Single-stream recycling.

Currently North America's top recycling company, Waste Management has a history of leadership in the industry. We were the first major solid waste company to focus on Single-stream recycling, which allows customers to commingle recyclable paper and mixed containers in one bin for collection. The convenience of Single-stream recycling greatly increases participation and household recovery (usually measured in pounds per household), resulting in the recovery of up to 30 percent more recyclable materials and in one extreme case up to 42%.

Single-stream also allows for efficient fleet utililization and route optimization by cutting down on specialized recycling collection vehicles and allowing greater material compaction. Over time, this reduces the energy required during the collection of the material through greater payloads and a "one route, one truck" collection methodology.

We use state-of-the-art equipment to sort and process recyclable paper, glass, plastics, metals and electronics. We have introduced innovative ideas, leading-edge technology and advanced systems to streamline everything from the collection of recyclable materials to processing and marketing them.

From 2002 to 2006, the volume of material processed in our Single-stream recycling facilities nearly tripled, from about 722,000 tons in 2002 to more than 2 million tons in 2006.