Rumpke Waste and Recycling sees record revenue
The company closed out 2024 with $1.2 billion in revenue with the largest recycling centre in North America
Rumpke Waste and Recycling set new records as its 2024 revenues topped close to $1.2 billion, and the company finished 2024 as the tenth largest waste and recycling firm in the country, with the eighth largest vehicle fleet, the sixth most landfills, and the largest recycling centre in North America.
Throughout 2024, Rumpke completed 10 acquisitions including two new landfills, and several hauling operations and customers throughout its five-state service area of Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, and West Virginia. Since 2016, Rumpke has completed 72 acquisitions averaging one a month.
Rumpke expands its services and facilities
Last February, Rumpke purchased waste collection assets from family-owned Sanitation Service, Inc. (SSI) in Effingham, Illinois. The acquisition marks Rumpke's first landfill, transfer station, and hauling operation in the state.
As well, in 2024, Rumpke opened new landfill gas-to-energy systems at its Beech Hollow Landfill and Pike Sanitation Landfill in Ohio and at its Montgomery County Landfill in Kentucky bringing the total to nine landfill gas-to-energy systems. Together these plants supply enough energy for more than 70,000 homes and businesses. Additionally, Rumpke's landfill teams constructed almost 40 acres of landfill capacity.
Rumpke developed new infrastructure including a hauling operation in Delaware, Ohio, a new office and maintenance center in Greenville, Ohio, and new transfer stations in Covington Kentucky, and Cincinnati and Zanesville, Ohio. In total, Rumpke operates 26 transfer stations.
Throughout the year Rumpke added 1,011 employees bringing its total headcount to roughly 4,400. Together the Rumpke team services about 2 million accounts and 471 municipal contracts including curbside recycling services for Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Columbus, Ohio. Throughout 2024, Rumpke forged new contracts with 38 municipalities and renewed 218 contracts.
To meet the demands of its growing service regions, Rumpke added 469 pieces of equipment, pushing its total compressed natural gas units to 663 and the company's total fleet to almost 2,450 units.
The grand opening of the 226,000-square-foot Rumpke Recycling and Resource Center in Columbus, Ohio, was a major accomplishment in 2024. The facility's enhanced sorting capabilities and ability to swiftly recover 99 percent of recyclables at a rate of 60-plus tons per hour set a new standard for single-stream processing in North America. In all, Rumpke's 16 recycling centers processed about 1.3 billion pounds of material in 2024.
Rumpke leaders bring in accolades
The growth was celebrated as Rumpke ownership and the company earned awards throughout 2024. Rumpke secured its place among Deloitte Private and The Wall Street Journal's US Best Company list for the fifth consecutive year. President and CEO Bill Rumpke Jr. was inducted into the National Waste and Recycling Association Hall of Fame, while President Emeritus William J. Rumpke Sr. was honored with the Carl H. Lindner Award for entrepreneurial and civic spirit.
Rumpke continued to climb the Deloitte Cincinnati 100, a ranking of the 100 leading private companies in Cincinnati. The rankings are based on annual revenue, and Rumpke ranked 14, up from 17 in 2023. Rumpke also took home a Smart Business Pillar Award for community service and three Cincinnati Public Relations Society of America Blacksmith honors for social media campaigns, event planning and promotion, and internal communications.
"Our goal is to acquire operations that complement our existing footprint, include essential infrastructure, and facilitate opportunities for more growth," said Bill Rumpke Jr, president and CEO at Rumpke. "We are constantly researching opportunities, but I feel our niche is fellow private or family-owned companies. As leaders of a family company, we relate to those owners and their needs to ensure a smooth transition for their families, employees, and customers. We work with each company we acquire to ensure their distinct needs are met."
"Looking back 2024 was a banner year for Rumpke. I am extremely proud of our team. This new year will mean more acquisitions, more new equipment, and more new infrastructure projects," adds Rumpke. "Through Rumpke's core values of teamwork, quality, perseverance, growth, and responsibility, Rumpke will continue to achieve its mission of delivering exceptional waste and recycling solutions to our customers and communities through a commitment to safety, service, the environment, and the growth of our people."
