Talk:Waste Management, Inc.

Renaming article to WM, new logo needed
Should the article be renamed to WM, now that Waste Management officially goes by WM as its brand name/d.b.a name?

Regardless, the new logo which drops the name "Waste Management" and just has the WM monogram needs to be added in place of the current infobox image. Superdadsuper (talk) 22:29, 13 February 2022 (UTC)

Edit request on behalf of User:Pelucidity
I've started a new section on the Talk Page here, so other editors can discuss your proposed edits here with you. Would you please add the edits you'd like to make and the sources below (just like you did in the article)? Pyrrho the Skipper (talk) 16:17, 17 June 2022 (UTC)


 * Pyrrho the Skipper. Thank you.  Here is my suggested edit, which would be under "Environmental record" which I would change to "Environmental policy and record"
 * The edit:
 * In 1990, the board of Waste Management, Inc. adopted an environmental policy applicable to all of its operations, with 14 principles. These included a policy of no-net-loss of biodiversity on the company’s properties. A Waste Management official has described the policy and initial steps of the company to implement it in the Lewis and Clark Law School Environmental Law Journal.
 * Waste Management also took positions around that time in support of legislation promoting hazardous waste reduction (1988), waste export control (1989) , and protection of endangered species (1992). Pelucidity (talk) 12:24, 18 June 2022 (UTC)
 * Excuse me for not signing (I'm new the Talk Page!)
 * Pelucidity Pelucidity (talk) 12:25, 18 June 2022 (UTC)
 * Thanks for coming to the Talk Page, I'm Adding two other editors involved in these suggestions, so they can also address this. I will take a look when I can. Pyrrho the Skipper (talk) 16:20, 19 June 2022 (UTC)
 * I don't really see how the 30-year-old primary sources speak to the company's current environmental policies. --jpgordon&#x1d122;&#x1d106;&#x1D110;&#x1d107; 19:18, 19 June 2022 (UTC)
 * Good point jpgordon. The company was acquired by another company later in the 1990's after the 1990 policy and legislative positions were taken.  I haven't followed what the company did after acquisition, although I see it has a different environmental policy on its website.
 * Note, first, however, that the 1990 policy and legislative positions, in whose formulation I was involved, were unusual and significant. They are historically notable. For example, I'm not aware of any major company whose business impacts land areas at that time adopting a no-net-loss of biodiversity policy or fully supporting the Endangered Species Act.  I haven't suggested added more on this point in an effort to stick with facts readily confirmed by references that I am aware of.  But many in the conservation field found what the company did notable at the time.  Perhaps noting it in Wikipedia will spark more discussion and, perhaps, commitment by companies to no-net-loss or net-enhancement commitments.
 * More to your point, I think it could be a good thing if those reading this page or even editing it were to ask whether the company is currently meeting the level of environmental commitment that it has started on in 1990. I don't have a view on that.  I've long worked in other sectors and on other matter and don't expect to research or comment on it myself.  I am trying to hew to a few solidly documented statements.
 * I could, however, add just one more sentence, something like: "WMI currently posts a different environmental policy on its website and describes various steps it has taken for nature conservation [reference]." Does this serve to address your point?  I am reluctant to write more myself for lack of personal priority and time. I don't desire to support or criticize the current company.
 * Best wishes, and please let me know if this solves your concern. And also, of course, additional edits are very welcome by me.
 * Pelucidity Pelucidity (talk) 21:09, 19 June 2022 (UTC)


