Waste Management Announces Solution to Reduce Stormwater Pollution

HOUSTON, April 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE: WM) today announced that it has entered into an agreement with AbTech Industries under which Waste Management will provide SmartSponge® to its customers including municipalities. Under the agreement, Waste Management has become the exclusive waste and environmental services company distributor of SmartSponge® in North America.

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This new product is available now from Waste Management in Los Angeles and will be available soon in additional cities and municipalities throughout North America.

The new product uses an innovative and patented sponge-like material with polymers to filter, absorb and solidify petroleum hydrocarbons. It also removes other pollutants found in runoff from roads and other paved surfaces during wet weather, cleaning or through direct spills.  The product’s registration as an antimicrobial that reduces coliform bacteria found in stormwater, has been approved by the EPA.  Once used, the product can be safely and responsibly disposed of in a waste-to-energy facility as an alternative fuel in the production of electricity or in a landfill as municipal solid waste.

“Our customers will see enhanced compliance with water quality regulations through improved stormwater quality,” said Paul Pistono, vice president of WM’s Public Sector Solutions.  “Stormwater pollution is the leading  cause of water quality problems in the U.S., according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  We can now offer our city and municipal customers a new technology that will help them keep their communities cleaner.”

WM soon will begin offering the new service to its municipal customers in Northern Florida, North and South Carolina and Eastern Canada.

ABOUT WASTE MANAGEMENT

Waste Management, Inc., based in Houston, Texas, is the leading provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services. It is also the largest residential recycler and a leading developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. The company’s customers include residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers throughout North America. To learn more information about Waste Management visit www.wm.com or www.thinkgreen.com.

ABOUT ABTECH HOLDINGS (OTCBB: ABHD) AND ABTECH INDUSTRIES 

AbTech Industries, Inc. (a subsidiary of AbTech Holdings Inc.) is an environmental technologies firm dedicated to providing innovative solutions to communities, industry and governments addressing issues of water pollutants and contamination. Its products are based on polymer technologies capable of removing hydrocarbons, sediment and other foreign elements from still (ponds, lakes and marinas) or flowing water (curbside drains, pipe outflows, rivers and oceans). Smart Sponge Plus contains an antimicrobial agent that is effective in reducing coliform bacteria found in stormwater, industrial wastewater and municipal wastewater. AbTech's Smart Sponge technology is installed in more than 15,000 locations across America and in 8 countries worldwide. For more information please visit: www.abtechindustries.com.

Media
Carrie Griffiths
(603) 929-3350
[email protected]

SOURCE Waste Management, Inc.