COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Neighborhood Gardens

WIN Waste supports garden projects in our local communities not only for the environmental benefits of additional green spaces — and their carbon capture services — but also so students can take part in environmental stewardship and neighbors have access to fresh, locally grown produce. In urban areas, these gardens and green spaces help combat food insecurity and contribute to workforce development, oftentimes youth. After multiple seasons of WIN Waste support, some of these gardens now provide jobs for underemployed residents who sell fresh fruits and vegetables at community markets and restaurants while sustaining the gardens’ growth and longevity.

Growing Greenspace

Our 16-week summer initiative to revitalize and beautify Baltimore greenspaces successfully incorporated more than 150 volunteers, 20 community organizations, and three Black-owned businesses from the communities we supported. We worked with community organizations and leaders to identify 16 lots and gardens in Baltimore in need of landscape overhaul. Then, every Saturday between June and October, a gritty and determined ground team of haulers, landscapers, and other volunteers removed litter, scaled back overgrowth, added native shrubs and flowers, and planted pollinator gardens and raised beds for fruits and vegetables.

Environmental Justice

WIN Waste recognizes that some of the industrial areas in which we operate now border communities that can be overburdened. We are committed to partnering with community leaders to develop environmental justice action plans that support and give back to these communities. While there is no one-size-fits-all solution, we want to understand each community’s unique history and needs and determine how we can be a better community partner. We contribute to local STE(A)M education and mentor programs through environmental stewardship curricula, on-site visits to our facilities, and charitable support to minimize the technology divide between affluent and low-income students. Using local, small, and often minority-owned businesses to support our community work serves a dual purpose of economically assisting our local businesses and lifting their networks, as well.

DIRECT IMPACT:

In 2022, WIN Waste hosted more than 100 events designed to have a direct positive impact on the communities we serve.

Being a sustainable company means being an excellent member of the community. WIN Waste strives to build and maintain long-lasting, trustworthy relationships in our neighboring communities by:

• investing in research to educate communities using third-party data about our health and safety performance;

• keeping communities informed about our activities, industry, and role in a more sustainable future;

• having dialogue about projects before, during, and after construction;

• committing to understand community needs and expectations and then monitoring and assisting with them;

• providing employees with opportunities to get involved in communities and make our working environment a better place;

• funding community organizations and initiatives through charitable contributions; and

• actively tracking community complaints, determining root causes, and addressing the source of complaints.

Community Cleanups

WIN Waste partners with community leaders and residents to clean and green our communities. We know our communities deserve clean, green, and beautiful shared spaces where flowers bloom, trees cover, and litter is in its proper place. In all the communities we serve, we invest in litter pickup and sustainable waste reduction initiatives to support a healthier, happier community.

In 2022, WIN Waste supported more than 250 local organizations and sponsored dozens of educational and community-building events on themes about which our company is passionate, such as waste reduction, habitat protection, biodiversity, and gardening.