Recycling & Waste Reduction

During the construction of Alliant Energy’s new corporate headquarters in Madison, Wis., in 2000-2002, more than 75 percent of all construction waste was reused or recycled.

The construction plan included incorporation of recycling expectations in the specifications, a well-designed recycling program, constant monitoring, education, adjustments, diligence in locating recycling markets and careful tracking of results.

In total, 6,699 tons of asphalt and 244 tons of fly ash were purchased to use in the building's construction.

Environmental Protection magazine named Alliant Energy’s headquarters their 2003 Facility of the Year. The building was also recognized by the Federation of Environmental Technologies and the Wisconsin Department of Commerce.

Read a case study of Alliant Energy’s headquarters waste management effort [PDF]

Alliant Energy has been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WasteWise™ program for our efforts to company-wide efforts to reduce waste, increase its recycling efforts, educate employees and customers on waste reduction and purchase products from recycled materials.

WasteWise is a free, voluntary program sponsored by the EPA, through which more than 1,200 organizations across the United States eliminate solid waste to benefit the environment.

Alliant Energy earned the honorable mention in 2003 based on our company-wide efforts to reduce waste, increase recycling efforts, educate employees and customers on waste reduction, purchase products from recycled materials and reduce emissions from our power plants.

Alliant Energy has a system to manage its electronic equipment responsibly, and has developed recycling guidelines. Any underutilized computer equipment is sent to the Information Technology Department at its general offices, where the equipment is reused, donated or recycled.

To avoid contaminating landfills with lead, mercury and cadmium from computer equipment, Alliant Energy sponsored a “Recycling Round-up” at Cascade Asset Management in Madison, Wis. Employees and local residents dropped off their personal computer equipment, TVs and cell phones to be recycled.

More than 57,000 pounds (28.5 tons) of electronic equipment were recycled at the April 2003 event, with more than 625 local households participating.

Any equipment in working condition that was dropped off was refurbished and donated to local nonprofit organizations.