Look around. The landscape of American business—especially in waste management—is shifting beneath our feet, whether you're ready or not. The giants of this industry are swallowing up companies faster than ever before. And here's the kicker: it's not just about hauling garbage anymore. If you’re savvy enough to understand the game, you’ll see it's about mining treasure—secondary raw materials—and turning what others throw away into hard cash.

Forget the old ways. Traditional hauling and dumping? That’s yesterday’s news. Today, if you're still solely focused on collecting trash and tossing it into a landfill, you're leaving piles of money on the table—money that smarter companies are quickly snatching up.

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The New Gold Rush is Here

You see, major players in waste management have opened their checkbooks wide. Just last year, public waste giants alone invested a staggering $10.9 billion into acquisitions—that’s more than double compared to the previous year. Yes, you read that right. Double. It's a fierce competition, and big money is chasing big opportunities, all fueled by the smart business model of extracting and selling secondary raw materials. If you’re running a waste management company, listen closely, because this shift could represent the single greatest financial opportunity of your lifetime.

Take the recent purchase announcement of Stericycle by Waste Management for approximately $5.8 billion—a deal designed to capture a lucrative segment: medical waste. Waste Management isn’t just spending billions to haul away medical waste; they're investing in the capability to convert that waste into profit-generating resources. Smart, strategic moves like this are reshaping the industry and filling the pockets of those who understand that waste can—and should—pay for itself.

[Download the eBook Thriving With Waste]

Why Secondary Raw Materials Are Now the Key

If you aren’t focusing on systems to efficiently separate, package, and resell secondary raw materials, you’re watching your competitors laugh all the way to the bank. Let's be blunt: the real profit margins in the waste management industry today are found in recycling, sorting, and reselling. Aluminum, paper, plastics, precious metals—you name it, there's a thriving market for it, eager buyers waiting with open wallets.

Secondary raw materials are rapidly becoming a centerpiece of the waste management game, largely because these materials offer incredible value on the open market. Companies buying up competitors are specifically targeting those who have already done the hard work—the expensive, heavy lifting—of creating robust separation systems and established markets for these valuable commodities.

Why are acquisitions becoming so intense? Because buying a company that has perfected the sorting, storage, and sale of these secondary raw materials is like buying an operational goldmine. It significantly shortens the runway to profitability. And that’s the core driver behind the record-breaking acquisition trend we're witnessing.

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How the Big Players Are Setting the Trend

Waste Connections, one of the heavy hitters, completed 24 acquisitions in a single year, strategically adding over $750 million to their revenue streams. Why? Because every acquisition brought more secondary material capabilities, more established sales channels, and better margins. They’re buying revenue streams, client lists, and sophisticated recycling operations. They’re smart. And they understand this crucial fact:

Owning the capability to monetize waste is infinitely more valuable than merely moving it around.

Casella Waste Systems has also aggressively jumped into this acquisition frenzy. They snapped up facilities and collection services in three states from GFL Environmental, spending a cool $525 million, instantly adding nearly $200 million in annual revenues. And why did they choose these specific acquisitions? Because the facilities they bought weren't just hauling trash; they were highly adept at sorting, recycling, and reselling valuable secondary materials. Casella didn't buy infrastructure—they bought profit centers.

[Download the eBook Thriving With Waste]

What This Means for You as a Business Owner

You must adapt, evolve, and embrace the lucrative reality unfolding in front of you. For decades, waste management was considered a basic service industry—predictable, straightforward, and, let's face it, dull. No longer. Today, it's about capitalizing on the hidden gold within waste. Your facility, your trucks, your team—everything must be optimized for sorting, identifying, storing, and reselling secondary raw materials efficiently.

Here’s a truth that might sting a little: If you're not already investing in and optimizing your capabilities to capture these secondary raw material revenue streams, your business might soon become a target—not a buyer, but a seller. And when you sell without maximizing your profitability potential first, you lose money—lots of it.

[Download the eBook Thriving With Waste]

Now’s the Time to Act

Implementing systems to separate and sell secondary raw materials isn't a minor adjustment. It's the backbone of what I teach waste management business owners across the country. It's what separates those who merely survive from those who thrive and dominate. The clock is ticking. The M&A market in waste management is red hot right now, and the companies fetching top dollar are the ones who’ve built a solid foundation in the secondary materials market.

Just think—what if tomorrow a Waste Connections, Casella, or Waste Management showed up at your doorstep, checkbook in hand, ready to buy your business at a premium? Would your operation be ready to command top dollar because you've built out profitable secondary raw material streams? Or would you have to settle for pennies on the dollar, knowing the buyer will simply implement the systems you neglected and cash in themselves?

[Download the eBook Thriving With Waste]

Your Competitive Edge: Strategy and Speed

The good news is this: it’s not too late. You can still position yourself advantageously. Begin now by auditing your current waste streams. Look closely at your operations—are you sorting efficiently enough? Are you identifying the highest-value materials consistently? How aggressively are you negotiating with buyers? Have you developed strong, reliable networks of purchasers ready to acquire your materials at premium prices?

Don’t merely ride this wave—surf it masterfully. Business cycles, especially M&A cycles, don’t last forever. This is your window of opportunity to take proactive measures, establish dominance, and make your business irresistibly attractive to potential buyers.

[Download the eBook Thriving With Waste]

Turning Trash into Cash is Not Just a Dream—It’s a Decision

The waste management business is no longer a sleepy industry. It's exciting. It's dynamic. It’s lucrative. Right now, it's creating new millionaires and securing financial freedom for savvy operators who realize that waste isn't garbage—it’s cash flow in disguise.

Those who invest early in robust systems that capture, sort, and monetize secondary raw materials will be positioned perfectly to either dominate their market or command top dollar when acquisition offers inevitably roll in.

What will you choose? Will you act decisively, seize this golden opportunity, and transform your waste management business into a profit-producing powerhouse? Or will you watch from the sidelines as others do exactly that?

The choice is yours.

This is your moment to turn waste into wealth.

Choose wisely.

To Your Success

Sam Barrili
The Waste Management Alchemist