Three men sat at the table, facing the three Archuleta County commissioners, to talk about garbage. Or, as it’s most commonly referred to in government and business circles, “Solid Waste”.
The man on the left: Chris Tanner, the owner of Elite Recycling & Disposal. Mr. Tanner served as manager for Archuleta County’s Solid Waste Department for a few years, before starting his own recycling and disposal business.
Mr. Tanner introduced the two gentlemen sitting next to him as representatives of Bruin Waste Management, based in Naturita, Colorado, and currently providing services in a number of Western Slope towns, including Telluride, Ridgway, Montrose, Naturita, Nucla, Norwood, Delta, Grand Junction, Palisade, Parachute, Silverton, and Silt, among others.
Chris Tanner:
“Elite Recycling recently merged with Bruin Waste Management, and one of the things that has come up is — we have some issues at the [Archuleta County] landfill. And we think we have the knowledge and the manpower, and we think we can help you guys improve operations, for the public, and for the waste haulers. And probably make your lives a lot easier.”
The County Solid Waste Department has struggled with numerous issues, over the past couple of decades, most recently with a report of violations from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and challenges completing work on a new ‘cell’ at the landfill.
The two gentlemen from Bruin Waste Management, sitting to Mr. Tanner’s left, were Jeff Kendall, a partner with Laurel Mountain Partners, and Chris Trosper, Bruin Waste general manager.
Chris Trosper:
“I’ve been with Bruin Waste for 24 years now… been in and out of landfills… fully understand everything that’s required and needed. Have good relationships with CDPHE. I’ve been through all the engineering portion of it, and all the fun stuff that nobody likes to deal with.” He mentioned some of the communities Bruin has been serving. He also mentioned that Bruin has experience managing “convenience centers”.
As the discussion unfolded, it became clear that “convenience centers” are what we, here in Pagosa, refer to as “transfer stations”. (We may need to become familiar with the new terminology?)
We then heard from Jeff Kendall, sitting between the two men named Chris:
“I’m Jeff Kendall, and I’m part of the family ownership group that owns Bruin Waste. Over the past seven years we’ve been investing a lot of money into the waste infrastructure, all across the Western Slope. And with this recent partnership with Elite, we look at this landfill as a really critical asset to our vision for our company. And reading your [Archuleta County] Vision Statement, and really, it’s a critical asset for you guys to meet your vision, too. And we’ve been operating in the waste management business for 30-plus years, and have done, probably, more than a dozen landfills in various places.
“We’re confident that, between the operations experience with these two fellows, and our experience — that we can be pretty awesome partners with Archuleta County, to make sure that, you know, the landfill continues to operate in a sustainable fashion for the long term. And we understand how hard it is to do, frankly, when it’s not your primary business and it’s not front-and-center for you. It can be a pain in the ass…”
True enough. The main landfill operation on Trujillo Road and the two transfer stations — one on Trujillo Road, and one in Arboles — are not Archuleta County’s primary businesses. (Lately, it seems that the County’s primary business is building new facilities for County employees.)
As Commissioenr Ronnie Maez mentioned during the ensuing conversation, the County government is not legally required, under Colorado law, to operate a landfill. The Solid Waste Department has been, all these years, a ‘non-required’ public service. And a big headache.
I can understand our BOCC looking at a proposal to take the garbage business off their hands, as a real blessing.
But who, exactly, are these eager out-of-town waste managers who are acquiring waste companies and infrastructure all across the Western Slope? We’ve seen relationships between our local governments and outside businesses turn out just fine… and also, we’ve seen them turn out badly.
Who is Jeff Kendall, for example?
According to internet sources, Mr. Kendall is partner in a business named Laurel Mountain Partners, which doesn’t exactly sound like a “family ownership group” unless he means a “family of corporate investors” who are buying and selling waste management companies. You can read about their recent investment history here… including this statement:
Telluride Waste Services (Bruin Waste)
In 2021, Jeff purchased the solid waste hauling and disposal assets of Bruin Waste Management and the Broad Canyon landfill on the western slope of Colorado. Since the initial acquisition by Telluride Waste Services, the company has purchased and tucked in five additional businesses and is collecting waste from Grand Junction to Pagosa Springs. Today, the business continues to grow both organically and through acquisitions.
A bit more about Laurel Mountain:
Our History
Andy and Don started working together in the ’70s building a successful regional investment bank. Jeff joined them in the early ’80s and they formed Laurel Mountain Partners in 1990. Initially, Laurel developed individual solid waste assets; it acquired a division of USG in an LBO, and then in the mid-’90s began building companies via acquisition and integration of numerous businesses. Four separate Liberty Waste companies were built over the next dozen years wherein over 50 companies were purchased, integrated, operated and ultimately sold either to public companies or to private equity backed firms. Laurel also built the nation’s largest scrap tire recycling business, Liberty Tire Recycling, by acquiring, integrating and operating 45 companies throughout the US and Canada. The business recycled about 150 million tires annually, nearly 40% of North America’s total.
Laurel Mountain Partners sold Liberty Tire Recycling in 2015.
Since 2015, Laurel has continued to build its place in the solid waste management history books. It has built 3 integrated waste management companies (Lewis Clark Recycling and Disposal, Pro Disposal USA, and Telluride Waste Services). Lewis Clark and Pro Disposal both had successful exits and Telluride Waste has become the largest independent waste hauler on the western slope of Colorado. Today, Laurel is focusing on developing assets around Telluride Waste in Colorado and actively looking for the new opportunities.
Obviously, Mr. Tanner’s Pagosa company, Elite Recycling & Disposal, presented the type of opportunity Laurel Mountain is actively seeking.
Is the Archuleta County landfill another such opportunity?
Bill Hudson began sharing his opinions in the Pagosa Daily Post in 2004 and can’t seem to break the habit. He claims that, in Pagosa Springs, opinions are like pickup trucks: everybody has one.