About Us – Corporate Profile
Corporate Profile
Waste Management, Inc. is the leading provider of comprehensive waste and environmental services in North America. The company is strongly committed to a foundation of financial strength, operating excellence and professionalism.
Waste Management tailors its services to meet the needs of each customer group and to ensure consistent, superior service at the local level. Headquartered in Houston, the company's network of operations includes 354 collection operations, 341 transfer stations, 277 active landfill disposal sites, 16 waste-to-energy plants, 105 recycling facilities (30 of which are single-stream technology), 108 landfill gas projects with 10 more slated for construction in 2008, and 6 independent power production plants. These assets enable Waste Management to offer a full range of environmental services to nearly 20 million residential, industrial, municipal and commercial customers.
Drawing on our resources and experience, we actively pursue projects and initiatives that benefit the waste industry, the communities we serve and the environment. Waste Management works to make a positive difference for the environment in every aspect of its business.
- We recover and process methane gas, naturally produced by decomposing waste in landfills, into an energy source for generating power. We currently supply enough landfill gas to create more than 450 megawatts of green energy that could power about 400,000 homes or replace about 7 million barrels of oil per year or 2 millions tons of coal per year.
- With 425 vehicles now converted from diesel fuel to clean-burning natural gas, we operate one of the nation's largest fleets of heavy-duty trucks powered exclusively by natural gas.
- We have taken a leadership role in promoting the recycling and reuse of materials that would otherwise end up in landfills. Waste Management, combined with its wholly owned subsidiary WM Recycle America, is North America’s largest recycler. We process 5.5 million tons of commodities each year, saving approximately 41 million trees through paper and cardboard recycling alone.
- Through its waste-to-energy plants, WM uses solid municipal waste to generate power. This reduces the volume of the waste by 90 percent and saves space in local landfills while providing an economical alternative to the use of fossil and nuclear fuels.
- WM partners with communities, government and industries to redevelop closed landfill sites into recreational and commercial facilities such as parks, athletic fields, campgrounds and golf courses.
- Across North America, we work with environmental groups to set aside land to create and manage wetlands and wildlife habitats. Our landfills provide more than 17,000 acres of protected land for wildlife; 24 landfills are certified by the Wildlife Habitat Council.
- WM helped found the Chicago Climate Exchange, an organization established to provide a voluntary marketplace for reducing and trading greenhouse gas emissions.
Waste Management's environmental initiatives have drawn recognition numerous times from organizations such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Energy and the Wildlife Habitat Council.
Operations
Collection
Waste Management provides
solid waste collection services to millions of
customers across North America, ranging in size
from the single residential subscription to large
national customers requiring comprehensive,
one-source waste programs to serve hundreds
of locations. With about 22,000 collection and
transfer vehicles, the company has the largest
trucking fleet in the waste industry and collects
nearly 74 million tons of solid waste per year.
Transfer
With much of the waste collected
by Waste Management going to its own landfills,
a supporting network of transfer stations provides
an important link for efficient disposal. Waste
Management has strategically located
transfer stations to consolidate, compact and
load waste from collection vehicles into long-haul
trailers, barge containers and rail cars for
transport to landfills.
Disposal
Waste Management operating the largest
network of landfills in its industry manages the disposal of more than 116 million tons
of waste per year. The company operates its sites
according to standards of safety and environmental
compliance that go beyond regulatory requirements.
Waste Management is focused on solutions that impact
the future of solid waste management, including Next
Generation TechnologySM, which accelerates the
decomposition of organic waste so that it occurs within
years instead of decades. Currently, the company is
conducting research to confirm the
environmental benefits of this alternative method for
managing landfill waste.
Recycling
As the largest recycler of municipal
solid waste in North America, Waste Management
processes 8 million tons of recyclable materials each
year. Through the
resources of WM Recycle America, we provide cost-efficient,
environmentally-sound recycling programs for municipalities, businesses and households across the
U.S. and in Canada.
Renewable Energy
For many years, Waste
Management has worked with businesses, industries and
public utilities across North America to develop beneficial
use projects from landfill gas. This gas is a reliable,
renewable energy source that is produced naturally as
waste decomposes in landfills. When collected, it can be
used directly as medium Btu gas for industrial use or sold
to gas-to-energy plants to fuel engine or turbine-driven
generators that produce electricity.
In addition, our waste-to-energy
subsidiary, Wheelabrator Technologies, owns or operates 16 plants
that can process up to an aggregate of 21,000 tons of waste per day
and generate more than 650 megawatts of electricity. This is enough
clean energy to replace more than 6 million barrels of oil and power
600,000 homes per year.
