SAUGUS — WIN Waste Innovations, formerly Wheelabrator Saugus, brought environmental and community groups together for a cleanup in Saugus’ Rumney Marsh Tuesday as part of the company’s Performance for the Planet service and sustainability initiative.
Ahead of Earth Day on Thursday, roughly 50 local students, youth softball players, military veterans, Boy Scouts and individual families gathered in the park adjacent to Route 107 — located across the street from WIN Innovations’ Bear Creek Wildlife Sanctuary — to remove trash and other debris from the area.
“It’s important for the kids to learn to give back to their community,” said Saugus’ Julie Tamburello, who chaperoned a group of students from the Saugus Softball Little League. “They walk down here in this area and it’s important for them to help clean up.”
On April 6, Wheelabrator Technologies announced the integration of 10 major waste industry businesses into a single company operating under the WIN Waste Innovations brand name.
Comprised of the former Wheelabrator Technologies, as well as Stamford, Conn.-based City Carting & Recycling and Tunnel Hill Partners; Londonderry, N.H.-based Charles George Waste Disposal & Recycling; Westboro, Mass.-based United Material Management; Eliot, Maine-based shipyard Waste Solutions; Atkinson, N.H.-based Bay State Disposal; Westchester, N.Y.-based County Waste Management, Inc.; Fitchburg, Mass.-based Fiore Trucking Recycle & Disposal, and West Bridgewater, Mass.-based Noonan Waste Service, the company now operates from Maine to Florida and as far west as Ohio.
A press release from WIN Waste Innovations earlier this month stated that by retaining teams that managed the former brands, the company — which operates a total of 50 collection, transfer and disposal assets nationwide — hopes to broaden and deepen its operational footprint in the Northeast and other markets of strategic interest.
“Today’s cleanup is part of a series of events company-wide to preserve habitats and promote sustainability,” said Mary Urban, WIN Waste Innovations’ external communications and outreach manager. “We’ll be bringing similar events to communities where we are operating as we engage community volunteers and employees in protecting the planet.”
Chris Karras, WIN Waste Innovations’ vice president of northern New England hauling and transfer, said: “Performance for the Planet is about how we reliably and consistently deliver superior waste services to customers, from curbside collection to powering local homes.
“Today’s activity serves as a reminder that everything we do is designed to build healthier communications and have a positive impact on the environment.”
Tuesday’s Saugus cleanup will serve as a project blueprint for other communities moving forward, Urban said.
“We’re going to be doing tree plantings and tree canopies in urban areas, and then we’re going to be down in Florida doing waterway cleanups,” she said. “When all these companies come together to prioritize the environment, then it allows us to deepen and broaden our connections.”
Elyse Carmosino can be reached at [email protected].
