Waste Management Celebrates America Recycles Day

Waste Management highlights the economic and environmental benefits of recycling.

In honor of America Recycles Day today, Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) is calling attention to recycling and how it increases economic and environmental value.   

Converting waste into raw materials through recycling creates jobs, builds more competitive manufacturing industries and adds significantly to the economy, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Today, however, less than half of all packaging, such as plastic bottles and aluminum cans, is actually recycled, and only about 25 percent of electronic waste, or e-waste, is recycled – the lowest recycling rate among recyclable products.

“As natural resources become scarcer and manufacturing costs rise, recycling is more important than ever for both economic and environmental reasons. That's why we’re committed to making recycling easier than ever for our customers,” said Pat DeRueda, president of WM Recycle America. “We are also focused on developing innovative technologies to extract value from the waste stream. Where other companies see only waste, Waste Management sees valuable resources. Our strategic investments in these technologies are helping Waste Management redefine the waste industry.”

Waste Management also works with Keep America Beautiful (KAB) to support an array of activities that encourage recycling. In support of America Recycles Day, Waste Management is hosting a series of activities nationwide, including facility tours, educational efforts and a partner event with Anheuser- Busch at Sun Life Stadium in Miami. To learn more and take the recycling pledge, visit www.americarecyclesday.org. Please also share the creative ways in which you are recycling on our Facebook Page or Twitter handle (@WasteManagement).

“Having the premier waste hauling and recycling company and its vast infrastructure support as a national sponsor of America Recycles Day, allows us to raise awareness and make the benefits of recycling come alive for millions of participants throughout the country,” said Matthew M. McKenna, president and CEO, Keep America Beautiful.

In 2007, Waste Management committed to managing 20 million tons of recyclables by 2020. The company currently operates more than 100 recycling facilities and processes approximately 10 million tons of recyclables per year – half of its sustainability goal – through its single-stream and organic waste facilities, e-waste programs and its LampTracker® mail-in service for household waste such as compact fluorescent lamps and batteries. 

Waste Management is also investing in recycling-related technologies. The company is working with MicroGREEN Polymers, which uses its Ad-air® technology to reduce the amount of plastic required to produce a wide range of commercial-scale consumer products. Using this technology may help Waste Management develop new products and higher-value end markets for consumer and industry products created from materials that it already handles in its recycling operations. Waste Management also invested in Agilyx, an alternative energy company that converts low-value, difficult-to-recycle industrial and consumer plastics, as well as contaminated and recycling-residual plastics, into a high-value synthetic crude oil, which can then be converted into ultra-low sulfur diesel and other transportation fuels and petroleum products.

In October 2011, a Waste Management subsidiary invested in RecycleRewards, Inc. whose subsidiary, Recyclebank®, rewards people for taking everyday green actions with discounts and deals from local and national businesses. The investment brings together Waste Management's large national curbside collection infrastructure with Recyclebank's vast online community and incentive platform, enhancing growth prospects for both companies and motivating and mobilizing more people, communities and schools to recycle. As part of this, Waste Management expects to provide access to Recyclebank's green rewards program to its nearly 20 million North American customers over the next several years.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc., based in Houston, Texas, is one of the leading providers 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 also one of the largest residential recyclers and 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 about Waste Management visit www.wm.com or www.thinkgreen.com.

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