Wheelabrator Technologies Inc. | A Waste Management Company

Wheelabrator Works to Reduce Mercury Emissions

November 2003, MILLBURY, Massachusetts-Wheelabrator's outstanding efforts in drastically reducing the mercury emissions from its Millbury waste-to-energy facility have led to great success for the facility. The latest effort culminated with the recent dedication of the new $11 million dollar fabric filter baghouse, an advanced system to enhance capture of mercury emissions.

Over the past three years, mercury emissions have been reduced from an estimated 230 pounds per year to less than 18 pounds per year--a 95% overall reduction. This outstanding result is due to several programs the facility has put in place including the installation of state-of-the-art mercury reduction equipment and community outreach programs.

"The installation of the new baghouse allows us to consistently operate well below the state's extremely stringent mercury emissions limit. We expected to be about half the limit, but we are actually operating at about 10 percent of the limit," said Fred Confalone, Wheelabrator Millbury General Manager.

These improvements were made in response to strict new emissions standards, the most stringent in the nation, put in place by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, and as an on-going effort by Wheelabrator to improve the environment. With the installation of the new fabric filter baghouse, mercury emissions from Wheelabrator's Millbury facility are far below the new state limit.

Long-term disposal contracts with communities served by waste-to-energy plants call for the communities to share in paying for any increase in mandated expenses such as the new emissions limits. Due to a collaborative effort between Wheelabrator, the Central Massachusetts legislative caucus, and the 36 communities served by the Millbury facility, 90 percent of the communities' portion of the expense was reimbursed by the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust Fund. The Fund was established by the state electricity deregulation law adopted in 1998 in which part of Fund money was set aside to help communities pay for mandated upgrades to waste-to-energy plants.

Wheelabrator is also working with the communities it serves to keep mercury out of the waste stream. Over the past two years, by collecting items such as thermometers, thermostats and other items containing mercury in the communities served by the Millbury facility, Wheelabrator has collected and recycled more than 1,600 pounds of mercury. Without this program, that mercury would have ended up in the trash or going down the drain.

In an editorial on the baghouse dedication, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette said that, "Wheelabrator Technologies again has shown itself to be a valuable community partner."

Wheelabrator Millbury Company is owned and operated by Wheelabrator Technologies Inc. (www.wheelabratortechnologies.com), a wholly owned subsidiary of Waste Management, Inc. Wheelabrator Technologies operates 17 waste-to-energy facilities and six independent power plants across the United States.

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