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Waste Industries company history timeline

1970

The company Waste Industries was incorporated in December of 1970.

Lonnie C. Poole Jr., a graduate from NC State University, founded the company in 1970.

1971

Jim W. Perry, who earned an engineering degree from North Carolina State before becoming a missile launch officer for the Air Force, joined the company in 1971 as its first employee.

The company’s first employee, Jim Perry, was hired at the beginning of 1971.

1972

In 1972, Waste Industries started collecting corrugated cardboard for recycling.

1973

In 1973, Waste Industries expanded outside of Raleigh and Wake County and into the New Hanover and Vance counties while forming Kabco, a waste equipment sales company.

1976

1976 – RCRA Subtitle C covered management and disposal of hazardous waste.

1979

By 1979, the company exited the landfill business completely and solely concentrated on trash pickup.

1980

By 1980, the company’s revenues reached $10 million.

1985

1985 – Congress strengthened RCRA when it passed the Federal Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA). The amendments focused on “waste minimization and phasing out land disposal of hazardous waste as well as corrective action for releases.”

1986

1986 – Fresh Kills, a landfill on Staten Island, opened.

1987

Perry, the first employee, was named president and chief operating officer of the company in 1987.

1988

1988 – Medical waste from the Fresh Kills landfill began washing up on nearby beaches, littering them with “syringes, hospital waste, and blood vials.” The incident was referred to as the “Syringe Tide.”

1988 – Congress passed the Medical Waste Tracking Act of 1988 (MWTA) in response to the Syringe Tide.

1990

Waste Industries went on an acquisition binge in 1990.

1990: Waste Industries begins buying up other companies left and right.

1991

1991 – MWTA expired, and states were responsible for passing their own laws regarding regulated medical waste storage, transportation, tracking, and disposal.

1996

In 1996, TransAmerican Waste Industries Inc., a Houston based company, offered to buy the company from Poole for $150 million in cash and stocks.

1997

The company launched its initial public offering (IPO) on May 14, 1997.

Earnings for 1997 were $6 million on revenues of $116 million.

1997 – The EPA released rules to set standards for hospital/medical/infectious waste incinerators.

By 1997, Waste Industries had 20 branch collection operations, 11 transfer stations, and 4 recycling facilities that served 150,000 municipal, residential, commercial, and industrial locations.

1998

The Poole family owned about 54 percent of shares after the offering, worth $135 million in 1998.

1999

Waste Industries signed a lease for the top floor of a new Raleigh office building in October 1999.

Damage by two hurricanes pushed down earnings and share price in the second half of 1999.

Waste Industires had begun buying landfills again in 1999, mostly to prevent other private companies from controlling the rates it paid.

Commercial and industrial customers accounted for more than two-thirds of volume, noted Barron's. It continued to expand in North Carolina and Georgia in 1999.

2000

In June 2000, Waste Industries traded two of its collections operations in Tennessee and Georgia, as well as an interest in an Alabama landfill, for a landfill and collection operation in eastern North Carolina from Allied Waste Industries.

In 2000, the company completed a project that replaced its satellite-based network with web-based e-mail and data transmission.

In 2000, it was beginning to plan its pickup routes using sophisticated planning software.

As the company turned 30 in 2000, Poole told Waste Age that one of the keys to its success was employees who could do "extraordinary work in a very ordinary business." He also acknowledged the particular effort required to make garbage haulers feel good about their jobs.

2001

Waste Industries merged with the newly created Waste Industries MergeCo to form a new holding company, Waste Holdings, Inc., in April 2001.

2018

2018 – Improper (and illegal) medical waste disposal is an international concern.

2021

In Fall 2021, Wanda will begin her Master Jurisprudence in Health Law and Policy at Texas A&M University.

2022

© 2022 Sharps Compliance, Inc.

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Waste Industries competitors

Company nameFounded dateRevenueEmployee sizeJob openings
Usa Hauling & Recycling Inc-$64.2M50-
Rumpke Waste & Recycling1932$500.0M2,107143
Advanced Disposal Services2000$1.6B5,400-
Texas Disposal Systems1977$110.0M52749
American Disposal Services2000$350.0M1,351-
E.L. Harvey & Sons1911$109.6M100-
Terra Renewal Services1995$15.0M350-
Mahoney Environmental1953$200,000732
JUNK KING2005$4.2M759

Waste Industries history FAQs

Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Waste Industries, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Waste Industries. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Waste Industries. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Waste Industries. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Waste Industries and its employees or that of Zippia.

Waste Industries may also be known as or be related to Waste Industries, Waste Industries USA Inc and Waste Industries USA, Inc.