Waste Management Adds 13 Compressed Natural Gas Fueling Stations in First-Half of 2012

HOUSTON — August 1, 2012 – Waste Management (NYSE:WM) announced that it has opened thirteen compressed natural gas (CNG) stations across the country in the first half of 2012, of which 9 have public accessible fueling stations.  This brings WM’s natural gas fueling stations to 31 with another 17 either in operation or in construction by the end of 2012.  Waste Management’s new CNG fueling stations were located in the following communities: 

• Mesa, Ariz.
• Pompano Beach, Fla.
• Venice, Fla.
• Stickney, Ill.
• Louisville, Ky.
• Baltimore, Md.
• Blaine, Minn.
• Portland, Ore.
• Washington, Pa.
• West Jordan, Utah
• Conroe, Texas
• Auburn, Wash.
• Woodinville, Wash. 

Waste Management owns the stations, purchases the fuel and finances the construction of the stations.  It also enters into maintenance contracts with third party companies. This strategy allows WM to secure better natural gas prices in the long run. 

To optimize costs, the company’s preferred platform for these stations is to time-fill its trucks according to a set schedule. The trucks use a slow-fill method, which carry approximately 70 diesel gallon equivalents (DGE) of CNG – a capacity that allows them to run for 10 to 12 hours and complete a typical day’s waste or recycling collection route.  

For public accessible fueling stations that serve commercial and consumer vehicles, fast-fill capability is installed. The self-service Clean N’ Green Fuel stations are open 24/7 and accept major credit cards as well as fleet cards. 

“These facilities will serve our rapidly growing CNG powered collection fleet.  Those facilities with publicly accessible stations offer fueling solutions to other corporate fleets and consumers as more and more North Americans turn to vehicles fueled by CNG,” said Eric Woods, vice president of fleet and logistics for Waste Management. 

WM’s fleet of nearly 1,700 CNG and liquefied (LNG) vehicles is the largest in North American waste industry.  In 2012, natural gas vehicles will represent 80 percent of Waste Management’s annual new truck purchases and continue for the next five years. 

Each heavy-duty diesel collection vehicle Waste Management replaces with natural gas reduces diesel use by an average of 8,000 gallons per year and cuts annual greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 22 metric tons.  The trucks are also significantly quieter than traditional diesel engines. 

Compressed natural gas (CNG) is one of the cleanest fuels currently available for use in heavy-duty trucks. By replacing a typical diesel engine with a natural gas engine we can reduce: 

• Up to 86 percent of air particulates
• 80 percent in carbon monoxide
• Up to 50 percent in nitrogen oxides
• 25 percent in carbon dioxide 

Waste Management is embracing clean fuel technology across North America and making significant progress on its sustainability goals to reduce emissions by 15 percent and increase the fuel efficiency of its fleet by 15 percent by the year 2020. 

In 2011, the Clean Vehicle Education Foundation honored WM with its Natural Gas Vehicle (NGV) Achievement award for its “innovative leadership” in the company’s transformation to a natural gas fleet. In addition, Energy Vision honored Waste Management for its “strategic vision and leadership” in rolling out 1,000 CNG vehicles and opening its Altamont Landfill producing renewable energy gas for the fleet. 

ABOUT WASTE MANAGEMENT

Waste Management (WM) 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 one of the largest residential recyclers and also a leading developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in North America. The company’s customers include residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers throughout North America. To learn more information about Waste Management visit www.wm.com or www.thinkgreen.com. 

This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are information of a non-historical nature or which relate to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties. In many cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential,” or “continue,” or the negative of these terms and other comparable terminology. These statements are only predictions. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors. The forward-looking statements made in this press release relate only to events as of the date of this release. We undertake no ongoing obligation to update these statements.

# # #