 * The shorter version is an improvement over the initial version. The reference 'Environmental Leadership: The Search for Priorities and Power (1991)' is not independent as the author, William Y. Brown, was a Waste Management employee. In fact, this same employee appears in the US House and Senate refs, with the position 'director of Environmental affairs'). If we exclude these non-independent refs, we are left with only the training.itcilo.org ref, which is some sort of training CD-Rom, and a low-quality source in my view. If we can find an additional independent ref to a WP:RS I would support inclusion of some mention of this 1990 company environmental policy, limited to a sentence or two.Dialectric (talk) 03:24, 20 June 2022 (UTC)
 * Perhaps noting it in Wikipedia will spark more discussion and, perhaps, commitment by companies to no-net-loss or net-enhancement commitments. That's not what Wikipedia is for. --jpgordon&#x1d122;&#x1d106;&#x1D110;&#x1d107; 04:09, 20 June 2022 (UTC)
 * Dialectic - Thank you for this. I agree the ILO reference is not the best source.  The company's own annual reports to shareholders, presumably the one for 2020, would be better.  The challenge is that they do not appear to be posted on the Web, but I will look for a better reference and perhaps combine that with the ILO link.
 * I would however, keeping the edits brief as you suggest, still include a sentence referencing the three congressional reports. Each is testimony on the record in Congress and so the statements by Waste Management's witness as to the company's position on the legislation per se are definitive (as opposed to assertions about activities or intentions of the company). And the positions are notable.
 * jpgordan - I would agree that Wikipedia's content should be limited to and largely defined by information that is accurate (with references), will be useful or interesting to a good number of people, and should be relatively succinct. In other words, its content should be what encyclopedias have generally sought.  Perhaps we can leave it there. However, I personally find information to be particularly interesting when it sparks discussion and has the potential to lead to action.
 * In any event fellow editors, here is a two sentence addition I would make in light of Dialectic's suggestion. If you concur, I'll find the better reference before posting:
 * In 1990, the board of Waste Management, Inc. adopted an environmental policy applicable to all of its operations, including a policy of no-net-loss of biodiversity on the company’s properties. [with a better reference combined with a link to ILO site if the policy is not posted with a better reference elsewhere]
 * Waste Management also took positions around that time in support of legislation promoting hazardous waste reduction (1988), waste export control (1989) , and protection of endangered species (1992). [with the same citations as before]
 * Pelucidity (talk) 13:01, 20 June 2022 (UTC)
 * were unusual and significant. They are historically notable. If this is true, then there ought to have been media coverage at the time, right? You might check newspaper archives to find better sourcing for this. Pyrrho the Skipper (talk) 23:28, 20 June 2022 (UTC)
 * Pyrrho - Thank you for this. I've found an online reference to the WMI policy on biodiversity in the 1991 Annual Report of the Council on Environmental Quality. These annual government reports are mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act.  It's a very good source and its inclusion is a good indication of the the public significance of the policy and the several initial steps the company took that are mentioned in the report, including work with the World Wildlife Fund, as well as the position WMI took on legislation.  I hope this combined with the online ILO reprint of the policy (the only place I see the text online) will be considered adequate initial referencing by you and others, noting of course that further editing is always welcome.  With this, I will add two sentences of text back into the page as discussed above, and hope that any changes with be edits and not reverts.  Best wishes.
 * Pelucidity Pelucidity (talk) 22:09, 22 June 2022 (UTC)

Page Update Requests - November 7, 2023
Would another editor be able to help bring some of the information in this article up to date?


 * Logo:The current logo is out of date. A new one is available at the cited source. '''
 * Infobox - Headquarters: The headquarters location in the infobox lists the old headquarters. The current headquarters are still in Houston, TX, but are now in Bank of America Tower. '''
 * Infobox - Headquarters: Since the headquarters have changed, the image of the headquarters is also now out of date. If editors agree that the image should be replaced, photos of the new headquarters are available at the above source.
 * Infobox - Products: In the Products section of the Infobox, Pack-RAT should be removed since it is no longer available.
 * Infobox - Services: Security Services should be removed since it’s no longer offered. This can be replaced with Sustainability Advisory Services.
 * Infobox - Financial Data: Financial data in the infobox is from 2020. 2022 numbers from the cited source are: Revenue - $19.698 Billion, Operating Income - $3.365 Billion, Net Income - $2.238 Billion, Total Assets - $31.367 Billion, Total Equity - $6.864 Billion '''
 * Article Update: In the first sentence of the second paragraph of the article, the numbers of transfer stations, landfills, recycling facilities, and landfill gas projects are out of date. The current numbers from the cited source are: Transfer stations - 337, Landfills - 254, Recycling facilities - 97, Landfill gas projects - 135.
 * Article Update: Renaming the article to reflect the new WM branding has previously been mentioned on this page. The rest of the article could also be reviewed to update the naming, such as in the introductory section of the article.

