History of Republic Services in Timeline

Republic Services, Inc. is a leading North American waste management company. It ranks as the second-largest waste disposal provider in the United States, offering a comprehensive suite of services. These services encompass non-hazardous solid waste collection, transfer, and disposal. Additionally, Republic Services is involved in recycling operations and energy services, highlighting its commitment to sustainable waste management practices.

1910: Wintersburg Structures Built

In February 25, 2022, two of the oldest structures on the Historic Wintersburg property, the 1910 Wintersburg Japanese Mission and 1910 manse, were lost to fire and demolition.

1974: Employee Retirement Income Security Act

In September 2017, a legal complaint was filed pursuant to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

1981: Republic Industries Creation

In 1981, Republic Industries was established as a waste disposal firm.

1995: Wayne Huizenga Becomes Chairman

In 1995, Wayne Huizenga became chairman of the board, and Republic Industries began acquiring auto dealerships and car rental agencies.

1998: Republic Services Spin-off and Name Change

In 1998, Republic Industries spun off Republic Services as an IPO, and then changed its name to AutoNation.

2007: Fine for Hazardous Waste Leakage

In 2007, Republic Services was fined $725,000 by the State of California related to hazardous waste leaking from a closed landfill into San Francisco Bay.

June 2008: Acquisition of Allied Waste Industries

In June 2008, Republic Services became the second-largest waste management company in the United States following the acquisition of its larger competitor, Allied Waste Industries, for $6.1 billion in Republic stock. The merged company retained the Republic Services name.

December 2008: Republic Services Acquisition of Allied Waste

In December 2008 Republic Services acquired Allied Waste for $4 billion according to The Wall Street Journal report in June 2010.

2008: Clean Water Act Fine

In 2008, Republic Services agreed to pay a $1 million fine and up to $36 million in remediation costs for alleged violations of the Clean Water Act at a closed landfill in Clark County, Nevada.

2008: Acquisition of St. Louis Landfills

In 2008, at the time that Republic Services bought Allied Waste, it acquired two closed St. Louis, Missouri landfills, West Lake and Bridgeton. An underground event was detected in the closed Bridgeton Landfill and drew the attention of environmental groups.

June 2010: Wall Street Journal Report on Allied Acquisition

In June 2010, The Wall Street Journal reported that Republic Services’ acquisition of Allied in December 2008 "has been successful from the start", delivering at the high end of the annual savings projected when they did the deal ($191 million), a 27 percent increase in share price.

January 1, 2011: James O’Connor Retirement

On January 1, 2011, James O’Connor retired as CEO of Republic Services after 12 years and was replaced by Don Slager, the then president and COO of Republic Services.

2013: Plans for Barrier Construction at West Lake Landfill

In 2013, Republic Services said it would build a barrier to separate the section with a subsurface smoldering fire from the section with radioactive waste at the West Lake Landfill.

2013: Ocean View School District Blocks Changes

In 2013, the Ocean View School District blocked changes by Republic Services to the Historic Wintersburg property.

October 2014: Republic Services Purchases Rainbow Environmental Services

In October 2014, Republic Services purchased Rainbow Environmental Services, including the Historic Wintersburg property.

2014: Political Donations

In 2014, Republic Services gave $50,000 to Missouri Republicans to their House and Senate campaign committees and $20,000 to House and Senate committees for Missouri Democrats.

2014: Sale of Rainbow Environmental Services

In September 2017, former employees filed a legal complaint regarding the illegal sale of Rainbow Environmental Services to Republic Services in 2014.

April 2015: Landfill Gas-to-Energy Project Opened Near Los Angeles

In April 2015, Republic Services opened a landfill gas-to-energy project near Los Angeles at the Sunshine Canyon Landfill. The 20-megawatt renewable energy project can supply enough electricity to power almost 25,000 homes in the area.

2015: Opening of North Las Vegas Recycling Center

At the end of 2015, Republic Services opened a $35 million, 110,000 square-foot North Las Vegas Recycling Center. The plant's solar panels generate enough energy to run the plant for two to three months. The plant can process two million pounds of recycled paper each day, or 70 tons per hour.

2015: Historic Wintersburg Designated National Treasure

In 2015, the Historic Wintersburg property, which Republic Services acquired in October 2014, was designated a "National Treasure".

2015: Advertising Expenses for West Lake Landfill

In response to criticism that the EPA was not moving quickly enough to clean up West Lake Landfill, Republic Services spent between $10,000 and $100,000 on advertising in 2015, including employing representatives to criticize community activists on social media.

January 2016: Field Support Realignment

In January 2016, Republic Services realigned its field support functions by combining its three regions into two field groups, consolidating its areas, and streamlining select operational support roles at its Phoenix headquarters.

January 2016: Investment in Customer Resource Centers

In January 2016, Republic Services said it would invest $20 million in 2016 to design and implement its Customer Resource Centers in addition to other customer focused initiatives. The company expects the changes to result in a yearly savings of about $10 million.

February 2016: Customer Resource Center in Charlotte

In February 2016, it was announced that Republic Services was planning to open a full-service Customer Resource Center in Charlotte. The facility is expected to create over 350 new jobs, while Republic's investment in the center is projected to be over $6.8 million over the next three years.

March 2016: EPA Releases Studies and Allows Barrier Construction

In March 2016, the EPA released studies that showed the extent of the radioactive waste on the West Lake Landfill site and allowed Republic Services to build a barrier without disturbing the radioactive areas. Republic also must submit plans for a cooling system and enlarge the plastic liner onto the north quarry of Bridgeton Landfill. They will also install more temperature monitors plus two sulfur dioxide monitors to track unhealthy emissions.

April 2016: Consideration of Composting Program in Boise

In April 2016, the city of Boise, Idaho considered the implementation of a composting program, utilizing Republic Services, the company that was already hauling garbage in the city.

