A Valued Community Partner

Waste Management's proposal will help local residents achieve objectives for growth and prosperity through significant financial commitments to Scotland County and the local community where the landfill will be located.

Being an important and valued community partner means that Waste Management must be able to identify what is important to local communities. The company has made extensive efforts to reach out to local leaders and citizens and solicit their input. It also uses research tools designed to develop the most appropriate and effective community relations plan to benefit local operating areas.

Through outreach, data collection and analysis, Waste Management is able to consider the most important factors in identifying the areas where our business objectives intersect with community interest.

Landfills are part of an infrastructure of growing communities just like roads, water, and sewer. Waste Management strongly believes that this project can be an economic driver for the community.

Experienced and Capable
Waste Management of Carolinas, Inc. and Waste Management of South Carolina Inc. employs nearly 1,100 people (North Carolina/South Carolina) and currently operates four MSW landfills in South Carolina, Palmetto in Spartanburg, SC; Richland County Landfill in Elgin, SC; Hickory Hill Landfill in Ridgeland, SC; and the Oakridge Landfill located in Dorchester, SC. In addition, the company owns and/or operates 12 hauling companies, in North Carolina.

Nationally, Waste Management and its affiliated companies operate over 283 landfills - the largest network of landfills in the industry. The company utilizes the most modern liners available, leachate collection, groundwater monitoring, and gas control systems, along with operational procedures that help protect the environment. Each site is maintained carefully, meeting or exceeding federal, state and local regulations.

In addition to providing solid waste collection, recycling and disposal services, Waste Management is a leader in innovative technologies such as landfill gas-to-energy. For example, the company and BMW Manufacturing Corporation cooperated in the construction of a pipeline that sends Palmetto's landfill gas to the BMW plant, where it is converted to electricity and utilized to heat water for plant use. This project, online since 2003, provides at least 25 percent of BMW's total energy needs or enough energy to power 15,000 homes. Waste Management, in conjunction with its partner Santee Cooper Electric, opened in the first quarter of 2006 a Gas to Electric plant at the Richland County Landfill in Elgin, SC. This project provides 5.5 MegaWatts of electricity or enough electricity to power 4,000 homes.

Additionally an affiliated company, WM Recycle America - operates a 40,000 square foot single stream materials recovery facility in downtown Raleigh, NC. This facility serves the recycling needs for many customers and clients of Waste Management from throughout the Southeast USA. The facility saves approximately 5,200 tons of materials each month from disposal in landfills and processes them for use into other products.

Click here to learn more about Waste Management and our innovative programs.