James Ecker

Director of Organics Project Development & Technology @WM

CA

Corporate lead for the technical and business development of traditional and next generation organic waste processing and recycling facilities and solutions throughout North America. Primary focus is on the processing of food waste, yard waste and other organic feedstocks into value added products, such as compost, fertilizers and energy. Since 2012, our team has expanded WM\'s organic waste recycling network to over 45 facilities processing and recycling 3.8+ million tons per year of organic waste. Corporate lead for development initiatives that interface with the municipal water resources recovery sector, including co-digestion of food wastes and the management of residuals and biosolids. Led the development and deployment of WM\'s CORe technology for processing food waste to create a product for digestion at local water resource recovery facilities, which use it to create renewable energy in the form of electricity or renewable natural gas (RNG). We now have long-term programs operating in several major urban areas, including New York City, Boston, Los Angeles and northern New Jersey. In addition to leading WM\'s project development team, I oversee and deploy R&D resources to execute on company initiatives and near to market solutions. This has resulted in several innovations and patents, including USPTO #11,795,090 \"Method For Processing Sewage Sludge Using Pyrolysis To Eliminate PFAS and Other Undesirable Materials\", issued in October, 2024. Provide subject matter expertise on organics management to WM Areas throughout the US & Canada, including strategic planning, technology selection, operations, and partnership development.

Bucknell University

BS Civil Engineering, Civil Engineering

Duke University

Masters Program, Environmental Engineering