Dive Brief:
- Republic Services acquired Tri-County Disposal, a hauler in the Helena, Montana, area, the company confirmed. The deal closed on Sept. 1.
- Tri-County Disposal operates the Valley View Landfill in East Helena. It accepts MSW, C&D materials and has a co-located commercial composting facility. The company has served the area for more than 50 years, according to its website.
- Republic already has hauling operations in other parts of Montana and operates a landfill in Missoula. Grizzly Disposal, another Missoula County hauler, filed comments in opposition to the landfill's transfer of ownership, KTVH reported. That opposition was ultimately unsuccessful.
Dive Insight:
Tri-County collects waste from residential and commercial customers in Lewis and Clark, Jefferson and Broadwater counties. It has a fleet of 30 vehicles, according to federal data. The company offers commercial metal and cardboard recycling pickup services. It also offers roll-off and dumpster services.
Better Roots Composting, which operates on a portion of the landfill, offers a subscription service to pick up food scraps and yard waste in Helena and surrounding Lewis and Clark County communities. The resulting compost is sold back to customers and used as daily cover on the landfill.
The Valley View Landfill was opened in 1988, according to federal records. It accepts about 40,000 tons of waste annually, all of which comes from Tri-County Disposal's hauling, according to public records. Tri-County Disposal also runs a metal recycling operation at the facility.
In a statement, Republic Services said it looks forward to continue serving Tri-County Disposal's customers.
Republic Services has a presence in several Montana communities, including Great Falls, Bozeman and the Flathead area. This is not Republic Services' first Montana acquisition. In 2019, it acquired Montana Waste Systems, which operated hauling services in the Whitefish and Lewistown areas.
Republic Services entered the Missoula market in 2008 with its acquisition of Allied Waste. The Missoula landfill first opened in 1968 and accepts up to 210,000 tons of waste annually, according to Missoula's zero waste plan.
Republic Services CEO Jon Vander Ark said on the company's earnings call in July that executives were focused on smaller acquisitions through the remainder of the year. The company spent $888 million on M&A in the first half of 2025, most of which was part of Republic's purchase of Shamrock Envrionmental.
