22 MiMfg Magazine September 2020
INDUSTRY
Member
Spotlight
Denise Gretz
Area Vice President
Waste Management
Member since March 2003 • Employs 1,200+ Michigan workers • Learn more at wm.com
photo credit: Andrea Kerbuski
Waste Management is fully
focused on the future because one
company’s trash can carry serious
ramifications to the surrounding
communities and environment.
Whether it’s the waste collection
with which most households are
familiar or the many other services
they provide to local manufacturers,
Waste Management’s influence in
Michigan grows as more companies
make sustainability a priority.
“When you manufacture a
product, you also produce a certain
amount of waste. That’s not
necessarily bad when it is handled
properly,” explained Denise Gretz,
area vice president for Waste
Management. “Some might be
destined for a landfill but more
and more of your waste can be
reused to create new products or
21st century energy options that
reduce a company’s overall costs
and carbon footprint.”
Sophisticated waste removal
remains a relatively new service in
America with Waste Management
and other waste removal businesses
only popping up in the last half
century. Their impact, however,
grows every decade.
“Manufacturers understand
their place as stewards of the
environment and influencers in
their community. They have a
responsibility to future generations,”
said Gretz. “Every year, more
leadership teams prioritize
sustainability. They are asking
the question ‘what happens next?’
We can help these businesses
locate solutions and, by being in
lockstep with their waste
collection needs, we can affect
the building of a better world.”
Your brand reputation is
more important than ever and
more vulnerable than ever. With
so many consumers on social media,
one bad day can send customers
scattering toward your competition.
“You can’t be the company
that creates waste but doesn’t
know what happens when it
leaves you,” explained Gretz.
“Sustainability is on the tip of the
tongue for millennials and
younger generations — it’s
something they care about deeply
Denise Gretz and her team know their work
goes beyond a curbside pickup; they are
essential to the creation of renewable energy
solutions that will move Michigan forward.
and they’ll show their loyalty if
they see a business making the
right decisions.”
With better in-house automation,
emerging navigational
technology for their trucks and plans
to lead the way on recycling, Waste
Management helps companies of
all sizes take the right strides toward
understanding and responsibly
managing their waste stream.
“You have to invest in the right
technologies to help eliminate as
much waste creation as you can
in your facility. Be aware of
changing regulations and develop
trusted and transparent relationships
with state and federal agencies.
Finally, you can’t hold your hands
up when your waste materials
leave and say ‘well, it’s not my
problem anymore.’ Understand
what happens to your waste once
it’s left your facility and make sure
it’s being processed in a responsible
manner,” advised Gretz.
If you are not making
sustainability a part of your
overall business plan and setting
goals for a more environmentally
friendly future, you can be
assured that your competition
is. The future is being built now
and manufacturers can and
should lead the way in deciding
what it looks like.
“Our influence is bigger than
just what happens at your curb,”
Gretz said. “When you look at
what we do, we’re kind of an
energy business. We turn waste
and byproducts into new forms
of energy — renewable energy,
emerging landfill processes,
recycling of the future. As
custodians of that material, we
have the opportunity to help
your business go in a lot of
different directions.” 6