Rainbow Disposal says its innovative team and commitment to zero waste have proved successful.

Trash and trash pickup will be undergoing massive changes in the next 10 years with solid waste issues coming to the forefront, according to Bruce Shuman, co-president and CEO of Rainbow Disposal Co. As these problems persist, progressive states like California are taking action.

Although new regulations for waste collection and recycling centers are years away from taking effect, Rainbow Disposal is already working to find alternative means of dealing with trash. “It is a goal established at the policy level, but not yet at the regulatory and rule level,” Shuman says. “With that kind of goal, we’ll see over the next several years, through a series of legislative mandates and policies, a move toward zero waste. We’re going to move away from sending trash to landfills like Europe. Why continue to waste resources by burying them?”

Rainbow Disposal, based in Huntington Beach, Calif., is staying ahead of the curve by looking for alternative ways of dealing with trash before the law requires it. These alternative methods include conversion processes, which take waste and convert it to compost, energy, biofuels or chemical products. “There is a laundry list of products or technologies that waste can be converted into,” he adds. “Where there is change there is opportunity, but there is also risk.”

On or Off Site?
One such risk, for instance, involves whether Rainbow Disposal will have its conversion facilities on site or outsource that work. Shuman says Rainbow Disposal already is processing various waste streams on site, but adding more to its site will be expensive. On the other hand, loading the waste onto a truck and taking it to another location is also expensive as well as counterproductive in terms of energy efficiency.

At this point, however, Rainbow Disposal removes recyclables and filters trash into other specific feedstocks before it is sent to other facilities for further processing. “This is more sophisticated than operating a fleet of vehicles,” Shuman says. “We’re getting into other kinds of facilities, so it is a different skill set. We will need to add to that skill set.

“By implementing innovative technologies, we’re taking a proactive approach and assisting with a lot of research and development of a lot of these new technologies,” he adds. “Over the last 10 to 15 years, curbside recycling programs required a limited amount of participation from the public. The marketplace is seeing the public’s awareness increase in its demand for responsible handling, given the greenhouse gases and the whole environmental mindset.”

Community Relations
The community’s appreciation for Rainbow Disposal, which has been collecting trash in the area for 50 years, shined through at the company’s 50th anniversary party at its facility in Huntington Beach. The event had 250 people in attendance, which included almost every member of the city councils where Rainbow Disposal picks up trash, and county and state representatives, as well.

“Almost everyone brought some sort of proclamation, saying what a great community partner Rainbow has been for the last 50 years,” Shuman says. “That shows our level of community involvement and the fact that, by and large, customers really like our service.”

Even with all the compliments and praise, Shuman knows that Rainbow Disposal performs a service that is done best when no one notices it is being done.

“Our job is to be transparent because we’ve just built that expectation,” Shuman adds. “I always joke that the best day is not when we are receiving compliments, but when there is nothing to be said.”