Rumpke announces new director of recycling

Rumpke Waste & Recycling, Cincinnati, has named Jeff Snyder its new recycling director. Snyder replaces Steve Sargent, who retired after more than 30 years in the industry.

“Jeff has proven himself a worthy successor for one of Rumpke’s most prominent roles,” says Amanda Pratt, director of communications at Rumpke. “Today, we are excited to announce that Jeff Snyder is now Rumpke’s director of recycling. He reports directly to Rumpke President and CEO Bill Rumpke Jr.” 

According to a news release from Rumpke, Snyder joined Rumpke in 2020 as its senior recycling manager. As director of recycling, he now oversees Rumpke’s recycling division, which includes 12 recycling facilities. His priorities include producing high-quality recyclables, identifying new end users, responsibly expanding the types of material recycled and implementing innovative and economically sustainable technology. He also will capitalize on expertise within the corporate recycling team to drive revenue and earnings while maintaining optimum maintenance, safety and compliance, the company says.

As a member of Rumpke’s senior leadership team, Snyder says he is most excited about empowering his team and others to be successful in their roles. Collaboration with other lines of business is equally crucial, he notes. 

“Rumpke is already a leading recycler. My job is maintaining the successes we’ve already achieved while researching and implementing the right new technology to offer customers, end-users and our environment the overall best long-term and financially viable solutions,” Snyder says.

Before joining Rumpke, Snyder gained years of experience working as a mill buyer, operations manager and recycling plant manager. He earned his bachelor’s in business management from Northwest Missouri State University. He’s a Zenger Miller Facilitator and Lean Manufacturing Trainer and he holds the OSHA 30-hour certification and the OSHA Voluntary Protection Program STAR certification. 

Sargent joined Rumpke in 1989. During his tenure, his responsibilities included oversight of research, innovation, recycling operations and commodity marketing.

Starting with a small buy-back operation in Circleville, Ohio, Sargent and his team grew Rumpke’s recycling efforts to include buy-back facilities, curbside recycling and commercial recycling programs.

“When Steve joined the company, there was a lot of transition going on within the waste industry,” says Bill Rumpke Jr. “Previously, there was no such thing as residential curbside recycling collection, but with the changes in the industry and the demands from our customers, there was a great opportunity to really expand the business within our current footprint, and Steve helped us do that.”

The company says that in 2004, under Sargent’s direction, Rumpke entered the mixed glass processing business at the company’s Dayton, Ohio, facility. In 2013, Sargent also oversaw the $32 million reconstruction of its Cincinnati recycling facility. The 85,000-square-foot, 60-ton-per-hour material recovery facility serves greater Cincinnati; Dayton; Louisville, Ohio; and beyond. 

Today, Rumpke owns 12 recycling facilities, processing more than a billion pounds a year of residential and commercial recyclables. During his time with the company, Sargent also helped guide the company in investing in new technology, like optical sorters and robotics.         

“Steve had such a broad industry perspective, and he was able to pull in all of the right people and help organize the team as they worked toward a common mission,” says Andrew Rumpke, East Area president at Rumpke. “He pulled in the vendors and the Rumpke team to produce quality recyclables that we could successfully market to end-users.” 

In the past, Sargent served as an appointee to the state of Ohio’s Recycling Advisory Council, was a founding member of the Association of Ohio Recyclers, and was a past ODNR Recycling & Litter Prevention Council member. Currently, Sargent is one of the 36 national charter members of The Recycling Partnership’s “Pathway to Circularity Industry Council.”