The Money Behind the Trash: M&A, Multiples, and What Your Waste Company Is Really Worth

The Money Behind the Trash: M&A, Multiples, and What Your Waste Company Is Really Worth

This episode features a returning guest, Matt Hillin of Lakeside Acquisitions, for a wide-ranging conversation with Brian and Charlie Dolan about the financial mechanics of the waste industry. Drawing on a background that runs from a civil engineering degree at MIT through oil-and-gas engineering, investment banking, and corporate development M&A, Matt brings a numbers-first perspective you don't often hear on the operating side. The discussion digs into why the waste industry behaves so differently from frothier sectors like AI and SaaS: the shift away from the zero-interest-rate era of venture-funded waste brokerages, why managing physical service is hard to scale like pure software, and the growing role of private equity on both the hard-asset and asset-light sides of the business. Matt, Charlie, and Brian unpack the consolidation playbook of the big four or five haulers, the serial-entrepreneur "build, sell, wait out the non-compete, repeat" cycle that feeds their pipeline, and GFL's distinctive land-and-expand strategy. They also get practical for owners thinking about an exit: where the M&A sweet spot sits, why upper-single-digit EBITDA multiples are realistic for scaled, well-run operations, and how a real management hierarchy can be worth turns of EBITDA at sale. Plus a candid take on technology's real impact on valuation, why homegrown software can be a liability to a buyer, and the regulatory squeeze, EPR, commercial waste zoning, and disposal scarcity, shaping pricing across the value chain. Connect with Matt on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/hillin) or reach him at mhillin@lakeside-acquisitions.com [mhillin@lakeside-acquisitions.com].

20 Years of Trade Shows: What the Waste Industry Got Right (and Wrong)

In this episode of Waste Nexus, Brian and Charlie sit down with their own Keith Conrad — VP of Business Development at DSQ Technology [https://www.dsqtechnology.com/] and a nearly 20-year veteran of the waste industry — for a history lesson on how trade shows and industry events have evolved since the early 2000s. The conversation lands on what's actually changed and why the Waste Nexus format of small, decision-maker-only gatherings hits differently than the volume game of a traditional trade show floor. Plus: someone apparently went to the casino after last year's event, and nobody's talking.

Strong Straps & Startup Grit—with Blazer Brand

In Episode 6 of the Waste Nexus podcast, hosts Brian and Charlie Dolan sit down with Justin and Quentin Blazer, two brothers from Pittsburgh who turned their late father's idea into a real product on the shelves of Ace Hardware stores nationwide. Blazer Brand makes the Strong Strap, a lid-locking bungee latch for outdoor waste containers, and they've spent nearly a decade figuring out injection molding, US-based manufacturing, and how to get haulers to care. The conversation covers everything from the raccoon that started it all, to the new auto-release notch that finally makes the product viable for residential collection routes. They get into the hard parts of building a physical product — finding manufacturers willing to work at entry-level volumes, engineering a self-tapping bolt that didn't cost $10 a unit, and surviving COVID-era supply chain chaos by moving production entirely to the US. A fun, grounded conversation amongst brothers about entrepreneurship and Pittsburgh pride.

Compactor Sales & Custom Solutions: Building a Family Business in Waste Equipment

In this episode of the Waste Nexus podcast, we sit down with Eric Wengryniuk of Reddy Equipment [https://www.reddyequip.com/], an Ohio-based company selling, renting, and servicing trash compactors and balers across the Midwest and beyond. Eric shares how Reddy got its start with a part-time fireman selling compactors on the side, how his family took the reins in 1996, and how he and his brother bought the business from their parents just last year. We dig into what it actually takes to sell compactors the right way — starting with the customer's pain points, not the price tag — and swap stories about everything from Secret Service-level scrutiny at a political convention to auger fires sparked by discarded vape batteries. Eric also shares his take on how technology is raising the intelligence of the waste industry, why behavior change is still the hardest part of any equipment install, and why people who get into this business tend to stay for life.

From Route Books to Real-Time Sensors: Lessons from 36 Years in Waste

In this episode of Waste Nexus, we sit down with Mike Nelson, a 36-year waste industry veteran who started as a shop helper and driver in 1989—back when you were handed a route book, a highlighted map, and told not to come back until the route was done. Mike shares stories from the street (including learning how to dump a truck from a competitor), the realities of customer service in waste, and the kind of “you can’t make this up” moments every hauler has seen We also dig into how technology is reshaping operations: cameras, sensors, and the growing demand for tilt-sensor verification that reduces disputes, speeds up customer support, and keeps everyone honest. Plus: a lightning round featuring the dream of automated dinner.