WM acquired Maryland-based WB Waste Solutions, one of the region’s largest private waste and recycling companies, effective May 1. Financial details were not disclosed.
WB provides a range of commercial and industrial hauling and post-collection services in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.
The deal is a “perfect fit,” said Brian Bauman, WM’s vice president of business development, who confirmed it at WasteExpo. Bauman said WB’s commercial and industrial business, plus its network of transfer stations in the D.C. region, complements WM’s current footprint and connects well with the company’s Virginia-based landfills.
A WM spokesperson said the company is “committed to ensuring a smooth transition for all employees and customers.”
WB was launched in 2014 as a joint venture between local waste entrepreneurs Willie K. Goode and Bruce Bates — who’d previously partnered on companies such as Unity Disposal and Recycling and Team Transport — to combine their commercial and industrial assets. During a 2022 interview, Goode said WB stands for “Willie and Bruce, but we call it working brothers.”
Michael Magee joined as a managing partner in 2015. Magee, who previously worked for WM, met Goode in the early ‘90s when WM purchased hauling company Amco, where Goode was a driver.
WB went on to grow through a combination of acquisition and organic growth to create what it describes as “one of the most significant, minority-owned, private solid waste management companies in the country.”
Highlights include scaling operations at the Recycle One C&D facility in Maryland; opening the Skinquarter C&D Landfill in Virginia in 2019, which had an estimated 17 years of permitted capacity left as of 2024; and expanding capacity at the Olive Street Processing single-stream MRF in Maryland. The company also operates other C&D and MSW transfer assets in the area, which receive material from regional competitors. As of 2021, it employed over 200 people and ran 170 collection trucks and tractor trailers
Goode, who also owns the hauling company Goode Cos., confirmed the deal does not include his residential operations in Florida, Maryland or North Carolina. The deal also does not include Bates’ residential operations under Bates Trucking.
WM reported minimal M&A spending during Q1, as it continues to integrate last year’s major purchase of Stericycle. The company recently said it’s on track to spend an estimated $500 million on deals this year.
