Evolving from a strong mom-and-pop hauling business to a professional organization providing waste and recycling collection, recycling processing, expanded specialty recycling, and onsite confidential data destruction services, Pellitteri Waste Systems continues to provide essential services to commercial, industrial, and residential customers throughout Southern Wisconsin.
The Pellitteri tradition of service began more than 85 years ago in Madison, WI, when Tom Pellitteri鈥檚 father, Tony, and his uncles used a borrowed truck to deliver coal and haul away garbage for merchants on Madison鈥檚 Capitol Square. Steady business and a strong dedication to customer service ensured the growth of the business to a point at which the Pellitteri brothers purchased their own trucks and built a respected reputation in the disposal business. Pellitteri was the first company to bring mechanized packer trucks and automated container systems to Madison to reduce the 鈥渂ack-breaking鈥� lifting of 55-gallon drums and GI garbage pails. Tony continued to operate the business, Tony Pellitteri Trucking Service, until his death in 1968, after which it was sold to a national trucking company, SCA Waste Services.
In 1979, Tom Pellitteri and his wife, Michele, founded Pellitteri Waste Systems, Inc., which has become a comprehensive waste disposal and recycling business. They built their business on the principle of always looking for a better way to meet the needs of their customers. Today, the third generation of the Pellitteri family oversees the business鈥檚 day-to-day operations and long-term planning.
Currently serving 44 communities and more than 80,000 households, as well as thousands of commercial accounts, Pellitteri Waste Systems provides waste and recycling collection, specialty recycling services, onsite confidential data destruction, and single-stream recycling processing to commercial, industrial, and residential customers throughout Southern Wisconsin.
In 2024, the company sorted more than 77,500 tons of mixed recycling at its local MRF, recycled almost 27,000 tons of specialty recyclables from manufacturers and industrial customers, hauled over 6,500 tons of construction materials to be recycled, and shredded and recycled more than 1,400 tons of confidential data.
With roughly 170 employees, 110 trucks in their fleet (with CNG vehicles added to the fleet in 2015, and maintenance facilities expanded internally to accommodate the servicing and maintenance of CNG trucks), a materials recovery facility (MRF), and an industrial recycling facility, Pellitteri Waste Systems continues the family business鈥檚 tradition of service.
Growth Strategies
In late 2020, one of Pellitteri鈥檚 largest competitors acquired another competitor in its area, and the company saw a large increase in customers looking to switch to its services, but trucks, parts, containers, and employees were all hard to find on short notice. Fortunately, Pellitteri had built strong relationships with its vendors and had access to everything they needed to bring on the new business growth. 鈥淥ur vendor partners were right beside us, working with us to prioritize our needs because they knew we weren鈥檛 just there for today and wouldn鈥檛 walk away tomorrow,鈥� explains President David Pellitteri. 鈥淲e鈥檝e always looked at our vendors as valued business partners with whom we work hard to develop strong relationships. We shed off vendors we feel are not valuing partnerships and replace them with vendors who take the time to understand our needs and help us fulfill them in the short and long term. Between 2021 and 2024, our revenues increased by 68 percent. We work hard to earn our new customer accounts one at a time, and our vendors helped to provide what we needed to support our growth.鈥�
A recent situation exemplified how having good business partnerships is crucial to long-term growth and success. David explained that he always recommends that communities that go out to RFP give haulers six to nine months to get the equipment, trucks, and communications lined up for a smooth hauler transition. 鈥淭his is essential to the success of the transition to deliver on our mission,鈥� he says. 鈥淥ur families live in these communities. We want to hear great feedback when we meet someone at a kid鈥檚 sporting event that they love the new collection program, not how spotty the service was at first, or that the cart delivery got screwed up. However, in early December, we received a call from a community that was on the fringe of our service area and wasn鈥檛 on our radar. They had awarded a new curbside contract to a hauler starting a couple of weeks later, but the hauler had just backed out. They heard about our good reputation from other communities in the area so they reached out and asked if we could start servicing their community of 1,000+ homes, spread out over 30 square miles, starting January 1st. Our cart manufacturer, Cascade Carts, was able to remove all the prior hauler鈥檚 carts and install our carts before the first service in January. In situations like these, strong vendor partnerships show their true value above a couple of pennies in pricing. Now, we will have a customer for a minimum of 10 years. As an extra kicker, business owners involved with the community are seeing how well we were able to handle the issue and are asking us to service their commercial businesses.鈥�
