Per Share Dividend to Increase from $0.88 to $0.96 on an Annual
                                 Basis

  Quarterly Dividend Payment of $0.24 to Begin in First Quarter 2007

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 18, 2006--Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WMI) today announced that its Board of Directors approved a 9.1% increase in its quarterly dividend program, raising the amount to $0.24 per share compared to the $0.22 per share paid in 2006. Beginning in the first quarter of 2007, the Company expects to increase its dividend to a total of $0.96 per share per year, which would be an increase of $0.08 per share per year compared to 2006. All dividends must be declared by its Board of Directors prior to payment.

"Waste Management is first and foremost a strong and consistent generator of cash," said David P. Steiner, Chief Executive Officer of Waste Management, Inc. "The Board of Directors and management consider the return of cash to our shareholders to be one of our most important duties. Based on the current share count, this equates to approximately $510 million in dividend payments on an annual basis beginning in 2007. At the current share price of $36.97, this dividend produces a yield of 2.6%, which is in the top 25% of the dividend paying companies within the S&P 500."

Steiner continued, "The higher dividend payment remains one of the cornerstones of our previously approved capital allocation program, through which the Board of Directors has authorized management to return up to $1.2 billion to shareholders in combined cash dividends and common stock repurchases in 2007.

The Company noted that the Board of Directors intends to declare the first quarter 2007 dividend in February, at which time the record and payment dates for the first 2007 quarterly dividend will be announced. It is expected that the first payment of the higher dividend will occur in March of 2007.

Waste Management, based in Houston, Texas, is the leading provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America. Our subsidiaries provide collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services. We are also a leading developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. Our customers include residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers throughout North America. Ways in which Waste Management helps Think Green(R) can be found at www.wm.com.

The Company, from time to time, provides estimates of financial and other data, comments on expectations relating to future periods and makes statements of opinion, view or belief about current and future events. Statements relating to future events and performance are "forward-looking statements." The forward-looking statements that the Company makes are the Company's expectations, opinion, view or belief at the point in time of issuance but may change at some future point in time. By issuing estimates or making statements based on current expectations, opinions, views or beliefs, the Company has no obligation, and is not undertaking any obligation, to update such estimates or statements or to provide any other information relating to such estimates or statements. Outlined below are some of the risks that the Company faces and that could affect our financial statements for 2006 and beyond and that could cause actual results to be materially different from those that may be set forth in forward-looking statements made by the Company. However, they are not the only risks that the Company faces. There may be additional risks that we do not presently know or that we currently believe are immaterial which could also impair our business. We caution you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates. The following are some of the risks that we face:

    --  competition may negatively affect our profitability or cash
        flows, our price increases may have negative effects on
        volumes and price roll-backs and lower than average pricing to
        retain and attract customers may negatively affect our yield
        on base business;

    --  we may be unable to maintain or expand margins if we are
        unable to control costs;

    --  we may be unable to attract or retain qualified personnel,
        including licensed commercial drivers and truck maintenance
        professionals;

    --  we may not be able to successfully execute or continue our
        operational or other margin improvement plans and programs,
        including pricing increases, passing on increased costs to our
        customers, divesting under-performing assets and purchasing
        accretive businesses, any of which could negatively affect our
        revenues and margins;

    --  fuel price increases or fuel supply shortages may increase our
        expenses, including our tax expense if Section 45K credits are
        phased out due to continued high crude oil prices;

    --  fluctuating commodity prices may have negative effects on our
        operating revenues and expenses;

    --  inflation and resulting higher interest rates may have
        negative effects on the economy, which could result in
        decreases in volumes of waste generated and increases in our
        financing costs and other expenses;

    --  the possible inability of our insurers to meet their
        obligations may cause our expenses to increase;

    --  weather conditions cause our quarter-to-quarter results to
        fluctuate, and extremely harsh weather or natural disasters
        may cause us to temporarily shut down operations;

    --  possible changes in our estimates of site remediation
        requirements, final capping, closure and post-closure
        obligations, compliance and regulatory developments may
        increase our expenses;

    --  regulations may negatively impact our business by, among other
        things, increasing compliance costs and potential liabilities;

    --  if we are unable to obtain and maintain permits needed to
        open, operate, and/or expand our facilities, our results of
        operations will be negatively impacted;

    --  limitations or bans on disposal or transportation of
        out-of-state or cross-border waste or certain categories of
        waste can increase our expenses and reduce our revenues;

    --  possible charges as a result of shut-down operations,
        uncompleted development or expansion projects or other events
        may negatively affect earnings;

    --  trends requiring recycling, waste reduction at the source and
        prohibiting the disposal of certain types of wastes could have
        negative effects on volumes of waste going to landfills and
        waste-to-energy facilities, which are higher margin businesses
        than recycling;

    --  efforts by labor unions to organize our employees may divert
        management's attention and increase operating expenses and we
        may be unable to negotiate acceptable collective bargaining
        agreements with those who have been chosen to be represented
        by unions, which could lead to union-initiated work stoppages,
        including strikes, which could adversely affect our results of
        operations and cash flows;

    --  negative outcomes of litigation or threatened litigation or
        governmental proceedings may increase our costs, limit our
        ability to conduct or expand our operations, or limit our
        ability to execute our business plans and strategies;

    --  possible errors or problems with implementing and deploying
        new information technology systems may decrease our
        efficiencies and increase our costs to operate;

    --  the adoption of new accounting standards or interpretations
        may cause fluctuations in quarterly results of operations or
        adversely impact our results of operations; and

    --  we may reduce or eliminate our dividend or share repurchase
        program or we may need additional capital if cash flows are
        less than we expect or capital expenditures are more than we
        expect, and we may not be able to obtain any needed capital on
        acceptable terms.

Additional information regarding these and/or other factors that could materially affect results and the accuracy of the forward-looking statements contained herein may be found in Part I, Item 1 of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005.

    CONTACT: Waste Management, Inc., Houston
             Analysts: Greg Nikkel, 713-265-1358
             or
             Media: Lynn Brown, 713-394-5093
             http://www.WM.com

    SOURCE: Waste Management, Inc.