Innovation, Sustainability and the future of waste:
Yampa Valley Sustainability Council
Company Overview
©2011 Waste Management
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Approach to Materials Management
• We don’t manage “waste,” we manage
“resources.”
• We focus on developing sustainable solutions
to materials management. These solutions
must be environmentally and economically
sustainable.
• We are striving to minimize our customers’
and our own impacts on the environment,
and to maximize the value of the materials
we manage.
• To be sustainable, our solutions must meet
the varying needs of the communities and
customers we serve across the country.
Our Goal:
To minimize
environmental
impact while
extracting the
highest value
from the
materials we
manage.
Increased Processing for Materials Recovery
249 million tons of MSW Generated in 2010
• 85 million tons recycled or composted
• 164 million tons disposed
174 million tons of MSW is Disposed
27 million tons paper (16%)
29 million tons of plastic (17%)
14 million tons yardwaste (13.7%)
35 million tons of food scraps (14% of
total)
• 15 tons of metal (8.6%)
• 54 million tons glass & “other”
•
•
•
•
Waste = Energy
Our goal is to
optimize the
value of the
waste stream.
Recycling Technologies
Recycling Programs
Waste Management is Investing in Convenient Recycling Programs
2020 Goal = 20 Million tons
In 2010, we recycled over 10 million tons of material.
Single Stream Recycling
• Single-stream recycling greatly increases
participation - on average up to 50 percent
more recyclable materials.
• Helps lower costs and emissions by
reducing transportation while capturing
new volume.
• Employs advanced recycling technology
including magnets, screens and optical
scanners to automate the sorting of
recyclables.
• Improves local recycling programs by
increasing capacity while maintaining
material quality.
E-Waste Recycling
• Fastest growing commodity in the
waste stream.
• In 2009, WM processed 12 million
pounds of e-waste.
• WM operates over 214 eCycling
collection depots North America,
with a goal of having a recycling
center within 20 miles of 95 percent
of the population.
• Founder of the Basel Action
Network’s E-Stewards Program and
adopted the R2/RIOS standards.
Organics Recycling
• WM estimates that 30-35 million tons are organic in nature from the
materials we manage (excluding recycled paper, OCC, wood, YW, FW, etc).
• WM currently manages over 2.0 million tons of organics to beneficial uses
including composting, mulch operations.
• WM currently operated 34 Organics Facilities, has another that will start up
in the next several weeks, and more in the permitting process.
WM’s Vehicle Inventory
• WM has 32,000 vehicles.
• About 18,000 are Class 8 collection trucks.
 Approximately 1,400 of these use natural gas by YE 2011
 Over 1,000 of these use biodiesel
 WM is piloting seven hybrid trucks
• 12,000 support vehicles include large, off-road equipment used at
landfills (“yellow iron), delivery vans and supervisor trucks.
Transportation Investment
WM is transitioning to a natural gas fleet
• Our goal is to reduce our fleet emissions by 15% and improve fuel
efficiency by 15% by 2020.
• With over 1,000 natural gas trucks on the road today, we have the largest
fleet of “vocational” heavy duty natural gas trucks in the waste industry.
We are adding almost 500 more this year alone.
• We are investing in public fueling stations, which help provide the
necessary infrastructure for natural gas fueling.
• Our investment in natural gas displaced 8 million gallons of diesel with
natural gas in 2010. This will grow to 12.8 million gallons in 2011.
Renewable Energy Production
WM is one of the largest renewable energy companies in North America
• Our 17 Waste-to-energy plants produce enough energy to provide power
to 650,000 homes.
• Our 129 landfill gas-to-energy plants generate enough renewable energy
to power nearly 400,000 homes.
• We generate more renewable energy than the entire
US solar industry.
U
WM energy projects create enough energy to power more than 1.1
million homes, displacing the need for 21 million barrels of oil each year.
Looking to the Future:
Conversion Technology Partners
Landfill-Gas-To-Liquids
• A joint venture with Linde North America resulted in the world’s
largest plant to convert landfill gas to ultra low- carbon liquefied
natural gas.
• Carbon emissions are 97% lower than diesel.
• The facility produces up to 13,000 gallons of LNG a day and helps
power our fleet of 900 natural gas trucks in California.
Fifth level 18pt Trebuchet
Harvest Power
• Harvest Power uses
anaerobic digestion to
create clean biogas and
nutrient rich compost.
• Their technology relies on
an enclosed, biological
process that will ultimately
be able to create power,
natural gas or other fuels
from synthetic gases.
• Harvest Power is currently
building their “nextgeneration” organic waste
management facility in
Richmond, BC.
– Fifth level 16pt
Trebuchet
Enerkem
• Enerkem’s gasification technology converts waste materials into a
locally produced green fuel.
• Facilities in Edmonton, Alberta and Pontotoc, Mississippi will each
produce 10 million gallons of ethanol per year. The Edmonton facility
will begin operations in early 2012 and the Mississippi plant is in its final
permitting phase.
• Feedstock includes municipal solid waste, construction and demolition
wood and forest residuals.
• Enerkem has the ability to create fuel and chemicals without petroleum.
Agilyx
• Converts low value, hard to recycle
and contaminated plastics into a
high value, synthetic crude oil.
• Agilyx provides an economical and
environmentally responsible
solution to process mixed plastic
resins from industrial and
residential waste streams.
• The first plant is operating in the
Portland, Oregon area with the
second in the permitting process.
Summary
• WM is investing in clean energy and technologies.. These
technologies will help to create more value from the
material we manage. They will generate renewable energy
and renewable energy that can reduce our reliance on
foreign oil while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
• Many of new technologies are in the pilot phase and will
be ready for “prime time” in the next 3-6 years.
• This is an industry that is evolving quickly. The
technologies are likely to change as they develop.
• There is no “single solution.” We expect to develop a
suite of technology solutions over time.
We hope to work with our local community partners to
divert more material to higher value uses - by recycling
more, creating energy and renewable fuel.
Where do we go from here?
Future Investments
• We expect to see continued investments in new
technologies.
• WM is working to improve the understanding of new
technologies facilitate clean energy programs.
 We are working to reduce the conflicts between solid waste policies,
state renewable energy policies, and federal renewable fuel goals.
 We are working to educate regulators on the technologies and
opportunities for GHG emission reductions.
• We hope to gain support for programs that will reduce our
reliance on foreign oil, reduce GHG emissions and create
local economic development opportunities.
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Closing Comments, Questions?
Scott “Hutch” Hutchings
Manager – Government and Public Affairs
5500 S. Quebec Street, Suite 250
Greenwood Village, CO 80111
303-486-6142, office
303-917-7068, blackberry
©2011 Waste Management
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