Wacker, Anderson send thank you for participating in collection day

To the Editor,The 2015 Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day ranks the best ever!On behalf of Wacker Chemical Corporation and partner Anderson Development Company, we wish to extend our gratitude and thanks to all the county and city participants who took time on Saturday, May 16, to bring their household waste to the Wacker Facility on Sutton Road for proper handling and disposal. Wacker has been providing this service to the community for 18 consecutive years, and each year we expect to receive less materials needing disposal. But according to Hugh Flack, Wacker Director, Regulatory Affairs & Product Safety, it was Wacker and Anderson’s biggest year ever assisting over 735 cars in disposing of waste materials. Despite the overwhelming traffic, up to 45 minutes to drop off household waste and an occasional rain shower, residents and volunteer workers from Wacker and Anderson remained enthusiastic. Residents and volunteer workers kept positive about achieving everyone’s goal: removing potentially harmful waste from entering the environment, making sure it is disposed of properly and responsibly. Mr. Chris Goloe, Anderson Vice President, Quality & Responsible Care added that comments received from those dropping off waste were just one more indication of everyone’s interest in protecting our environment by getting rid of waste before it can enter our environment. Both Hugh and Chris agreed that the support of volunteer workers from both companies contributed largely to the success of the event, and could not be recognized enough for volunteering their time for the good of the community. When Wacker and Anderson first started offering this service, each company picked a day to collect from the community and worked independently. In order to be able to better provide this community service, Wacker and Anderson agreed to join forces and offer the community the opportunity to bring unwanted materials to our respective sites for proper handling and disposal. “We have certainly seen a wide range of materials for disposal. Over the years both of our companies have together invested considerable financial and human resources in helping the community properly handle this waste,” said David Wilhoit, President and CEO, Wacker Chemical Corporation. “Our companies have close ties to the community and are pleased to take in these materials, direct them for proper disposal and avoid unnecessary taking up landfill space. We take great pride in providing this annual community service and look forward to continuing it. Now that Wacker and Anderson have joined forces the community can benefit from our combined resources.” Mark Kramer, President and CEO, Anderson Development Company explained that keeping focused on providing this annual service to our residents is part of an environmental obligation Wacker and Anderson share with members of the community. “As David mentioned in his remarks we have close ties to our community,” Kramer said. “Proper disposal of these household waste materials not only prevents them from entering into our environment, it helps make our community a nicer place to live.” Bryan Alexander, Wacker Corporate Environmental Manager had some early figures to report, underscoring the significance of business and community working together toward a common goal: This year some of the materials handled include:• 60 cubic yards of latex paint — enough to fill a 20’ x 10’ room• Over five pallets of fluorescent light bulbs — enough to fill a baseball field dugout• 1,000 gallons of motor oil — enough to fill a backyard swimming pool• Spent batteries — enough to keep a flashlight going for 50 years• 300 gallons of corrosive liquids• Five gallon bucket of thermometers and Mercury• Aerosols, propane tanks, lighters, old gas fuel and pesticidesEstimated totals for disposal in 2015 are 73,500 pounds of waste. Wacker estimates that at their facility over the past 18 years, more than 450,000 pounds of materials had been collected and properly disposed or recycled.This community-wide event coincided with similar disposal opportunities of other materials sponsored by Lenawee County Solid Waste Coordinating Committee, the Lenawee County Solid Waste Department, Goodwill Industries for Southeastern Michigan, Habitat for Humanity of Lenawee County, the Stubnitz Environmental Educational Center and other valued supporting organizations. Wacker and Anderson also sponsored an event at Stubnitz center featuring free flowers for special contributors, nature walks, and an animal demonstration for children.Thank you to all the Lenawee County residents for bringing in their household waste, program sponsors and co-sponsors and especially all the employee volunteers who worked this event in making it such a huge success.David Wilhoit, President and CEO of Wacker Chemical CorporationMark Kramer, President and CEO of Anderson Development Company