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[TOP 10]: U.S. Waste Management Companies

Works sort recycling on a conveyor belt.

Waste360 ranked the top 100 waste management companies for 2013 in its latest report. We take a look at the top 10. 

10. Rumpke Consolidated Companies Inc.
Rumpke is a facet of the waste management industry and has been since 1932. Based in Colerain Township, Ohio, the company serves several states in the area. The company is still in the Rumpke family, with Bill Rumpke Jr. as its current CEO. He was awarded Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award for 2013.

9. Recology Inc.
West Coast waste management company Recology has been focusing on the proper management of food waste since 1996. The company has several initiatives in place to reclaim food waste through composting and other means. However, it’s the company’s position that the proper management of food waste begins with reducing it altogether.

8. Advanced Disposal Services LLC
Advanced Disposal Services serves a wide variety of customers, from private residences to the U.S. government. However, a big part of the company’s focus is on education. It’s committed to educating the public about landfill usage, proper recycling techniques, and the life cycle of trash. Its education wing is extensive, and promotes more efficient waste management.

7. Covanta Energy Corporation
Covanta’s major focus is on Energy-from-Waste (EfW). It has a number of EfW programs and is a big proponent of sustainability. Through its Clean World Initiative, Covanta is working with local governments and communities to better utilize waste management techniques.

6. Waste Connections Inc.
Waste Connections serves primarily rural and secondary markets and its avoidance of the ultra-competitive urban markets has been successful. They believe their advantage is the streamlined control of the waste stream, since they can provide all the services necessary from in-house, thus driving efficiency.

5. Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd.
Progressive Waste Solutions does quite a bit of business in the home services department. They offer various services, from large dumpsters to collection of landscaping. The company also strives to meet LEED requirements and trains its construction and demolition teams on how to do so. Responsibility is a big part of the business, as well, and they ensure waste is disposed of in such a manner.

4. Stericycle Inc.
Stericycle is a business-focused waste management system that often handles product recalls, hazardous medical waste, and pharmaceutical waste. It also offers brand services with its product recalls as well as returns and secret shopping. Its main goal is to protect brand image and mitigate risks associated with product recalls.

3. Clean Harbors
Clean Harbors specializes in environmental, energy, and industrial waste management services. They offer a wide range of services, including high-risk ones emergency response and chemical packing. In North America, Clean Harbors manages more than 3,000 environmental emergencies annually.

2. Republic Services Inc.
Republic Services is doing something unique when it comes to landfills: it uses a state-of-the-art solar capture system to turn landfills into solar farms. The first solar energy cover is at Tessman Road Landfill in San Antonio, Texas, and generates 9 MW of power, or about enough electricity to power 5,500 homes.

1. Waste Management Inc.
It would only make sense the number one waste management company is the U.S. is simply called “Waste Management.” That’s what they do—and they do it well. A big part of WM’s business revolves around sustainability. From their EfW efforts to its landfill habitats, the company is greener than just its logo. It’s also taken to reducing carbon emissions for its fleet of vehicles.




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