FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J. and HOUSTON, April 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE: BDX) and Waste Management Healthcare Solutions, a subsidiary of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE: WM), today announced an agreement to recycle medical sharps waste from hospitals and other healthcare facilities.  The companies are jointly launching the BD ecoFinity™ Life Cycle Solution, an innovative service that will recycle medical sharps waste and utilize the material to manufacture new products.

Single-use medical devices such as needles and syringes provide clear clinical and public health benefits.  However, hospitals are increasingly concerned with reducing waste and avoiding unnecessary costs.  Drawing upon Waste Management's expertise in the collection and management of medical waste and BD's leadership as a global medical technology company, the BD ecoFinity program will enable hospitals to reduce their environmental footprint and avoid additional costs without compromising patient care. To learn more, visit www.bd.com/ecofinity.

"Our unique integrated environmental solutions increase value by managing materials more efficiently to help lower the costs for our healthcare customers, while maintaining safety and compliance standards," said Mike McInerney, vice president of WM Healthcare Solutions. "We are pleased to be collaborating with BD to move forward our shared vision of safety and sustainability."

"BD's long-term objective is to reduce the environmental impacts of our products at each stage of the life cycle," said Bill Kozy, executive vice president, BD. "The collaboration between Waste Management and BD will help healthcare facilities reduce the materials that go into disposal, and aligns with BD's sustainability vision to reduce the environmental footprint of medication delivery.  We are also working to reduce the use of raw materials, increase the use of recycled materials in new products, and manufacture products in a more sustainable manner."

Based on results of a pilot program at Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego, BD believes that more than 70 percent of its overall sharps waste may ultimately be recovered and recycled rather than be permanently disposed of in landfills. This program builds upon BD's sustainability commitment, which has been recognized for achievements in environmental stewardship.  In Newsweek's 2010 "Green Rankings" of the 500 largest U.S. corporations, BD ranked 2nd in the Healthcare sector and 24th overall.  As part of its commitment to sustainability, BD's worldwide headquarters and three of the Company's U.S. manufacturing sites are offsetting 100 percent of their electricity use with renewable energy through green power purchases and renewable energy credits.  To learn more about BD's commitment to environmental stewardship, visit www.bd.com/sustainability.

This agreement with BD complements Waste Management's comprehensive waste services in the areas of recycling, landfill, waste-to-energy and consulting services. The alliance will also help Waste Management meet its sustainability goals: nearly tripling the amount of recyclables it processes by 2020, and investing in emerging technologies for managing waste.

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 the largest residential recycler in North America as well as 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.  For more information about WM's commitment to environmental sustainability, visit www.wm.com/sustainability.

About BD

BD, a leading global medical technology company that manufactures and sells medical devices, instrument systems and reagents, is dedicated to improving people's health throughout the world.  BD is focused on improving drug therapy, enhancing the quality and speed of diagnosing infectious diseases, and advancing research and discovery of new drugs and vaccines.  The Company's capabilities are instrumental in combating many of the world's most pressing diseases.  Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, BD employs approximately 29,000 associates in more than 50 countries throughout the world.  The Company serves healthcare institutions, life science researchers, clinical laboratories, industry and the general public.  For more information, please visit www.bd.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are information of a non-historical nature or which relate to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties. In many cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential," or "continue," or the negative of these terms and other comparable terminology. These statements are only predictions. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors. The forward-looking statements made in this press release relate only to events as of the date of this release. We undertake no ongoing obligation to update these statements.

SOURCE BD