July 2016: Launch of Renewable Energy Project in Atlanta

In July 2016, Republic Services and Mas Energy launched a new renewable energy project to serve the metropolitan Atlanta area. The project includes three landfill gas-to-energy facilities in Buford, Griffin, and Winder. As of July 2016, Republic Services operated 69 landfill gas and renewable energy projects.

2016: Dow Jones Sustainability Index Ranking

In 2016, Republic Services scored in the 90th percentile of the Commercial Services and Supplies sector of the Dow Jones Sustainability—North America Index™ (DJSI) and was also named to the 2016 DJSI World and North America indices.

2016: Legal Settlement Reached

In 2016, a legal settlement included a provision that Republic Services “will not use the adjacent ‘Historic Wintersburg’ property to expand any of their operations.”

April 2017: Customer Service Center Opens in Fishers, Indiana

In April 2017, Republic Services opened a customer service center in Fishers, Indiana, employing over 250 workers, with plans to hire an additional 120 during the year. The company invested $13.6 million to renovate and equip office space. The customer service office is expected to create up to 469 new jobs by 2025.

May 2017: Oyster Shell Collection Program Launched

In May 2017, Republic Services launched an oyster shell collection program in partnership with the Alabama Coastal Foundation (ACF) with several coastal restaurants. The goal of the collection program is to create sustainable oyster habitats and to teach the public about the importance of oyster shell recycling.

June 2017: Composting Program in Boise Goes Into Effect

In June 2017, the composting program in Boise, Idaho went into effect. After a little more than one month, Republic Services picked up 1,716 tons of compost from Boise's single-family homes.

August 2017: Release of Sustainability Report

At the end of August 2017, Republic Services released its most recent Sustainability Report describing how well it was able to advance its sustainability initiatives through the Blue Planet program.

August 2017: Deal to Purchase ReCommunity Holdings

At the end of August 2017, Republic Services signed a deal to purchase ReCommunity Holdings, the largest independent recycling-processing company in the United States. ReCommunity operates 26 recycling centers in 14 states, manufacturing reusable items from waste.

September 2017: Solar Energy Project Activated in Massachusetts

In September 2017, Republic Services and Soltage activated a 13.5 megawatt solar energy project in Massachusetts. Constructed on three former landfill sites, the project will include approximately 41,000 solar panels.

September 2017: Republic Services Employee Lawsuit

In September 2017, former and current employees of Republic Services filed a legal complaint regarding the illegal sale of Rainbow Environmental Services to Republic Services in 2014.

2017: Investment in Solar Projects

In 2017 Republic Services invested $29 million in solar projects at some of its landfills and other locations. The company has over 236,000 solar panels at 19 generating facilities in the US, with a total capacity of 80 megawatts.

2017: EPA Superfund Site Identification

In 2017, Republic Services is identified by the EPA as one of four potentially responsible parties for the EPA Superfund cleanup site West Lake Landfill in Bridgeton, Missouri. The site's contents include radioactive waste and was featured in the 2017 HBO documentary Atomic Homefront.

December 31, 2017: Operational Statistics

As of December 31, 2017, Republic Services operated in 40 states and Puerto Rico through 343 collection operations, 204 transfer stations, 195 active landfills, 90 recycling centers, 7 treatment, recovery, and disposal facilities, and 11 salt water disposal wells. Republic also operated 68 landfill gas and renewable energy projects and had post-closure responsibility for 124 closed landfills.

February 2018: Republic Discloses Intent to Sell Historic Wintersburg

In February 2018, Republic Services disclosed its intent to sell Historic Wintersburg for development as a self-storage facility, leading to protests.

2018: Revenue and Industry Ranking

Based on an annual report published in 2018, with a revenue of $10 billion, Republic Services retained the number two position in the industry.

2018: Recycling Capacity Goal

By 2018, Republic Services aimed to add at least 150,000 tons of recycling capacity per year through their "Blue Planet" sustainable initiative.

2018: Appointment of Board Members

In 2018, James P. Snee and Katharine Weymouth were appointed to the Republic Services Board of Directors, resulting in a total of 12 board members, 11 of them independent.

May 2019: Jon Vander Ark Takes Over as President

In May 2019, Jon Vander Ark took over as president of Republic Services.

September 2019: Emissions Reduction Targets Approved

In September 2019, Republic Services became the first US solid waste and recycling provider whose emissions reduction targets were approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative.

2019: Barron's Most Sustainable Companies Acknowledgment

In 2019 Republic Services was acknowledged by Barron's as one of the United States' 100 Most Sustainable Companies for the second consecutive year.

2019: Recycling Simplified Education Program Award

In 2019, Republic Services' Recycling Simplified Education Program won the Best Recycling Public Education Program Award.

May 2021: $7.9 Million Settlement Reached

In May 2021, plaintiffs representing 400-plus former and current employees agreed to a $7.9 million settlement in their lawsuit against Republic Services.

2021: Slager Retirement and Vander Ark Named CEO

In 2021, Don Slager retired, and Jon Vander Ark was named CEO of Republic Services.

February 25, 2022: Fire and Demolition at Historic Wintersburg

On February 25, 2022, two of the oldest structures on the Historic Wintersburg property, the 1910 Wintersburg Japanese Mission and 1910 manse, were lost to fire and demolition.

2022: Recycling Statistics

In 2022, Republic Services reported that it owns or operates 71 recycling centers that process over 5 million tons of recyclables annually, generating revenue through the processing and sale of materials. 81% of the total recycling processing center volume is fiber-based. During 2022, recycling processing centers processed and sold 2.0 million tons, excluding glass and organics, and collected and delivered an additional 2.0 million tons to third parties.