Dive Brief:
- Washington-based DTG Recycle recently shifted another group of C&D facilities to MCS Recycle, as confirmed by the latter company’s website and phone lines. This includes sites in Coupleville, Freeland and Woodinville, Washington. Neither company responded to requests for comment.
- The recent moves come after Macquarie Asset Management sold DTG back to its founder, Dan Guimont, in February. DTG then announced the sale of four other C&D facilities to MCS in March.
- Following that March transaction, the state’s Utilities and Transportation Commission opened a new document investigation that included a request for data about recent or pending asset sales, the size of DTG’s remaining operations and more.
Dive Insight:
DTG, fueled by $32 million in funding from private equity firm Clairvest in 2020 and a $544 million acquisition by Macquarie in 2022, spent years rolling up the Washington C&D market. Now it appears to be in the process of shedding assets, primarily to MCS.
MCS was co-founded by former DTG employees Mike Sheldon and Matt Dunyon, along with Tanya Westby. It has grown quickly since its initial purchase of another Seattle facility from DTG in 2024 to now include eight sites.
At one time DTG had about a dozen sites throughout the state. A select number closed in recent months, some assets in Tacoma were sold to Waste Connections and another location in Renton was sold to an entity called DTG53. The latter company is managed by Guimont Holdings and now appears to operate DTG’s portable restroom rental business.
Following Macquarie’s sale of the company in February, DTG posted on LinkedIn that “we have fallen short for our employees, customers, and vendors. You all deserve so much better,” adding that “positive change is coming.”
DTG’s remaining assets include a C&D facility in Snohomish, two organics recycling facilities, an unknown number of vehicles and the Rocky Top Environmental landfill in Yakima.
That landfill continues to be a point of contention for local residents, due in part to odors and an ongoing subsurface fire, among other issues. The latest monthly report indicates some improving trends at the site, with a consultant now projecting the fire could be fully extinguished during 2027.
Regulators have also been focused on other DTG sites. UTC previously investigated DTG for allegedly transporting waste for disposal in Snohomish County without the proper certificate in 2023. The investigation could have led to a potential penalty of nearly $3.4 million. A settlement approved on Feb. 9, shortly before the Macquarie transaction, included no penalty but laid out multiple conditions for better managing material at job sites.
This new UTC investigation also questions whether DTG is transporting waste with the proper certificate and asks for broader details about the current business. Attorneys for DTG pushed back on UTC’s information request as overly broad, among other reasons. DTG provided some responses, including a disclosure of its recent facility sales, but did not include any mention of the three latest facilities that moved to MCS.
DTG is also involved in a lawsuit from prior investor Cathay Bank. The suit names Guimont, along with multiple former executives and Macquarie, and asks to recoup $15 million in credit financing. It alleges the parties misled Cathay about DTG’s financial stability, future acquisition plans and the capital costs involved with the Yakima landfill.
Guimont did not respond to a request for comment.
“Macquarie strongly denies the allegations made in the complaint. As this is an ongoing legal proceeding, we are unable to comment further,” said a spokesperson for Macquarie Asset Management in April.
A separate case filed against Macquarie by one of its former employees, Ronalee Balog, alleges that DTG didn’t have appropriate financial controls after it came under the investment firm’s ownership.
Balog alleges that after attending her first board meeting in 2023 she “learned that DTG failed to produce any financial statements, and that DTG’s cash accounts did not balance out,” prompting her to suggest the company’s CFO be replaced. Balog’s complaint, which covers a broader range of alleged employment issues, says she was later removed from the board and eventually terminated.
Macquarie, which declined to comment on the pending case, has filed a motion to dismiss the suit and compel arbitration.
