Waste Disposal

Whitetail Disposal Corporate Office

Mike Schmidt started off his business in 2006 picking up waste using a single pickup truck.

Today, Whitetail Disposal employs more than 200 persons, picking up waste from an estimated 100,000 residential customers and nearly 2,500 commercial customers each week.

Over the past 5 years, the company’s annual growth has increased by 50 percent. Whitetail Disposal serves counties surrounding Philadelphia, which include Bucks County, Montgomery County, and parts of Lehigh County, Berks County, and Chester County.

Customers were upset when rates were raised in September 2018.

In January 2021, the company fielded 18,293 incoming phone calls.

The company was issued a permit to solicit in late 2020.

Whitetail Disposal maintains a corporate office in Perkiomenville, Pennslyvania.

Willimantic Waste Paper Company Corporate Office

Willimantic Waste Paper Company, often called WillieWaste, was founded in Willimantic, Connecticut, by Patrick DeVivo in 1950. The company began with a single truck collecting refuse. Patrick’s son, James, joined the business in 1960 and by 1970 had taken over the majority of the workload from his father.

The company operates a waste management and recycling plant for several counties in Connecticut. It offers containers for waste and recyclables, roll-off dumpsters, front and rear load containers, compactors for schools and business, trailers, and hook-lift containers; recycling education programs, rubbish & trash removal, recycling services, bulky waste service and disposal, as well as scrap metal recycling, shredding, and document and material destruction; and curbside collection of recyclables, trash, and oversized items.

In late January 2018, a fire destroyed most of the main building and recycling plant, causing the company to temporarily stop operations. Work has resumed from another site, however, and the company said it has plans to rebuild.

Today, Willimantic Waste is owned and operated by the 4th generation of the DeVivo family, with the 5th generation, Ben DeVivo, soon to become a part of the business. Headquarters remain in Willimantic, Connecticut.

Republic Services Corporate Office

Republic Services was founded in the early 1970’s by Rich Van Hattem in Beecher, Indiana. Beginning with one trash truck, Beecher worked the route himself, dreaming of the day he could sit behind a desk and oversee his employees. By implementing innovative ideas, such as establishing transfer stations so trucks didn’t have to make several trips to the dump, Van Hattem was also buying out competitors, thereby establishing Republic Services as a nationwide name.

Starting off with a single trash truck, it’s hard to believe that Republic Services is now the second-largest non-hazardous solid waste management company in the United States.

The company was incorporated in 1996 and grew quickly through mergers and acquisitions. Van Hattem retired in 2009.

In 2008, when Republic Services was the third-largest waste management company in the U.S., the company acquired Allied Waste Industries for $6.1 billion in Republic Services stock. The merged company retained the Republic name.

Today Republic Services has a network of 332 collection companies, owns or operates 191 solid waste landfills, 195 transfer stations, 71 recycling centers, and 69 landfill-to-gas and two solar energy landfill cover operations.

In December 2021, Republic workers went on strike in the greater San Diego, California, area seeking a better contract.

Also in December 2021, Republic announced that it was hiring female sanitation workers, not just office workers.

Republic Services is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol RSG, is a member of the S&P 500, is #278 in the Fortune 500, has 31,000 employees, and had $9.49 billion in revenue in 2016.