Thank you for your time! Shistavan (talk) 19:17, 7 November 2023 (UTC)

Reply 7-NOV-2023
Regards, Spintendo  03:30, 8 November 2023 (UTC)
 * 1) The images that you wish to display in the article first need to be uploaded to Wikipedia before they can be added to the article. Please use the File Upload Wizard to accomplish this.
 * 2) Once the images are uploaded and the proper license's are affixed, kindly return to this talk page and open a new edit request (using the  template) and request for the images to be added to the article. The remainder of your request can also be handled at that time. Thank you!

Page Update Requests - November 8, 2023
Since any images related to this request have been added to Wikipedia, I'm creating a new edit request per the note by Spintendo on my previous request.


 * Logo:The current logo is out of date. A new one is available here: File:Logo_for_WM.png'''
 * Infobox - Headquarters: The headquarters location in the infobox lists the old headquarters. The current headquarters are still in Houston, TX, but are now in Bank of America Tower. '''
 * Infobox - Headquarters: Since the headquarters have changed, the image of the headquarters is also now out of date. If editors agree that the image should be replaced, here is a photo of their current lobby: File:Lobby at WM Corporate Headquarters.jpg
 * Infobox - Products: In the Products section of the Infobox, Pack-RAT should be removed since it is no longer available.
 * Infobox - Services: Security Services should be removed since it’s no longer offered. This can be replaced with Sustainability Advisory Services.
 * Infobox - Financial Data: Financial data in the infobox is from 2020. 2022 numbers from the cited source are: Revenue - $19.698 Billion, Operating Income - $3.365 Billion, Net Income - $2.238 Billion, Total Assets - $31.367 Billion, Total Equity - $6.864 Billion '''
 * Article Update: In the first sentence of the second paragraph of the article, the numbers of transfer stations, landfills, recycling facilities, and landfill gas projects are out of date. The current numbers from the cited source are: Transfer stations - 337, Landfills - 254, Recycling facilities - 97, Landfill gas projects - 135.
 * Article Update: Renaming the article to reflect the new WM branding has previously been mentioned on this page. The rest of the article could also be reviewed to update the naming, such as in the introductory section of the article.

Thank you for your time!

Shistavan (talk) 19:26, 8 November 2023 (UTC)

Reply 8-NOV-2023
Regards, Spintendo  20:13, 8 November 2023 (UTC)
 * Thank you for uploading these images, it's much appreciated! Unfortunately, at this time the images you uploaded are too large to be used in the article in a manner compliant with WP:NFCC. The images will need to be resized before they can be added to the article. In most cases, this reduction will occur automatically. After a short while, a bot may resize the image file according to the guideline at WP:IMAGERES. However, if an automatic reduction does not occur in a reasonable amount of time, a manual reduction may be preferred. In that case, please reduce the size of the images by using an image editing program, and then re-upload accordingly.
 * The other portions of your request will be reviewed shortly.


