Recycling Perks LLC has added new services and rebranded as Verde, which is Spanish for green. The Chesapeake, Virginia-based company continues to offer Recycling Perks, an incentive program to encourage participation in residential recycling programs. The additional services Verde offers will be similar to those Recycling Perks cities have been enjoying for years, but they will be available as a la carte options, the company says.

“In the last few years, more and more of our clients have been asking for help reducing contamination or creating targeted marketing campaigns,” says Sandra Hungate, vice president of Verde. “When our company started, our outreach was focused on simply getting the word out about the perks program, but in the past couple of years, we’ve been focusing more on educating residents about how to recycle right and how to keep their city clean. Not every city or hauler needs a recycling incentive or reward program.

“Verde will be able to help cities and haulers alike who may only need help with outreach, data analysis, mapping or media/event planning. We’ve already been doing this, but with our new company portfolio, we’ll be able to offer cities and haulers just what they need,” she adds.

Verde’s programs enable cities and haulers to integrate specific, targeted, customizable services that can enhance, or even replace, current programs, ensuring that their unique needs are met, the company says.

“With many cities and haulers feeling the pinch of reduced revenues from recycling, increases in the cost of disposal and other factors that affect the bottom line, they need an alternative to the often expensive, but much needed, services,” says Bill Dempsey, president of Verde. “Verde strives to create a relationship with each of its clients that is both strategically designed for success and cost-effective.”

Recycling Perks will continue to be available as a complete, turnkey option for cities and haulers that are seeking an incentive-based program that encourages residents to shop locally, educates them about recycling best practices and rewards them for their recycling efforts, Verde says. 

*This item was edited June 7 to remove a reference to TFC Recycling, which was wrongly stated as the company launching Verde. While Recycling Perks launched in 2011 in partnership with TFC Recycling, the companies are no longer affiliated, though TFC does still offer its customers the Recycling Perks service. 

AMCS, a leading supplier of integrated software and vehicle technology for the resource management, waste collection and recycling industry, has announced the completion of a significant investment from Insight Venture Partners, New York, and Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), Dublin.

The investment will be used for continued product development in AMCS’ suite of software as a service (SaaS) products and related technologies; to further accelerate the company’s growth in North America, Europe and Australasia; and to expand AMCS’ SaaS Platform into adjacent vertical markets.

“Today’s announcement represents a major milestone for AMCS,” says Jimmy Martin, CEO and founder of AMCS. “In addition to providing capital that will enable us to continue to grow and innovate for our customers, this further investment by two of our long-term strategic partners demonstrates their confidence in our business, strategy and team. This confidence is reflected in our plans to further roll out the most comprehensive cloud-based SaaS platform for the resource management, waste collection and recycling markets.”

Under the terms of the funding, Euan Menzies, senior advisor at Insight Venture Partners; Henry Frankievich, vice president at Insight Venture Partners; and Robert Schnittger, investment director at ISIF will serve on the AMCS board as nonexecutive directors.

“Since our initial investment in 2015, Insight Venture Partners has taken pride in the growth and success of the AMCS team,” says Menzies, who will assume the role of board chairman. “As the clear leader in technology solutions for the recycling and waste management communities, AMCS has continued to establish their stake in the ground across geographies. We look forward to their continued international growth.”

The investment comes as AMCS closed out a record 2017, according to the company. AMCS experienced more than 50 percent growth in the adoption of its SaaS solutions by the world’s most successful operators in waste collection and recycling and announced the completion of its acquisition of Brady Recycling Solutions.

To accommodate AMCS’ rapid growth, the company says will open a new global headquarters at City East Plaza in Limerick, Ireland, in late summer 2018. The additional office space will support the AMCS’ continued expansion as it creates 100 new jobs in product development, sales and global customer support over the next three years.

McNeilus Truck and Manufacturing Inc., an Oshkosh Corp. company based in Dodge Center, Minnesota, has refocused its structure to create a new Refuse Collection Vehicles business unit. Jeff Koga, whose previous experience includes vice president of Integrated Product Support for Oshkosh Defense vehicles, leads the unit.

In his role as vice president and general manager of McNeilus Refuse Collection Vehicles, Koga will lead all initiatives of the business unit, including product development, production and marketing. He will ensure that McNeilus refuse collection vehicles continue to lead the industry in reliability, performance, innovation and quality, the company says.

The appointment of Koga is part of a new corporate structure that includes three distinct business units: Refuse Collection Vehicles, Customer Support Solutions (formerly Aftermarket Parts and Service) and Concrete Mixers. This structure simplifies the business, concentrates focus on customers and products and aligns resources to deliver service and performance, according to McNeilus.

“This new organizational structure allows the company to leverage decades of experience and renew its focus on delivering specific products and services vital to the success of our customers,” says Brad Nelson, president of Oshkosh’s Commercial Segment and McNeilus Truck and Manufacturing. “We have equipped each of these three business units with the resources necessary to ensure their independence and success through end-to-end accountability. These resources include human resources, finance, sales, marketing and operations functions.”

Koga brings extensive experience with severe-duty vehicle production, lean manufacturing processes and global product support to McNeilus. Most recently, he led the cross-segment value stream design for Oshkosh’s multiyear systems transformation program. Previously, with Oshkosh Defense, Koga established 22 operations globally, expanded international presence and transformed product support, the company says. His professional portfolio demonstrates a successful track record of business performance and customer focus.

 

Photo: Dreamstime

The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) says it will receive $19,980 in restitution from the subjects of a multiyear recycling fraud investigation that stretched from Washington state to Sacramento, California. The California Attorney General’s Office, which prosecutes cases on behalf of CalRecycle, announced details of the settlement, which included jail time, probation and restitution payments.

“Consumers in other states don’t pay CRV (California Redemption Value) when they purchase beverages, so claiming CRV reimbursements on those containers is stealing from the Californians who pay that nickel or dime at the cash register,” CalRecycle Director Scott Smithline says. “Recycling fraud is a serious crime that comes with serious consequences.”

The California Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) Recycle Fraud Team (RFT) launched an investigation in October 2016 after Candido Acevedo, 59, of Sacramento suspiciously redeemed several hundred pounds of empty aluminum beverage containers (UBCs) for CRV at a Sacramento recycling center. During the criminal investigation, California DOJ agents discovered that in 2016 Acevedo regularly redeemed hundreds of pounds of out-of-state aluminum empty beverage containers at that same location.

During the investigation, RFT agents identified Placido Martinez-Lopez, 55, of Grandview, Washington, as the source of Acevedo’s UBC supply. Agents believe the individuals were responsible for the importation of more than 4,000 pounds of aluminum beverage containers for the purpose of defrauding the California Beverage Container Recycling Program’s CRV fund. Jan. 9, 2018, Martinez-Lopez was arrested at his residence in Washington state. Agents executed a search warrant at Acevedo’s residence in Sacramento Jan. 18. Acevedo was not there at the time, but he was later arrested.

In exchange for pleading no contest to theft charges, Acevedo and Martinez-Lopez were given credit for time served and sentenced to three years of probation. Each man was also ordered to pay $9,990 in restitution to CalRecycle, totaling $19,980.