Wacker Chemical Corporation celebrates sustainability week, positively impacting the surrounding communities

Every October, WACKER employees celebrate Sustainability Week to generate awareness and inspire community action to protect the environment. The WACKER locations in the U.S. created positive changes by recycling, reducing waste responsibly, donating to and volunteering with local organizations.

To safely collect household hazardous waste from the community, both the Charleston, Tennessee and Adrian, Michigan locations participated in community drives diverting hazardous waste and recyclables from landfills.

In Adrian, 66 employee households dropped off waste at the WACKER facility. This event safely collected 150 gallons of used oil, 4 totes of paint, 200 lbs. of batteries, 40 empty propane canisters, 200 fluorescent bulbs, 2 drums of non-hazardous liquids and over 500 lbs. of used electronic devices.

Charleston employees volunteered at the Cleveland/Bradley household hazardous waste drive planned by the Keep America Beautiful organization to collect waste from their county residents. After 791 households donated, the event reached capacity before the event was scheduled to end.

At Calvert City, Kentucky, employees donated time and materials to help further build the Sustainability Education Center at the Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park. They also coordinated and participated in multiple cleanup efforts to area parks, trails and nature refuges.

In reusing site scrap materials, Calvert City’s location made planters, pavers and bird houses for the Education Center, even tapping into the creativity from employee families by sending home crafting kits to create the pieces.

Since recycling is key to a greener future, WACKER’s Allentown, Pennsylvania and Charleston, Tennessee locations began onsite recycling programs. The Ann Arbor, Michigan location went one step further and contracted with a composting service after replacing throw-away options onsite with compostable offerings.

To reduce consumption, the North Canton, Ohio team eliminated paper in workflows as a permanent change. By becoming paperless, the location will reduce paper consumption and emissions from printers by 30 percent.

Recently, the Charleston location was recognized by the Chattanooga Regional Manufacturers Association with the regional Manufacturing Excellence Award in the Energy/Environment category. This award, announced during Sustainability Week, credits the Tennessee location for a solid environmental program, recycling and waste reduction practices, energy reduction improvements and strategies paired with participating employees.

WACKER views sustainability as more than just a national goal. As a global company, WACKER aligns with the sustainability goals created by the United Nations. At the heart of this UN mission are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries. These SDGs recognize tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests need to be a priority of today.

Clicke here for more information about WACKER’s goals.