Waste Management is more than Canada's largest recycler - we're leading the way in sustainable recycling solutions. Waste Management has a history of leadership in the recycling industry - as the first major company to offer private homes paper and metal recycling or as the company testing the latest in innovative sorting technologies to make single-stream recycling programs easy and cost effective for commercial accounts.

Waste Management is continuing its role as an industry leader - offering communities and businesses more effective and affordable recycling options as well as providing manufacturers and end users with the secure, consistent stream of high-quality raw materials they need to maintain operational efficiency.

Operating plants that process everything from paper to plastics to electronics to sensitive materials and providing marketing responsibility for more than 190 locations across North America, Waste Management is an ideal long-term partner for both generators of recycled materials as well as mills and end users. Our geographic span as well as the variety and number of businesses we work with provide logistics and marketing advantages that translates into real value. Waste Management is also focused on making it easier for people to recycle - whether at home or at work. For instance, in 2001 we became the first major solid waste company in Canada to focus on residential single-stream recycling, which allows customers to mix recyclable paper, plastic and glass in one bin. Single-stream programs, which are possible thanks to mechanized screens and optical sorting technologies, have boosted recycling rates, recovering up to three times more recyclable materials. With single-stream well underway for residential customers, Waste Management is pioneering the same easy program for offices and other commercial locations.

Another major initiative is our introduction of optical sorting systems to sort glass more efficiently. Using advanced sorting and processing technology, we can remove ceramic and metal contaminants from glass as well as optically separate glass into three colours: clear, brown and green. Automated sorting means we can recover more material and deliver a higher-quality product to bottling and fibreglass manufacturers, which use our material for new glass products. Our glass-processing group has even won an award for innovation in glass processing. This technology is also applicable to mixed plastics.

Single-stream is made possible through the use of various mechanized screens and optical sorting technologies used in many of Waste Management's Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) or recycling plants. With single-stream well under way in residential applications, Waste Management is testing and pioneering the same easy recycling programs for office buildings and other commercial applications.