respect to the shares of Common Stock, except as otherwise indicated.

This table is prepared based on information supplied to us by the listed security holders, any Schedules 13D or 13G and Forms 3 and 4, and other public documents filed with the SEC.

Under the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission, a person is deemed to be a beneficial owner of a security if that person has or shares voting power, which includes the power to vote or direct the voting of the security, or investment power, which includes the power to vote or direct the voting of the security. The person is also deemed to be a beneficial owner of any security of which that person has a right to acquire beneficial ownership within 60 days. Under the Securities and Exchange Commission rules, more than one person may be deemed to be a beneficial owner of the same securities, and a person may be deemed to be a beneficial owner of securities as to which he or she may not have any pecuniary beneficial interest.

Shares of Common Stock which an individual or group has a right to acquire within 60 days pursuant to the exercise or conversion of options are deemed to be outstanding for the purpose of computing the percentage ownership of such individual or group, but are not deemed to be outstanding for the purpose of computing the percentage ownership of any other person shown in the table below.

* denoted less than 1%

There are no arrangements, known to the Company, including any pledge by any person of securities of the Company, the operation of which may at a subsequent date result in a change in control of the Company.

Changes in Control

We are not aware of any arrangements that may result in changes in control as that term is defined by the provisions of Item 403(c) of Regulation S-K.

Description of Securities

General

Our authorized capital stock consists of 75,000,000 shares of common stock, par value of $0.025 per share, and 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value of $0.001 per share. As of April 13, 2017 there were 6,944,244 shares of our common stock issued and outstanding held by 87 holders of record. We currently have 51 shares of Series A Preferred Stock authorized of which 51 shares of Series A Preferred Stock are issued and outstanding. There are currently no shares of Series B Preferred Stock and no shares of Series C Preferred Stock issued and outstanding.

Common Stock

Each share of our common stock entitles its holder to one vote in the election of each director and on all other matters voted on generally by our stockholders. No share of our common stock affords any cumulative voting rights. This means that the holders of a majority of the voting power of the shares voting for the election of directors can elect all directors to be elected if they choose to do so.

Holders of our common stock will be entitled to dividends in such amounts and at such times as our Board of Directors in its discretion may declare out of funds legally available for the payment of dividends. We currently intend to retain our entire available discretionary cash flow to finance the growth, development and expansion of our business and do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on the common stock in the foreseeable future. Any future dividends will be paid at the discretion of our Board of Directors after taking into account various factors, including:

If we liquidate or dissolve our business, the holders of our common stock will share ratably in all our assets that are available for distribution to our stockholders after our creditors are paid in full and the holders of all series of our outstanding preferred stock, if any, receive their liquidation preferences in full.

Our common stock has no preemptive rights and is not convertible or redeemable or entitled to the benefits of any sinking or repurchase fund.

Preferred Stock

The Company has 5,000,000 authorized shares of preferred stock par value $0.001 per share, of which three classes have been designated. The Series A Preferred Stock has 51 shares issued and outstanding; the Series B Preferred Stock has 0 shares issued and outstanding and the Series C Preferred Stock has 0 shares issued and outstanding.

Each share of the Series A preferred Stock has no conversion rights, is senior to any other class or series of capital stock of the Company and special voting rights. Each one (1) share of Series A Preferred Stock shall have voting rights equal to (x) 0.019607 multiplied by the total issued and outstanding Common Stock eligible to vote at the time of the respective vote (the "Numerator"), divided by (y) 0.49, Minus (z) the Numerator.

Our Board has the authority, within the limitations and restrictions in our certificate of incorporation, to issue shares of preferred stock in one or more series and to fix the rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions thereof, including dividend rights, dividend rates, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of redemption, redemption prices, liquidation preferences and the number of shares constituting any series or the designation of any series, without further vote or action by the stockholders. The issuance of shares of preferred stock may have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in our control without further action by the stockholders. The issuance of shares of preferred stock with voting and conversion rights may adversely affect the voting power of the holders of our common stock, including voting rights, of the holders of our common stock. In some circumstances, this issuance could have the effect of decreasing the market price of our common stock.

