Waste Management Corporate History

Written by Samuel Phineas Upham

Harm Huizenga started making his living as a garbage collector, hauling loads off on a cart for $1.25 per wagon full. Business was good enough to pass onto others in the family, and by 1968, Wayne Huizenga had turned Waste Management into a full-fledged company. He built the business by being aggressive. He purchased stake in other garbage collection companies in his areas, slowly buying up territories and work crews.

Within its first four years, Waste Management had made a series of 133 acquisitions worth roughly $82 million in revenue. The company quickly amassed over 60,000 commercial customers and 600,000 residential ones. Waste Management officially became the largest waste hauler in the country when it acquired SCA in the 1980s.

The company had some accounting problems during the years of 1992 to 1997. It cooked its own books in an effort to hide expenses, but with a CEO change in 1997, the company reformed its ways and changed its name to WMX Technologies.

Part of that recovery involved new technology, safety standards and operational practices. Shares in the company quickly shot up until the financial crisis of 2007 and 2009. The company went through a massive restructuring, but managed to regain some of its market foothold during that difficult period.

Today, Waste Management dabbles in recycling and renewable energy, but continues to service its corporate and residential customers. It processes biofuels, construction waste, agriculture and forest waste, and carbon-based feedstock.