 * I just wanted to follow up on this request. I see that the change to the headquarters has been made, which is greatly appreciated, but the other parts of the request haven't been made yet. The image file for the new logo has since been resized. If the other parts of the request require different sourcing, please let me know and I'll try to find something more suitable.
 * Thank you for your help! Shistavan (talk) 20:59, 4 January 2024 (UTC)

Page Update Requests - February 5, 2024
I just wanted to follow up on my previous requests from November which are still outstanding:


 * Logo: The image of WM's current logo which I previously uploaded has been resized. If someone could please update the logo in the article, the new logo is available here: File:Logo_for_WM.png'''
 * Infobox - Products: In the Products section of the Infobox, Pack-RAT should be removed since it is no longer available.
 * Infobox - Services: Security Services should be removed since it’s no longer offered. This can be replaced with Sustainability Advisory Services.
 * Infobox - Financial Data: Financial data in the infobox is from 2020. 2022 numbers from the cited source are: Revenue - $19.698 Billion, Operating Income - $3.365 Billion, Net Income - $2.238 Billion, Total Assets - $31.367 Billion, Total Equity - $6.864 Billion '''
 * Article Update: In the first sentence of the second paragraph of the article, the numbers of transfer stations, landfills, recycling facilities, and landfill gas projects are out of date. The current numbers from the cited source are: Transfer stations - 337, Landfills - 254, Recycling facilities - 97, Landfill gas projects - 135.
 * Article Update: Since the company has rebranded to WM, could the opening sentence of the article be revised to reflect this? Perhaps something along the lines of, "WM, formerly Waste Management, is a waste management, comprehensive waste, and environmental services company operating in North America." Per WP:COMMONNAME, I've found several news articles from both industry news outlets         and general news outlets            which use WM instead of Waste Management or discuss the branding change to show that the name is now in common use. Would it be appropriate for the article to be renamed?


 * Article Update: Additionally, the article currently has a notice about promotional content and I agree that there is content on here that should be removed. Can the Marketing section please be removed, along with the parts about Undercover Boss and a NASCAR sponsorship from the History section? For the Recycling section, could this be edited down to something like:

As of 2023, WM operated 97 recycling facilities. WM has also participated in recycling-focused initiatives with other companies:


 * LG Electronics for electronic waste recycling
 * Live Nation Entertainment for recycling at sports and music venues
 * PepsiCo for beverage container recycling
 * Valero Energy for waste-to-fuel conversion technology
 * Enerkem for converting waste to ethanol

If there's anything else I can provide to help support these changes, please let me know. Thank you for your time and assistance!

Shistavan (talk) 20:32, 5 February 2024 (UTC)


 * Hi @Shistavan this looks good to me at first glance, but I'll take a closer look and post. --FeldBum (talk) 22:14, 6 February 2024 (UTC)
 * I have reviewed these proposed changes and suggest that you go ahead and make the proposed changes to the page. Looks fine to me so feel free to go ahead and make the changes :) Zippybonzo &#124; talk  &#124;  contribs  (they/them) 14:04, 27 February 2024 (UTC)
 * Thanks, @Zippybonzo! I've made all the changes you approved. But before I try to make any changes to the article name, I just wanted to clarify if that change was also okay to make. Thanks again! Shistavan (talk) 19:56, 27 February 2024 (UTC)

Requested move 31 May 2024

 * The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The result of the move request was: moved. (closed by non-admin page mover) Safari Scribe Edits! Talk! 10:19, 15 July 2024 (UTC)

WM (Waste Management) (company) → Waste Management, Inc. – I suggest we move WM (Waste Management) (company) to Waste Management, Inc. to make it shorter and also because the current name is way too long. Wii nter  U 21:14, 31 May 2024 (UTC)


 * Two sets of parenthesis / disambiguators in the article title makes no sense. Agree with @WiinterU on the title reflecting the legal name of the company in this case. Ptrnext (talk) 06:54, 4 June 2024 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
 * Support: Double disambiguation is messy and more than likely violates WP:ARTICLETITLE. Natural disambiguation is possible. ViperSnake151   Talk  02:50, 8 July 2024 (UTC)
 * Support - The current double disambiguation is unnecessary and confusing and should be changed to either Waste Management, Inc. (the legal name) or WM (company) depending on what the WP:COMMONNAME is. – Brandon XLF  (talk) 03:25, 15 July 2024 (UTC)