Alcoa Announces Winner of “Count the Can” Contest Held at GreenBuild

PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--When Michael Schwartz, an Eco-Solutionist for Waste Management, Inc.’s Green Squad unit, attended the Greenbuild Conference and Expo in Boston a couple of weeks ago, his goal was to see if aluminum could help the movie industry go greener. He didn’t expect to also win an Apple iMac encased in recyclable aluminum. But he did.

“Now I won’t need to take my laptop home from work every day”

Schwartz was one of hundreds of visitors who stopped at the Alcoa booth to discuss aluminum as a green building material. While there, he correctly guessed the number of crushed aluminum cans in a giant recycling bale placed inside the Alcoa booth. Schwartz won an Apple gift certificate for a 20-inch iMac.

“This is a fantastic way to kick off the holiday season. I am thrilled,” said 25-year-old Schwartz, who lives in San Diego. Schwartz has already checked out the local Apple store to pick out his prize. “Now I won’t need to take my laptop home from work every day,” he said.

Schwartz works for Green Squad LLC, a division of Waste Management, North America’s leading provider of environmental and waste services. As an Eco-Solutionist, Schwartz works with customers to develop and implement resource management programs ranging from waste minimization strategies to energy efficiency projects and other process improvements.

“I’m particularly interested in using aluminum as a reusable building material in movie production, so that we can improve the labor efficiency of construction and demolition of each set as well as significantly reduce the amount of wood wasted each time a set is torn down. A specialized aluminum construction kit would be light, strong and modular, which may make it a great fit for this application. In addition, the materials used to build the ‘rig’ could be recycled before and after the studio puts them on the big screen, which creates economic and environmental benefits up and downstream from Hollywood. I think that sends the right signal for our cause,” Schwartz said.

In the meantime, Schwartz is busy setting up his new iMac in his home office.

About Alcoa

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) is the world leader in the production and management of primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum and alumina combined, through its active and growing participation in all major aspects of the industry. Alcoa serves the aerospace, automotive, packaging, building and construction, commercial transportation and industrial markets, bringing design, engineering, production and other capabilities of Alcoa's businesses to customers. In addition to aluminum products and components including flat-rolled products, hard alloy extrusions, and forgings, Alcoa also markets Alcoa® wheels, fastening systems, precision and investment castings, and building systems. The Company has 97,000 employees in 34 countries and has been named one of the top most sustainable corporations in the world at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. More information can be found at www.alcoa.com