2012 Sustainability Report - Executive Summary - Waste Management

Think Green® Award and the Lifecycle of Innovation
Our investment in innovation reaches into
universities for the best new green ideas.
We partner with scientists on promising and
practical ways to convert waste into resources.
We also see a benefit to supporting the
pipeline of new environmental innovators. As
part of this “lifecycle of innovation,” we have
partnered with Rice University as sponsor of
the Think Green® Award, the world’s largest
graduate-level business plan competition.
Organized by the Rice Alliance for Technology
and Entrepreneurship, the competition
provides funding and guidance for young
entrepreneurs working to commercialize
promising technologies. Waste Management’s
Think Green $100,000 investment prize
is designed to encourage the development
of new and innovative technologies in the
clean tech area, including recycling and
renewable energy.
Since its inception in 2010, the Think Green
Award has been awarded to Biogas & Electric,
LLC, and ReGenerate Solutions, LLC. A startup
from the University of California, Los Angeles,
Biogas & Electric has developed technology
to significantly reduce emissions of nitrous
oxide generated during the combustion of
methane-rich biogas from anaerobic digestion
facilities. Improving the emissions of turbines
and engines powered by biogas can help these
systems generate more renewable energy
while enhancing local air quality.
ReGenerate Solutions, a startup from the
University of Michigan, developed technology
that uses bacteria in a sealed metal bioreactor
to convert food waste — onsite — at
restaurants, cafeterias and supermarkets.
The process converts waste into methane
that can be used to heat water and into
nonhazardous composting material that
can be packaged and sold.
Fueling our future
We are partnering with universities
to find innovations in clean technology.
The sky is the limit!
OUR FUTURE: maximizing value from waste 3