Women Leaders in Waste: Laura Hubbard, Director of Municipal Sales, Wastequip

It didn't take long for Laura Hubbard, director of municipal sales at Wastequip, to recognize why the waste and recycling resonated with her.

Hubbard's career in trash began in the mid 90s in her hometown of Statesville, NC, at Toter where trash collection using automated systems and rollout services as advanced as the U.S. West Coast.

"I remember at first thinking 'well, what is the big deal about a trash can?.' And it didn't take me long at all to figure out what it was," Hubbard explained. "I just kind of fell in love with the industry itself and all of the characters you meet. There's so much history in this industry with all of the family-owned businesses and companies like Recology with the history of their horse and buggy start, and to me, it's just fascinating and I really enjoy all of those aspects of it."

As her knowledge of customer service and passion for the industry expanded, Hubbard eventually moved into her current role as director of municipal sales. 

"Municipalities are pretty much everybody's end user, whether it be a selling direct to municipality, which we do a lot, or the haulers out there that are selling direct to municipality," she said.

Under Hubbard's direction, her "strong" team manages all of Wastequip's bids and contracts. They're also tasked with guiding all of the collection requests for proposals (RFPs) in preparation for working with potential service providers such as third-party haulers.Wastequip provides the opportunity for haulers for obtain project-specific equipment as well, which Hubbard's team oversees.

Over the years, Hubbard witnessed curbside programs in the United States transition as recycling and organics legislation and awareness progressed.

"The West Coast was doing two core programs," she said "You had a trash cart and recycling cart. You saw that movement go from West Coast to the Northeast and then finally somewhere in the middle. When Canada hopped on, they were even more progressive in some areas than West Coast brands with the writing on composting and organics. [Eventually] the movement to try to divert from the landfill was huge."

As the waste and recycling industry continues to experience rapid changes in curbside collection and service, Hubbard stressed the importance of customer education. Her friends and family often refer to her as the "recycling expert," a running joke that she said proves why consistent information is crucial.

"To me, education is so key and making sure that consumers kind of understand what they can and can't put in the recycle bin, she said. "Some people are still confused about it."

Confusion coupled with mixed information and reports about a "broken" system signal the need for more public outreach efforts, and, in turn, more concerted collaboration within the industry. 

Hubbard has been an integral part of the National Waste & Recycling Association's (NWRA's) Women's Council, which she said has been "extremely exciting." Industry groups such as the Women's Council provide the avenues needed such as networking opportunities, idea exchanges and career support.

"We have so many more participants and a younger generation coming in that is very, very passionate about sustainability and about making a difference," she said. "They have great ideas and they want to get involved and they want to help. We have women on the council who were presidents of their own companies and a vast, diverse group of women that come from different areas of the organization."

Finally, participation in local committees and associations also allows those within the waste and recycling industry to gain perspective in face-to-face interactions.

"You get to meet so many different people that do so many different things," Hubbard said. "It's great to have a sounding board, especially me, coming from the standpoint as a provider of products, and then understanding and hearing other people or service providers and their challenges. It helps me think about what's the end goal and how can my role at Wastequip and my company make it easier for them?"

This is Part Two in a three-part series featuring women leaders at Wastequip. Part One features insight from Amanda Garman, Chief Purchasing Officer. In Part Two, learn from Laura Hubbard, Director of Municipal Sales and member of the NWRA Women’s Council. In Part Three, hear from Amy Wright, SVP of Marketing.

Waste360 wants to recognize an extraordinary woman who’s inspiring others in her community and beyond. Let's celebrate by nominating her for our FIRST Women Who Inspire award program! Learn more here.