Waste Management Announces Expansion of Organics Recycling Services

HOUSTON, Sept. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE: WM) today announced it has acquired a majority equity interest in Garick LLC, a leading manufacturer, marketer and distributor of organic lawn and garden products that will accelerate the expansion of Waste Management's organics recycling services and development of value added organic products.

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Garick's operations will add over one million tons of processing capacity as well as commercial and consumer organic products to Waste Management's organics recycling business, which could lead to the development of composting and bagging facilities at Waste Management facilities throughout North America. This expansion of organic recycling services and products will be beneficial to the company's residential, commercial and industrial customers seeking to convert their organic wastes into products such as compost, mulch and organic soil amendment.

The market for composting services is growing as consumers are increasingly demanding alternatives to conventional fertilizers for lawn and garden care, and municipalities and companies are seeking to increase the recycling of organic materials for beneficial use. Organic compost is considered a part of the green retail market, which has been growing at 20 percent annually.

North America generates over 80 million tons of organic waste each year. In the United States, approximately a third of municipal solid waste is organic, including food, yard and wood waste. Approximately 65 percent of yard waste and 2.5 percent of food waste collected in the United States is currently diverted from disposal.

"We want to extract the highest value possible from the materials we manage. Recycling organics through composting and other technologies that may produce energy, transportation fuels or specialty chemicals enables us to generate more value from this specific material stream," said Tim Cesarek, managing director of Organic Growth at Waste Management. "Combining Waste Management's leadership and expertise in the collection and management of organic feedstocks with Garick's resources, knowledge and experience in yard and food waste composting and retail product sales will be key to developing new, high value-added end markets for organic materials and accelerating the growth of organics recycling across North America."

This investment complements Waste Management's other investments in organic recycling. In January of this year, Waste Management invested in Harvest Power to expand its organics processing facilities across North America and to develop innovative anaerobic digestion technology to accelerate the decomposition of organic materials that may produce renewable energy. In 2009, the company also invested in Terrabon to generate renewable transportation fuels from organic waste via a unique MixAlco™ technology.

"The deal with Waste Management will allow Garick to expand its geographical footprint in both supply and service to our growing customer base," said Gary Trinetti, chief executive officer for Garick. "The ability to leverage Waste Management's existing infrastructure, coupled with their commitment to redirecting organic waste streams to higher and better uses, will help close the loop for our mutual customers in accomplishing their recycling and sustainability goals."

These investments also complement Waste Management's comprehensive waste services in the areas of recycling, landfill, waste-to-energy and consulting services as well as contribute to three of Waste Management's sustainability goals: doubling its renewable energy production, tripling the amount of recyclables processed by 2020 and investing in new technologies for managing waste.

About 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. To learn more visit www.wm.com or www.thinkgreen.com.

About Garick

Garick, LLC, a North American distributor, processor and recycler of sustainable natural resource products, prides itself on its commitment to sustainability and environmental practices. Using food, yard and forest products residuals, Garick diverts and beneficially reuses organic waste streams and creates organic mulches, soils, and other sustainable products, supplying customers with a complete range of products in bags, bales or bulk. Garick's six facilities make nationally branded products including Black Satin® Mulch, Organic Valley® soil, Designated Dryer® sports turf conditioner, HydRocks® soil enhancer, Rooflite® certified green roof media, Kids Karpet® recreational surfacing, Moo-Nure® organic compost and Nature's Helper® soil conditioner. To learn more visit www.garick.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Statements relating to future events and performance are "forward-looking statements" and include statements regarding expansion of product and service lines, development of new facilities, market growth and future contributions to sustainability goals. Forward-looking statements are often identified by the words, "will," "may," "should," "continue," "anticipate," "believe," "expect," "plan," "forecast," "project," "estimate," intend" and words of similar nature. You should view these statements with caution. They are based on the facts and circumstances known to us as of the date the statements are made. A number of risks and uncertainties, either alone or taken together, could have a material adverse effect on us and could cause actual results to be materially different from those set forth in such forward-looking statement. Some of these risks and uncertainties are described in detail in Waste Management's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of future events, circumstances or developments or otherwise.

SOURCE Waste Management, Inc.