Facing Challenges
Over the years, labor challenges have limited the ownership team鈥檚 ability to spend time growing the business. For much of the organization鈥檚 history, the team struggled to find experienced drivers because pay and benefits were not keeping up with the market. 鈥淚t took us a while to understand how big this issue was and how it cost us more than we thought,鈥� says David. 鈥淎round 2015, we systematically began increasing our pay and benefits package by adding or upgrading a new program each year. By 2021, we felt we had a top-tier package that could compete with any private trucking company and the local government CDL-level jobs. As part of the plan, we put a truck replacement program in place to keep our fleet fresh and provide the trucks experienced drivers would want to drive. We also remodeled our headquarters to provide a more professional environment and help attract new sales and administrative talent. Our employee count has increased by 50 percent in the past four years, and we are hiring experienced, well-qualified drivers from both our industry and other hauling industries.鈥�
Working safely is one of the company鈥檚 core values. Pellitteri has weekly safety meetings with all employees and bi-weekly management safety meetings to review any recent safety issues or concerns. 鈥淥ver the past 18 months, we have revamped and updated our new driver training program and also added more safety reward programs to ensure we are emphasizing and encouraging employee safety, each and every day,鈥� says Operations Vice President Drew Cochrane.
Pellitteri Waste Systems says battery fires currently pose the greatest industry challenge and risk to its trucks, recycling facilities, and workers. Other recycling facilities continue to experience catastrophic damage from fires that are believed to have begun by rechargeable and lithium-ion batteries. The number of fires will continue to grow if these batteries are disposed of by traditional methods. 鈥淚 serve on a number of committees that are working to create a safe and easily accessible infrastructure for battery disposal in Wisconsin to ensure the batteries are not put in the normal waste stream,鈥� says David. 鈥淭here are answers and solutions available, and we will learn best practices as other states also try different disposal methods.鈥� In the meantime, the company has been running paid campaigns on social media channels to educate the public on proper battery disposal.
right: Pellitteri was the first company to bring to Madison mechanized packer trucks and automated container systems that reduced the 鈥渂ack-breaking鈥� lifting of 55-gallon drums and GI garbage pails.
Working Efficiently
Not only did Pellitteri Waste Systems open a new Data Destruction Division in 2002 to protect customers鈥� confidential information, but the company was also proud to be the first Wisconsin data destruction service provider certified by the National Association for Information Destruction.
In 2012, Pellitteri Waste Systems added a BHS single-stream MRF in Madison. For many years, the third generation of Pellitteris traveled around the country attending the NWRA Chairman鈥檚 Council tours and learning about MRFs, as well as connecting with other industry leaders to learn how to build, design, and run an MRF. Since the build-out of the MRF, the company has had two major upgrades. The first upgrade added robotics and a glass cleanup program. The second upgrade added additional opticals, more robots, and AI technology.
All of the communities they serve now have expanded single-stream recycling collection so residents and businesses can co-mingle and recycle more materials than what is required by Wisconsin law. Recyclables are sorted, baled, and shipped to manufacturers to be made into new products. Items that are acceptable for recycling at the MRF beyond what is required by state law include:
鈥� Paper cups (hot and cold)
鈥� Cartons
鈥� Metal pots and pans
鈥� Shredded paper in clear plastic bags (smaller than a basketball)
鈥� Small metal appliances like toasters and blenders (smaller than a basketball)
鈥� Small metal plumbing fixtures, faucet, valves and short pipe
鈥� Aluminum foil
鈥� Pizza boxes
In 2021, Pellitteri Waste Systems created a new Recycling Solutions Division to provide specialized recycling services for manufacturing companies. Operating in a facility between Madison and Milwaukee, the division has expanded the scope of materials that can be recycled for industrial and manufacturing customers. 鈥淒iverting materials from the landfill and finding reuse/recycling options has always been a priority for the company. By offering more specialized recycling services to higher volume waste generators who can source separate their materials upfront instead of intermingling them, it opens up more marketability of the materials for reuse,鈥� says David. Organizations with large volumes of pre-and post-consumer paper, plastics, cardboard, metals, and other materials can benefit from a customized recycling plan to save money and reduce waste. The company also accepts stretch film/clear bags, electronic waste, ingredient bags, and wood and plastic pallets. They also host e-waste events and refer communities they serve to their local Clean Sweep for household hazardous waste.