Undesignated preferred stock may enable our Board to render more difficult or to discourage an attempt to obtain control of our company by means of a tender offer, proxy contest, merger or otherwise, and thereby to protect the continuity of our management. The issuance of shares of preferred stock may adversely affect the rights of our common stockholders. For example, any shares of preferred stock issued may rank prior to the common stock as to dividend rights, liquidation preference or both, may have full or limited voting rights and may be convertible into shares of common stock. As a result, the issuance of shares of preferred stock, or the issuance of rights to purchase shares of preferred stock, may discourage an unsolicited acquisition proposal or bids for our common stock or may otherwise adversely affect the market price of our common stock or any existing preferred stock.

Warrants

The Company has issued 3,112,871 warrants to purchase common stock, which are exercisable at $5.16 per share immediately upon issuance and at any time up to the date that is five years from the date of issuance. The warrants will be exercisable, at the option of each holder, in whole or in part, by delivering to us a duly executed exercise notice accompanied by payment in full for the number of shares of our common stock purchased upon such exercise (except in the case of a cashless exercise as discussed below). Unless otherwise specified in the warrant, the holder will not have the right to exercise any portion of the warrant if the holder (together with its affiliates) would beneficially own in excess of 4.99% of the number of shares of our common stock outstanding immediately after giving effect to the exercise, as such percentage ownership is determined in accordance with the terms of the warrants.

The exercise price and the number of shares of common stock purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants are subject to adjustment upon the occurrence of specific events, including stock dividends, stock splits, combinations and reclassifications of our common stock.

Subject to applicable laws, the warrants may be transferred at the option of the holders upon surrender of the warrants to us together with the appropriate instruments of transfer.

The warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agency agreement between Issuer Direct Corporation, as warrant agent, and us.

If, at any time while the warrants are outstanding, (1) we consolidate or merge with or into another corporation and we are not the surviving corporation, (2) we sell, lease, license, assign, transfer, convey or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of our assets, (3) any purchase offer, tender offer or exchange offer (whether by us or another individual or entity) is completed pursuant to which holders of our shares of common stock are permitted to sell, tender or exchange their shares of common stock for other securities, cash or property and has been accepted by the holders of 50% or more of our outstanding shares of common stock, (4) we effect any reclassification or recapitalization of our shares of common stock or any compulsory share exchange pursuant to which our shares of common stock are converted into or exchanged for other securities, cash or property, or (5) we consummate a stock or share purchase agreement or other business combination with another person or entity whereby such other person or entity acquires more than 50% of our outstanding shares of common stock, each a "Fundamental Transaction," then upon any subsequent exercise of the warrants, the holder thereof will have the right to receive the same amount and kind of securities, cash or property as it would have been entitled to receive upon the occurrence of such Fundamental Transaction if it had been, immediately prior to such Fundamental Transaction, the holder of the number of warrant shares then issuable upon exercise of the warrant, and any additional consideration payable as part of the Fundamental Transaction.

Except as otherwise provided in the warrants or by virtue of such holder's ownership of shares of our common stock, the holder of a warrant does not have the rights or privileges of a holder of our common stock, including any voting rights, until the holder exercises the warrant.

Anti-Takeover Provisions

Our Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws contain provisions that may make it more difficult for a third party to acquire or may discourage acquisition bids for us. Our Board of Directors may, without action of our stockholders, issue authorized but unissued common stock and preferred stock. The issuance of additional shares to certain persons allied with our management could have the effect of making it more difficult to remove our current management by diluting the stock ownership or voting rights of persons seeking to cause such removal. The existence of unissued preferred stock may enable the Board of Directors, without further action by the stockholders, to issue such stock to persons friendly to current management or to issue such stock with terms that could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us, thereby protecting the continuity of our management. Our shares of preferred stock could therefore be issued quickly with terms that could delay, defer, or prevent a change in control of us, or make removal of management more difficult.

Disclosure of Commission Position on Indemnification for Securities Act Liabilities

The Company's Amended Articles of Incorporation provide for indemnification of directors and officers against certain liabilities. Officers and directors of the Company are indemnified generally for any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, except an action by or in the right of the corporation, against expenses, including attorneys' fees, judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by him in connection with the action, suit or proceeding if he acted in good faith and in a manner which he reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, has no reasonable cause to believe his conduct was unlawful.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Company pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Company has been advised that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by us of expenses incurred or paid by our directors, officers or controlling persons in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceedings) is asserted by such director, officer, or controlling person in connection with any securities being registered, we will, unless in the opinion of our counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by us is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issues.

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

The Meridian Waste Solutions, Inc. 2016 Equity and Incentive Plan authorizes the issuance of up to 375,000 shares of common stock, of which 227,700 have been issued, subject to restriction. The 2016 Equity and Incentive Plan has been approved by our shareholders.

Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence

None of our officers, directors, proposed director nominees, beneficial owners of more than 10% of our shares of common stock, or any relative or spouse of any of the foregoing persons, or any relative of such spouse who has the same house as such person or who is a director or officer of any parent or subsidiary of our Company, has any direct or indirect material interest in any transaction to which we are a party since our incorporation or in any proposed transaction to which we are proposed to be a party.

In December 2016, Walter H. Hall, Jr., the Company's Chief Operating Officer, President, and member of the Board, advanced $250,000 to the Company for certain operational expenses. On January 30, 2017, the Company returned such amount in full, together with interest of $20,000. Such transaction was ratified and approved unanimously by the Board, including by a majority of the directors who were not interested in such transaction.

In the event a related party transaction is proposed, such transaction will be presented to our board of directors for consideration and approval. Any such transaction will require approval by a majority of the disinterested directors and such transactions will be on terms no less favorable than those available to disinterested third parties. The Company does not believe that the provisions of Item 404(c) of Regulation S-K apply to our chief executive officer, Mr. Cosman, as a control person of the Company because the Company is not a shell company and Mr. Cosman is not part of a group, consisting of two or more persons that agree to act together for the purpose of acquiring, holding, voting or disposing of equity securities of a shell company.

Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services

The following table shows the fees that we paid or accrued for the audit and other services provided by our present and former accountants during 2016 and 2015.

Audit Fees - This category includes the audit of our annual financial statements, review of financial statements included in our Form 10-Q Quarterly Reports and services that are normally provided by the independent auditors in connection with engagements for those fiscal years. This category also includes advice on audit and accounting matters that arose during, or as a result of, the audit or the review of interim financial statements.

Audit-Related Fees - This category consists of assurance and related services by the independent auditors that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit or review of our financial statements and are not reported above under "Audit Fees." The services for the fees disclosed under this category include consultation regarding our correspondence with the SEC and acquisition audits

Tax Fees - This category consists of professional services rendered by our independent auditors for tax compliance and tax advice. The services for the fees disclosed under this category include tax return preparation and technical tax advice.

All Other Fees - This category consists of fees for other miscellaneous items.

Our Board of Directors has adopted a procedure for pre-approval of all fees charged by our independent auditors. Under the procedure, the Board approves the engagement letter with respect to audit, tax and review services. Other fees are subject to pre-approval by the Board, or, in the period between meetings, by a designated member of Board. Any such approval by the designated member is disclosed to the entire Board at the next meeting. The audit fees paid to the auditors with respect to fiscal years 2015 and 2014 were pre-approved by the entire Board of Directors.

PART IV

Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules

The following Exhibits are filed as part of this report.

* filed herewith

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

In accordance with the Exchange Act, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

Meridian Waste Solutions, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Financial Statements

As of December 31, 2016 and 2015

for the periods ending January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016 and

January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015

Meridian Waste Solutions, Inc. and Subsidiaries

TABLE OF CONTENTS

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REG ISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Board of Directors

Meridian Waste Solutions, Inc.

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheet of Meridian Waste Solutions, Inc. (the "Company") as of December 31, 2016, and the related consolidated statements of operations, stockholders' equity (deficit) and cash flows for the year then ended. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. Our audit included consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company's internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit also includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Meridian Waste Solutions, Inc. as of December 31, 2016, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

/s/ Hein & Associates LLP

Denver, Colorado

April 17, 2017

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Board of Directors and Shareholders

Meridian Waste Solutions, Inc.

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheet of Meridian Waste Solutions, Inc. and Subsidiaries as of December 31, 2015 and the related consolidated statement of operations, changes in shareholders' equity, and cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2015. These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated financial statements based on our audits.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. Our audit included consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company's internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly we express no such opinion. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of Meridian Waste Solutions, Inc. and Subsidiaries at December 31, 2015 and the results of their operations and their cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2015 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

/s/ D'Arelli Pruzansky, P.A.

Certified Public Accountants

Coconut Creek, Florida

April 13, 2016

MERIDIAN WASTE SOLUTIONS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

MERIDIAN WASTE SOLUTIONS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

MERIDIAN WASTE SOLUTIONS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS' (DEFICIT) EQUITY

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2016 AND 2015

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

MERIDIAN WASTE SOLUTIONS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS