Re: [GreenYes] Thank Waste Management :>)

[JenGitlitz@aol.com]

What corporate BS!  They are "donating" credits from four EXISTING landfill 
gas recovery programs.  I fail to see how this "offsets" additional 
greenhouse gas emissions due to the Salt Lake City Olympics.  If WM really 
wanted to mitigate or offset Olympic GHG generation, they could (among other 
things):
1) develop additional landfill gas recovery programs over and above what they 
are doing anyway, or
2) implement new yard waste or food waste diversion and composting programs, 
or
3) implement new recycled paper programs.

A whole host of metaphors comes to mind in response to this greenwashing.  
"Bag of hot air." "Gas bag." "Blowing smoke up our --ses."  "Blowhards." Etc. 


Jennifer Gitlitz

Senior Research Associate, Container Recycling Institute

Home office:

1010 Pleasant St.

Worcester, MA 01602

Phone: (508) 793-8516

eFax: (928) 833-0460

e-mail: jengitlitz@aol.com

In a message dated 2/6/02 3:33:51 PM, philfredericks@pgtc.com writes:

<< Waste Management landfills will help keep the Games
"Cleaner and Greener"
2/4/2002  
HOUSTON, Feb 4, 2002 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Waste
Management Inc. (NYSE:WMI) today announced the donation of
all of the 120,000 metric tons carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent
emission reduction credits needed to off-set additional CO2
emissions from the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. Waste
Management's donation is part of the Olympic Cleaner and
Greener Program -- an environmental program that will create the
first games in Olympic history to have a net zero effect on the air
quality of a host city. 

The program, created by the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for
the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, will help mitigate the
environmental impact to Salt La CO2 emissions that are anticipated from the
games -- due to increased transportation, and electrical and
generator use in Salt Lake City. 

"For more than 15 years, Waste Management has combined
state-of-the-art technology with environmental and operational
expertise to cut greenhouse gas emissions from our landfills in
half," said A. Maurice Myers, chairman, president and CEO of
Waste Management Inc. "As one of the largest private holders of
greenhouse gas emission credits, we are pleased to be able to
use this resource to participate in the Olympics through the
Cleaner and Greener Program." 

"By capturing and using landfill gas, Waste Management will help
improve Salt Lake City's air quality by reducing air pollution and
tapping into an otherwise wasted source of renewable energy.
Waste Management has once again demonstrated its status as a
leader in the industry and has been a key partner of USEPA's
Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP)," said Brian
Guzzone, EPA/LMOP Program Manager. 

LMOP is a voluntary initiative designed to facilitate landfill
gas-to-energy projects on a national basis. Waste Management's
landfill gas-to-energy project at its Grand Central Sanitary Landfill
in Pennsylvania was recognized by LMOP as the 2000 Project of
the Year. 
The donations will be made equally from four landfill sites that are
pioneers in emerging environmental technologies for the
management of municipal solid waste. The sites are the
Woodland Recycling and Development Facility in Illinois, the
Outer Loop Recycling and Disposal Facility in Kentucky, the
Grand Central Sanitary Landfill in Pennsylvania, and the
Ste-Sophie Facility located near Montreal, Canada. 

Two of the sites donating emissions reductions credits -- Outer
Loop and Ste-Sophie -- also feature important pilot
demonstrations of Bioreactor technology for the treatment of
municipal solid waste. This technology accelerates the
decomposition of waste and increases the amount of methane
that is produced by the landfill. 

Landfill gas is produced through the natural breakdown of waste
deposited in a landfill. As the waste decomposes, methane gas is
produced. This gas is recovered by a series of wells that are
drilled into the landfill. The wells are interconnected by a common
collection system that transports the gas to a compression
facility. There, the gas is compressed, dried and filtered before
being sent through turbines or engines to produce energy. 

Waste Management currently supplies landfill gas to 69
gas-to-energy projects in 21 states across the United States. 

Waste Management Inc. is its industry's leading provider of
comprehensive waste management services. Based in Houston,
the Company serves municipal, commercial, industrial and
residential customers throughout North America.
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Date: Wed, 06 Feb 2002 14:34:31 -0600
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