Waste Management's Hickory Hill facility earns wildlife certificate
Waste Management's (WM) Hickory Hill Landfill and Recycling Center in Ridgeland, SC, recently learned that it has earned Wildlife at WorkSM certification from the Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC), a national, nonprofit group of corporations, conservation organizations, and individuals dedicated to restoring and enhancing wildlife habitat, for the successful implementation of its comprehensive wildlife habitat management program, which demonstrates its commitment towards long-term wildlife habitat enhancement efforts.
Reaching out to the local community, Hickory Hill formed a volunteer wildlife management team, comprised of employees, citizens, and representatives of organizations such as the LowCountry Institute, a non-profit environmental organization with the mission of promoting effective management of natural areas. For the past five years Hickory Hill's team has worked to preserve and protect a variety of wildlife species living on the facility's property, and the WHC specifically recognized the team for the development of its wood duck program.
"We are pleased to be Waste Management's partner in responsibly managing and enhancing the native habitats at their Hickory Hill operations here in South Carolina," said Dr. Chris Marsh, Executive Director of the LowCountry Institute." We support and applaud the corporate leaders of Waste Management for encouraging environmental stewardship at their sites around the country," Marsh continued.
Hickory Hill will formally receive its Wildlife to WorkSM certification when it is honored by the WHC at its 20th Annual Symposium and Awards Banquet on November 18th in Baltimore, Maryland. Hickory Hill is the first waste facility in South Carolina to gain WHC certification.
"Earning WHC certification for our wildlife management programs is a proud accomplishment," said Russell Hightower, spokesperson for Waste Management of the Carolinas. "At Waste Management we strive to promote environmental accountability and corporate sustainability. In fact, one of our corporate goals is to quadruple the number of our facilities that are certified by WHC by 2020. Because of Hickory Hill's good work we are one step further along to our goal," Hightower added.
Wildlife management and protection is also an important component of WM's 3Cycle Environmental Management Center proposed for Cherokee County. In fact, over 1100 acres of 3Cycle's property will be dedicated to a wildlife preserve, and an Eco-Learning Center will also be on site to teach students and the community the importance of reducing, recycling and reusing waste. In addition to these measures, 3Cycle's other sustainability capabilities include: Singlestream recycling; Construction & Demolition (C&D) recycling; a disposal area complete with a Gas-to-Energy program converting methane gas to clean, renewable energy; eCycling and other recycling capabilities through Waste Management's LampTracker®, eScrapTrackerTM and Think Green From Home® programs; a Green SquadSM to help businesses and communities learn how to become better stewards of the environment.
3-Cycle is committed to helping Cherokee County waste less, reuse more and live better, by ensuring that the latest technology and environmental practices are put into action, such as organizing a wildlife management team like Hickory Hill's. In this way, Cherokee County will attain and sustain its status as an eco-leader and model, "green" county. For more information about 3- Cycle, citizens can visit the 3- Cycle website at: www.3- Cycle.com
Waste Management, based in Houston, Texas, is the leading provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America. Subsidiaries provide collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services.
