Composting
Composting and mulching are proven, low-cost solutions for managing large volumes of organic materials. Waste Management has 40 facilities that produce compost and mulch products, as well as new composting solutions developed in collaboration with customers. In 2019, Waste Management purchased three new compost facilities—two in the Central Valley of California and one outside of Calgary, Alberta.
We also began selling finished compost out of our new Altamont facility and started commissioning our new Davis Street Organics MRF in Northern California. By the end of the year, we were processing residual trash through this one-of-a-kind recycling facility, extracting recyclables and preparing to move separated organics to beneficial use projects from the facility. Between acquisitions and facility construction, we added almost 500,000 tons of new composting capacity in 2019. The compost produced by these facilities serves several important agricultural and landscaping end-markets.
Waste Management also continues to collect food and organic material generated at the Waste Management Phoenix Open to prevent it from being wasted. Working with our local partners, 14 tons of food were donated to local food banks for distribution, and 123 tons of organics were composted locally in 2019.