Waste Management Wins First-Ever Corporate Wildlife Habitat Council's President's Award

Published 11-15-06

Submitted by Waste Management

Houston, TX, Nov. 15, 2006 - Waste Management received the Wildlife Habitat Council's President's Award based on the company's wildlife habitat management and environmental education programs at 16 landfill sites across North America. This year marks the first time that an organization has received the award; the previous three winners have been individuals. The award was announced November 14 at the WHC's 18th Annual Symposium in Baltimore, Maryland.

The President's Award was established by the WHC to recognize individuals or partner organizations who have demonstrated leadership in community outreach, conservation education and environmental stewardship.

"We are very honored to receive this award from the Wildlife Habitat Council," said Waste Management CEO David Steiner. "Waste Management is a leader in environmental stewardship, and our 50,000 employees prove that every day. I am proud of the work they do to protect the environment and to educate our communities about conservation programs and appreciate the Wildlife Habitat Council's recognition of those efforts."

At the conference, WHC announced that Waste Management received the largest number of facility certifications from the council for its nine certifications and seven re-certifications of its landfill sites.

"We are extremely proud of the positive difference we are making in communities across North America," said vice president of environment, Greg Cekander. "As the industry leader in waste and environmental services, we are strongly committed to being responsible stewards of the environment. Landfill management practices that work in harmony with nature are one of the hallmarks of Waste Management's environmental leadership."

Waste Management landfill sites in the US that received certification status are:

High Acres (Monroe County, New York) - the 440 acres of wildlife habitat contain four miles of hiking trails and breed several bird species of special concern, including vesper sparrows, bobolinks and grasshopper sparrows.

Springhill (Campbellton, Florida) - the site contains a "green power" generation facility and contains nesting habitats for a number of bird species and ponds and wetlands to provide attractive habitat for American alligators.

Pine Grove (Penn) - the 350 acres of wildlife habitat comprise a mix of deciduous and coniferous woodlands, grasslands and fallow farm fields. The site also includes an environmental education center that will include a nature center, trails, wildlife observation blinds and pavilions.

Austin Community (Austin, Texas) - Enhanced wildlife habitat protection. YMCA Environmental Campers planted a butterfly garden to increase the biodiversity of insect populations and constructed a nature trail through the site.

Ottawa (Ontario) - features owl nesting platforms and nesting tubes for mallard ducks

Richmond (Ontario) - focuses on avian conservation, particularly of wood ducks and bluebirds. Will eventually incorporate recycled materials into the building of boardwalks and benches.

Ste. Sophie (Quebec) - features over 200 planted spruce trees and well-loved horse trails

Magog (Quebec) - incorporates a beaver habitat restoration project in the heavily forested area

Saint Nicephore (Quebec) - contains exclusively native planted species of white spruce, jack pine and sugar maple trees to offsets their endangerment in the region

Waste Management landfill sites across North America that received re-certification status are:

American (Waynesburg, Ohio) - the site preserves 145 acres of wetlands, and more than 415 trees have been planted by school children through its annual tree planting event.

GROWS and Tullytown (Tullytown, Pennsylvania) - more than 3,000 acres are devoted to wildlife habitat management. This was the first Waste Management facility to receive WHC's Corporate Lands for Learning certification for its youth and adult educational programs.

Mill Seat (Bergen, New York) - the natural areas on the property include upland deciduous woodlands, deciduous swamp, successional shrub upland habitat and marshes.

Alliance (Taylor, Pennsylvania) - more than 450 acres are available for wildlife. Participants in its education program help enhance wildlife habitat and track bird diversity.

Blackwell (Sarnia, Ontario) - incorporates park land and wetland communities into the naturalization of the property.

Petrolia (Ontario) - contains an ecosystem for wildlife habitat, providing nesting and grazing for birds and several wildlife species.

Warwick (Watford, Ontario) - contains thousands of planted poplar trees to create an ecosystem for insects, birds and mammals.

The WHC's International Accreditation Program recognizes commendable wildlife habitat management and environmental education programs at individual sites. Certification criteria are stringent and sites must demonstrate that programs have been active for at least one year with a management plan that lists goals, objectives and prescriptions and complete documentation of all programs.

WHC certification adds value to programs by providing third-party, objective evaluation of projects. Waste Management's landfill sites are the only WHC certified sites in North America. Waste Management now has a total of 24 landfills across the continent that are WHC certified and provide more than 17,000 acres of protected lands for wetlands and wildlife habitats, which are carefully managed in partnership with conservationists, universities and environmental groups.

About the Wildlife Habitat Council

The Wildlife Habitat Council is a nonprofit, non-lobbying organization dedicated to increasing the quality and amount of wildlife habitat on corporate, private and public lands. WHC devotes its resources to building partnerships with corporations and conservation groups to create solutions that balance the demands of economic growth with the requirements of a healthy, biodiverse and sustainable environment. More than 2 million acres in 48 states, Puerto Rico and 16 other countries are managed for wildlife through WHC-assisted projects.

For more information, visit WHC online at www.wildlifehc.org.

About Waste Management Inc.

Waste Management, Inc. is its industry's leading provider of comprehensive waste management, recycling and environmental services. Based in Houston, the company serves municipal, commercial, industrial, and residential customers throughout North America.

Visit http://www.wm.com/WM/ThinkGreen to learn more about how Waste Management thinks green.

Waste Management

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.

Waste Management Wins First-Ever Corporate Wildlife Habitat Council's President's Award

Waste Management Wins First-Ever Corporate Wildlife Habitat Council's President's Award

Waste Management

Waste Management

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