Extracting Value From Waste: State-Of-The-Art Complex Being Developed By Waste Management

Landfill gas to energy facility to generate 7.6 MW of renewable energy and heat greenhouse complex located at the landfill

With construction underway at its landfill-gas-to-energy facility near Drummondville, Quebec, Waste Management (NYSE: WM) is embarked on building a state-of-the-art complex dedicated to extracting value from waste.

The facility will produce electricity using methane gas drawn from a landfill site in the Saint-Nicéphore district of Drummondville. Not only will it generate 7.6 megawatts of electricity annually – enough energy to power the equivalent of 6,500 homes – but the heat produced by the plant's engines will also be recovered and used to heat a greenhouse complex.

WM will invest $13 million in the electrical power plant, which is expected to become operational in 2012. But that’s just the beginning. It is part of an even larger project – called the Environmental and Energy Complex in Drummondville (EECD).

This advanced waste solutions complex will include an eco-center, a construction and demolition material facility, a new environmentally engineered landfill area and an organics processing facility.

"We’re no longer just a waste collection company," says Martin Dussault, WM's Director of Public Affairs in Quebec. "Today across our organization, we manage waste for its resource potential." WM is an industry leader in recycling, renewable energy generation, new and emerging organics and other innovative technologies.

Following a public bidding process, the energy project was selected by Hydro-Québec for its environmental benefits and energy efficiency. The construction of the plant and greenhouse complex is expected to create some 50 jobs in the area.

In addition, WM has built a school on its property – the Centre for Business Training and Recovery (CBTR) – in partnership with the Des Chênes School Board. The school serves more than 125 students, and as part of its curriculum, provides training in the recycling of electronic waste. Some 260 tons of e-waste were recycled last year alone – the equivalent of about 15 semi-trailer trucks filled to capacity.

ABOUT WASTE MANAGEMENT

Waste Management, Inc., based in Houston, Texas, is the leading provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services. It is largest residential recycler and also a leading developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. The company’s customers include residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers throughout North America. To learn more information about Waste Management, visit http://www.wm.com or www.thinkgreen.com.

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