WCA Waste

Making waste more sustainable.

Overview

WCA Waste (WCA) provides solid waste collection, transfer, disposal and recycling services in the Southeast and South-Central United States.

With a mission to offer safer, more efficient and sustainable environmental solutions to its more than 700,000 customers, MAM has supported WCA as it has invested in sustainability initiatives across its operations.

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Sector	Infrastructure
Sub-sector	Waste management
Invested	2011
Ownership	91.7%

Headquarters Houston

Reducing trash in landfills

In the course of a normal day, each American can expect to produce approximately 2.24 kilograms of waste¹. Only a third of this waste is currently recycled, with the rest disposed of in sanitary landfills, incinerated for energy recovery or composted¹.

WCA was founded in 2000 aiming to help reduce the amount of waste Americans sent to landfill. Since acquiring the business through a take-private process in 2012, MAM has supported WCA as it has expanded its waste processing and recycling capacity. With a focus on creating value from waste, WCA’s material recovery sites now prevent more than 4,800 metric tons of reusable commodities from ending up in landfill each month – recycling more than 58,000 metric tons of materials each year.

MAM has also actively supported WCA as it has built out a network of gas-to-energy stations. As waste decomposes, gas from landfill can be captured and used to generate a sustainable source of renewable energy. Each year, WCA’s landfill gas plants power more than 6,000 homes across the Southeast and South-Central United States – helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions whilst improving local air quality.

MIRA has supported WCA as it has expanded its recycling capacity

Fuelling sustainability

WCA operates across eleven states, with 1,000 collection vehicles serving its 21 landfill sites, 27 transfer stations, 34 collection businesses and two material recovery facilities.

MAM has supported WCA as it has invested to expand the number of compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles in its fleet, aiming to reduce the environmental impact of its operations. Replacing petroleum-fuelled vehicles, WCA’s new CNG-fuelled vehicles produce up to 20 per cent less greenhouse gas emissions and over 70 per cent less smog-producing pollutants². With MAM and WCA’s management committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving local air quality, the business is prioritising its fleet replacement programme. By the end of March 2019, approximately 16 per cent of WCA’s route vehicles had already been converted to CNG.

MAM has supported WCA as it has expanded its recycling capacity

Creating real value

“WCA is a great example of how an active approach to sustainability can create real value for businesses. Environmental and social values have always been central to WCA’s service to customers and communities, but today our customers and employees care more about protecting and preserving our planet and having a positive impact on our society than ever before. When this alignment exists – between the service the ladies and gentlemen of WCA deliver and what our customers and communities demand – the value proposition is tangible.”

Dianna C. Cervantes, Chief Financial Officer, WCA

WCA is transitioning its fleet of collection vehicles to CNG

Aiming to further reduce fuel usage and emissions, WCA has taken steps to minimise the travel distance and travel time of vehicles in its fleet.

The initiative saw WCA implement its first route optimisation plan in 2014 – utilising technology to help drivers identify the most efficient route to take whilst collecting waste from customers. Route optimisation has further reduced WCA’s impact on the environment, whilst also minimising costs related to wear and maintenance across its fleet.

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