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Jennifer Hartz shares a post and raises the alert on the problem of greenwashing in waste management.  

Fun Facts

Waste Management is the largest operator of solid and chemical waste disposal in the US.

Bill Gates and Cascade Investment owns 34% of the company.

Waste Management earned  profits of $17.4B in 2021, and the stock is up 25% year-to-date.

2/3 to 3/4 of all household waste is recyclable.

My Experience

For years, I have been leaving a Coke for our trash pickup guy. He smiles, waves to me at my office window. He matters.

This job enabled him to take his family to Disney earlier this year!

We always have used the services of Waste Management for both garbage and recycling. We take care to put the right items in the correct bin or barrel. This saves energy, protects natural resources, improves air quality, reduces soil contamination, and decreases the need for new raw materials.

Snail Mail

Recently, we received a snail mail letter from Waste Management, “We will be temporarily suspending residential recycling services due to workforce shortages as result of COVID-19. We will continue to remove contents from garbage carts and recycling bins, but all materials will be disposed of as solid waste.” (i.e. in landfills)

Some might appreciate the offer of “a credit to our account for one month of Recycle Material Offset;” however it does not placate me.  The duration of Waste Management’s not recycling recyclables is unknown.  Further, people will start to change their recycling habits, since sorting is clearly not a priority.

If it were that alone, I’d not be writing this post.

A few days later, Waste Management announced a rebranding for the company. Now, it’s the catchy ‘WMX Technologies Inc.’ – removing the word “Waste,” while dumping more actual waste into landfills. Are they hiding, obfuscating, matching its stock ticker, sending problems to Republic Services, its parent company?  I don’t know, but it is not in line with who they say they are as a company! (See link below.)

Key points include:

• Misleading mission statements
• Corporate accountability
• Bill Gates and Cascade Investment

Read the full article, Astounding Green-Washing from Waste Management, on CorporateHartz.com.