Company used recycling, composting and waste-to-energy to achieve 100 percent diversion

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 14, 2013-- In recognition of America Recycles Day on Nov. 15, Waste Management (NYSE: WM) today announced that at the Deutsche Bank Championship, 100 percent of tournament waste was diverted away from landfills and into recycling, waste-to-energy and composting facilities. Waste Management was an official tournament sponsor during the event held in Norton, Mass., over Labor Day weekend, Aug. 27 through Sept. 1, 2013.

“One hundred percent diversion at the 2013 Deutsche Bank Championship is an accomplishment that Waste Management is extremely proud of and truly illustrates the company’s commitment to sustainability,” said David Aardsma, Waste Management chief sales and marketing officer. “This achievement is a team effort, with significant contributions from Waste Management’s New England operations teams in Foxboro, the Tiger Woods Foundation, Pritchard Sports and Entertainment Group and other tournament vendors and sponsors.”

“At the Deutsche Bank Championship, we’re very proud of our efforts to offset our carbon footprint,” Championship Director Mike Antolini said. “We’re very grateful to Waste Management for their partnership in these efforts and are thrilled to have diverted 100 percent of the tournament’s waste away from landfills.”

Waste Management and the tournament’s goal was to control materials brought into the event and educate vendors and patrons about proper disposal of materials to minimize the tournament’s waste generation. Highlights of these efforts include:

• Recycling - Plastics, including HDPE and PET, aluminum, paper, cardboard and glass were sent to WM’s Avon, Mass., Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) and strategic recyclers for processing. Construction and demolition (C&D) materials, such as wood and metal from staging and stands, were sent to WM’s C&D processing facility in Raynham, Mass.
• Composting – food scraps from the tournament were sent to local composting facilities where they were mixed with leaf and yard debris and made into a soil amendment purchased by area landscapers.
• Waste-to-Energy - Municipal solid waste was sent to Wheelabrator Technologies’ waste-to-energy plants in Millbury and North Andover, Mass. Wheelabrator is a subsidiary of Waste Management that recovers the energy from waste for use as fuel. This conserves fossil fuels, produces renewable energy, recycles metals and reduces greenhouse gasses.

The recycling and waste-to-energy efforts at the 2013 Deutsche Bank Championship conserved the following resources:

• 181,090 kilowatt hours of renewable electricity – Enough to power 15 homes for an entire year
• 1,420 gallons of oil – Enough energy to heat and cool 7 homes for a full year
• 333 gallons of gasoline - Enough gasoline to drive 9,314 miles
• 166 mature trees - Enough to produce 2,060,705 sheets of newspaper
• 97,020 gallons of water - Enough to meet the fresh water needs of 5,174 people for a year
• 109 cubic yards of landfill airspace - Enough to meet the disposal needs of a community of 1,678 people

Recycling, composting and waste-to-energy efforts avoided 166 metric tons (MTCO2E) of greenhouse gas emissions.

Waste Management’s sustainability services team continually looks for ways to advance the sustainable efforts of the company’s tournament sponsorships. These professionals help hundreds of Waste Management clients across the United States and Canada realize their environmental goals by recommending business practices that reduce waste, save energy and provide a “next life” for resources they no longer need.

“In honor of America Recycles Day and every day, Waste Management is committed to reducing the environmental impact of waste, and we have taken that mission a step further by extending it to another major sporting event,” said Aardsma.

ABOUT WASTE MANAGEMENT

Waste Management, 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 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 www.wm.com or www.thinkgreen.com.

About the Deutsche Bank Championship

The Deutsche Bank Championship, New England’s premier PGA TOUR Playoff event held over Labor Day weekend, welcomes 100 of the PGA TOUR’s top golfers to TPC Boston in Norton, Mass. The Championship has raised more than $25 million for the Tiger Woods Foundation, which supports underserved students through educational programs, and local New England-area charities. Fans can follow the latest news surrounding the Deutsche Bank Championship on the official social media sites: www.facebook.com/DeutscheBankChampionship and www.twitter.com/DBChampionship.

About America Recycles Day

America Recycles Day is a national program of Keep America Beautiful, and is the only nationally-recognized day and community-driven awareness event dedicated to promoting and celebrating recycling in the U.S. Since its inception in 1997, communities across the country have participated in America Recycles Day on Nov. 15 to educate, promote environmental citizenship, and encourage action. To learn more, visit http://americarecyclesday.org.

Source: Waste Management

Waste Management
Media
Carrie Griffiths, 603-929-3350
cgriffiths@wm.com