Waste Management announces partnerships with Queen's, Loyalist and Waterloo

Partnerships to promote development of environmental education at leading Ontario post secondary institutions

NAPANEE, ON, June 4 /CNW/ - Waste Management today announced partnerships with Queen's University, Loyalist College and University of Waterloo to promote environmental educational programs at its existing Richmond landfill facility.

"We are very pleased to be working with these leading post secondary institutions to develop environmental education programs that benefit students and their schools as well as help this region become a centre of excellence in environmental management," said Randy Harris, Waste Management's manager of the Beechwood Road Environmental Centre. "These partnerships demonstrate our commitment to furthering the environmental integrity and performance of our current operation and our proposed Beechwood Road Environmental Centre facility."

Queen's University

Waste Management has partnered with Queen's University over the last five years to provide a design project for first year engineering. The theme of the project is to design an energy efficient landfill and waste management system. Waste Management also provides a variety of information to the students, and the project involves a field trip to the Richmond landfill.

"Through the support of Waste Management, our first year engineering students have the opportunity to work on a design project that is truly multidisciplinary. They also learn that the technical aspects of a problem are not the only ones. Waste management often involves difficult social and political issues that may in some instances override technical considerations. The project offers something for everybody, not matter what their eventual discipline choice, and provides an excellent example of the complexities of real world engineering. We are very pleased to have the support of Waste Management in making such a project possible," said Steve McKinnon of Queen's University.

Loyalist College

Loyalist College and Waste Management have developed a placement project for four environmental sciences students per year to carry out regulatory sampling at the current landfill operation for one week in spring and in the fall in cooperation with the existing water and earth sciences consultants. Another program will begin this summer with the development of a database of flora and fauna around the landfill site.

Waste Management is also sponsoring two scholarships for environmental sciences with an emphasis on scholastic achievements and local students.

Dr. Geoffrey Cudmore, Acting Vice-President Academic at Loyalist College said that, " The College is excited about the opportunities the partnership with Waste Management is providing for students in our Environmental Technology programs, and we look forward to the development of other initiatives in the future that will benefit other program areas and students."

University of Waterloo

The partnership with Waterloo involves Master's level research into the performance of wetlands as surface water treatment of runoff from upstream of, and from the landfill. Quantifying performance will enable Waste Management to assess whether installation of this type of system should be a standard part of landfill property design.

"The University of Waterloo is pleased to be a partner with Waste Management. in striving for more effective surface water treatment using wetlands. We are committed to testing fully the ability of these systems to deliver the type of interception and treatment demanded by municipalities and their citizens. We further appreciate the support for our graduate students and the ability to develop innovative approaches to environmental needs," said Stephen D. Murphy, professor and associate chair of undergraduate studies for ERS.

Earlier this year, Waste Management announced the Beechwood Road Environmental Centre which will have new or expanded industrial, commercial and residential diversion and recycling operations to divert as much waste as possible away from disposal. The Centre will also create up to 75 green jobs and provide economic benefits in excess of $1 million per year and additional lands will be set aside for community recreational purposes and wildlife habitat. The facility will also have a new, state-of-the-art, environmentally engineered landfill for disposal of residual waste, and a state-of-the-art landfill gas to energy facility that will convert landfill gas into clean, renewable energy and which will eventually power greenhouses that will be built on the site.

About Waste Management

Waste Management is the leading provider of comprehensive waste management and recycling services in North America. The company provides collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services. We are also the largest residential recycler and a leading developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in North America. Our customers include residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers throughout North America. To learn more visit www.wm.com or www.thinkgreen.com.

For further information: Waste Management, Randy Harris, [phone], [email protected]; Queen's University, Steve McKinnon, [phone], [email protected]; Loyalist College, Dianne Spencer, [phone] ext 2235, [email protected]; University of Waterloo, Stephen D. Murphy, [phone] ext 35616, [email protected]