Educational Outreach
Pellitteri Waste Systems has developed several educational resources over the years to help customers and communities become better recyclers and divert more unnecessary waste from the landfill. 鈥淲e created more than two dozen short recycling tips videos that can be found on our website and have been promoted through paid YouTube and social media campaigns, and we regularly publish recycling tips on our social media channels,鈥� says Vice President of Sales and Marketing Danielle Pellitteri.
Right: David, Danielle and Tim Pellitteri (far right) accept the 2023 Wisconsin Business Friend of the Environment Award from the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce. Pellitteri won the award for its efforts to educate consumers on proper recycling and invest in innovative sorting technology at its MRF.
In fact, their seven-minute video showing how recyclables are sorted at their MRF is shared with many organizations and schools and shown on MRF tours. In addition, they are featured in a great educational video for kids called 鈥淏ecoming Stewards of Recycling,鈥� and their mobile app and website include a Recycle Right Search Tool, allowing users to verify if items can be recycled. 鈥淲e are proud that our company has been recognized for its educational outreach by several organizations. In 2023, Pellitteri Waste Systems received the Recycling Excellence Award from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the Outstanding Achievement in Education Award from the Associated Recyclers of Wisconsin, and the Business Friend of the Environment Award from Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce,鈥� comments Danielle.
鈥淭he response to our investments in recycling education programming has been great,鈥� notes Marketing Coordinator Joleen Engeseth. 鈥淲e鈥檝e always received a lot of questions about recycling and our availability for in-person presentations. Building up our digital resources in recent years has helped us to reach and educate a much larger number of people, making access to recycling education easy and fun while better using staff time.鈥�
Giving Back
The company also supports many local fundraising events and charitable causes, such as fire/police departments, youth sports teams, non-profit organizations, and community festivals, providing monetary support as well as in-kind service donations. 鈥淎dditionally, last year Pellitteri Waste Systems supported 84 local community programs and raised thousands of dollars for food pantries in Southern Wisconsin as part of its ThanksGIVING Back employee fundraising effort,鈥� says Vice President of Information Technology Tim Pellitteri.
鈥淕iving back to the community is extremely important at Pellitteri Waste Systems,鈥� adds Tim. 鈥淚n fact, it is part of our mission statement鈥攆oster an environment which benefits our team, clients, and community. This isn鈥檛 just lip service; our families and employees live in the communities we serve, so we want to do our part to strengthen our communities.鈥�
Future Success
Pellitteri鈥檚 ownership team believes the company鈥檚 most outstanding achievement to date is transitioning ownership from one generation to the next while honoring its mission and core values. 鈥淲e continue to prepare for our children, the next generation, to have an opportunity to become equal partners in the future,鈥� says David. 鈥淲e鈥檝e evolved from a strong mom-and-pop hauling business to a professional organization providing waste and recycling collection, recycling processing, expanded specialty recycling, and onsite confidential data destruction services to commercial, industrial, and residential customers throughout Southern Wisconsin.鈥� | WA
Mission and Values
Pellitteri Waste Systems was founded on a core mission and set of values, which generations later still guide the business today.
MISSION
To continue the Pellitteri family business鈥檚 tradition of service by promptly responding to customer needs, offering individualized solutions, effectively communicating and following through. These solutions will be environmentally and fiscally responsible. Our commitment to safety, professionalism, and personal growth will foster an environment, which benefits our team, clients, and community.
BUSINESS VALUES
鈥� Be honest and truthful in all matters
鈥� Treat all people as we want to be treated
鈥� Work safely
鈥� Be good stewards of our environment
鈥� Follow all rules and regulations
鈥� Be friendly and positive, promote a spirit of excitement
For more information, visit.
To see their MRF in action, visit.
To see the list of acceptable recyclable items, visit www.pellitteri.com/residential-recycling and www.pellitteri.com/industrial-recycling.