Waste Management Continues To Help Keep America Beautiful Improve Community Environments Across The Nation

- Waste Management Awards 10 Think Green® Grants to KAB Affiliates for Innovative Projects and Programs -

Stamford, CT /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- National nonprofit Keep America Beautiful (KAB) announced today that Waste Management (NYSE: WM) has awarded $10,000 individual grants to 10 KAB affiliates. The Waste Management Think Green® Grants are awarded to encourage community sustainability through local environmental efforts.

The merit-based Waste Management Think Green® Grants are awarded to KAB affiliates that have designed programs to increase local recycling efforts, expand public environmental education, or enhance local beautification and community greening initiatives. Waste Management has provided support for more than 100 KAB community solution-based projects over the past eight years through its grants programs.

Keep America Beautiful affiliates are able to maximize the potential of their community improvement projects, thanks to the support of Waste Management Think Green® Grants.  For example, Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful in Duluth, Ga., and Greensboro Beautiful, Greensboro, N.C., are establishing school-based recycling programs; Hot Springs/Garland County Beautification in Hot Springs, Ark., is working on reducing the amount of pharmaceutical and personal care waste entering the local water system; and Keep Winston-Salem Beautiful, Winston-Salem, N.C., will plant hundreds of trees along the Newell/Massey Greenway and New Walkertown Road in East Winston-Salem as part of its next Community Roots Day.

Waste Management is an active supporter in many of KAB's national programs, including the Great American Cleanup, America Recycles Day and RecycleMania.

"Keep America Beautiful applauds the work of all of this year's grant winners, and their continuing efforts to create and sustain greener, more vibrant communities," said Keep America Beautiful President and CEO Matthew M. McKenna. "We're thankful to Waste Management for their ongoing partnership and transformative support of America's communities through the Think Green Grant program."

"Waste Management, KAB and its affiliates share the common goal of providing sustainable environmental and beautification programs that help enhance the quality of life of the communities we serve. So we are pleased once again to support KAB's affiliate network and the vital work they do," said Barry Caldwell, WM senior vice president and chief communications officer and past KAB chairman of the board.

The KAB affiliate 2012 Waste Management Think Green® Grants recipients are:

Greensboro Beautiful, Greensboro, N.C.
Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful, Inc., Duluth, Ga.
Hampton Clean City, Hampton, Va.
Hot Springs/Garland County Beautification, Hot Springs, Ark.
Keep Forth Worth Beautiful, Fort Worth, Texas
Keep Greenville County Beautiful, Greenville, S.C.
Keep Jackson Beautiful, Inc., Jackson, Miss.
Keep Pearland Beautiful, Pearland, Texas
Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful, Reno, Nev.
Keep Winston-Salem Beautiful, Winston-Salem, N.C.

About Keep America Beautiful
Keep America Beautiful, Inc., established in 1953, is the nation's largest volunteer-based community action and education organization. This national nonprofit forms public-private partnerships and programs that engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community environments. For additional information, visit www.kab.org

About Waste Management
Waste Management, based in Houston, Texas, is the leading provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services. It is the largest residential recycler and also a leading developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. The company's customers include residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers throughout North America. To learn more about Waste Management visit www.wm.com or www.thinkgreen.com.