But for a group of environmental protection managers who work for the Chinese government, one of the main attractions during their visit was Waste Management of Orange County's Irvine facility and Sunset Transfer Station.

On the morning of August 2, district managers Tom Koutroulis and Alberto Guardado and public sector services/community relations representative Chrystal Fennel hosted 13 members of a delegation from China.  The visitors learned about Waste Management's residential and commercial operations, observed the functions of an automated side-loader and toured the transfer station to better understand how trash is received, sorted and processed.

Waste Management representatives also addressed questions from the delegation, which focused on the proper disposal of household hazardous waste, such as batteries, the frequency of collection, how trash and recyclables are collected and processed, what happens at a landfill and the prices customers pay for the company's services.

This trip was the latest in a series of visits from environmental protection representatives from China - the Irvine facility has hosted six other groups of this type during the last five years, said Fennel.  While in Southern California, the delegation also visited the South Coast Air Quality Management District, a wastewater processing plant and other environmental facilities; their three-week tour of the United States also included stops in San Francisco, New York and Washington, D.C. 

"We formed a relationship with the company that organizes these tours for the Chinese environmental officials several years ago," said Fennel.  "We enjoy sharing information about our operations with the delegations, and find it interesting to hear about their approach to environmental services at home."

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