William J. Plunkett was vice president of communications at Waste Management, Inc. through most of the 1990s, allowing him a close-up view of a business that is imperative to the well-being of most of society. Prior to his time at Waste Management, William was a journalist, working through up through the ranks of the Tribune Company, first at the Chicago Today afternoon newspaper and then, shortly after graduating from Loyola University Chicago, at the Chicago Tribune where he served for more than a decade as a copy editor, assistant news editor and writer before moving to the Tribune's parent, Tribune Company. Leaving Waste Management in 1998, Mr. Plunkett for continued for many years to serve as a communications consultant to the company. Now retired, Mr. Plunkett and his wife Jeanne live in Chicago's western suburbs. The Waste Managers is Mr. Plunkett's first book.