Waste Management publishes 2015 Sustainability Report Update

Waste Management (WM), headquartered in Houston, has released its 2015 sustainability report, which provides updated data to the company’s full 2014 report titled “Creating a Circular Economy.” The report includes progress on the company’s 2020 sustainability goals, sustainability key performance indicators and 2014 awards received.

In the report, the company’s President and CEO David Steiner highlights the important and growing focus on making recycling sustainable over the long term.

“In 2014 and 2015, Waste Management has been laser-focused on raising the profile of the importance of recycling, including how to make it efficient and sustainable—both economically and environmentally,” say Steiner. “If recycling is going to be sustainable over the long term, we must have honest conversations about cost. We must have a clear understanding of the benefits. And, we must all work together to help drive much-needed solutions.”

Waste Management will release its next full report in December 2016. To view the 2015 update and other company Sustainability Reports, visit wm.com/sustainability.

In the report, Steiner states, “We have maintained recycling at 17 percent of revenue while managing 15 million tons of material. It’s important to note that, although national recycling rates are slightly down, we were able to counterbalance this trend by offering our services to the utility industry, converting coal ash into a feedstock for cement and other encapsulated uses. This beneficial use of residual material resulting from coal combustion was classified as “recycling” by U.S. EPA in December 2014, and we have adopted their definition in our classifications.

Steiner continues, “This is an important line of business for Waste Management, and a form of recycling that has been embraced by U.S. EPA, our customers and the environmental community alike, because it is safe, protective of the environment and conserves natural resources. We have been encouraged by a 50 percent increase in revenues attributable to our innovative service lines, such as our sustainability consulting business, new ventures like landfill-gas-to-fuel plants and treatment services for the energy production sector. We continue to work with customers on the cutting edge of waste reduction and transformation.

The full report is available here.

WM is a 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 also a leading developer, operator and owner of landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. The company’s customers include residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers throughout North America.