Meridian Waste Densifies Southeastern U.S. Operations with NC Dumpster Acquisition

In early September 2022, Meridian Waste announced its purchase of Raleigh, North Carolina-based waste management service, NC Dumpster.

Mary O’Brien, Meridian Waste's chief marketing officer, spoke with Waste360 about the acquisition and what growth it is expected to bring the company.

Meridian Waste is a privately owned waste management company founded in 2013 primarily operating in the South Eastern portion of the United States. The company’s headquarters are located in Charlotte, N.C. Making its first acquisition in January of 2020, the company has since focused its attention on the Raleigh market, making NC Dumpster a prime pick for an arrangement.

“We are a private company; we're owned by private equity,"  says O'Brien. "Thus, we do keep the amount of the transaction private, but I can share that it includes the assets of their rolling stock.”

This rolling stock consists of items such as trucks and containers. 

The company, already experienced in and responsible for construction and demolition (C&D) waste collection, municipal solid waste (MSW) pickup, recycling pickup, special waste services, and several other waste-related services, is excited about the new doors this acquisition will open for it.

“They [NC Dumpsters] were in the portable restroom business, and we got into the portable restroom business about a year ago with one of our acquisitions and have been growing that as well. So that fits into our newest line of business in the Raleigh marketplace,” O’Brien said.

While allowing Meridian to grow its portable restroom services, the purchase of NC Dumpster brought it ten new employees, seven roll-off trucks, more than 400 roll-off containers, two portable restroom trucks and more than 200 portable restrooms.

In addition to strengthening Meridian’s hand in the portable restroom business, the purchase is an opportunity for the company to reinforce its C&D and MSW services thanks to the collection routes and landfill volume attained under the deal.

These assets of NC Dumpster equate directly to more customers for Meridian and the room to collect a higher volume of waste than before this investment.

O'Brien summarized that, "this acquisition, in particular, helps to density our existing operations in the marketplace.”

She told Waste360 about how important it is for the company to grow in the areas they already function to allow for a more efficient workflow, leading to higher profit margins.

This growth also takes the form of purchasing integral pieces of the waste end-of-life processing system such as collection, MRFs, transfer stations and landfills.

In reference to this idea, O'Brien said the following: “In this case, we're vertically integrated on both fronts. With our Morrisville transfer station, which is permitted as an MSW and C&D transfer station, we can move MSW materials from the Raleigh marketplace to our MSW landfill located in southern Virginia and C&D material to our Shotwell C&D landfill. That way we're vertically integrated and we can make the most of that market by targeting all types of different customers; whether they're commercial front load, commercial roll-off, C&D or residential.”

The purchase of NC Dumpster is reflective of Meridian’s larger goal of densifying its operations in the region the company calls home.

Currently operating in six states in the Southeastern U.S., Meridian plans to expand horizontally before they expand vertically. They are focusing their energy on densifying and strengthening their services in areas they are already active, rather than spreading to brand new states.

“Are we gonna go to the West Coast? No; I can assure you of that," O'Brien said. "Are we gonna go into the New England market? We don't believe we'll go there. We like our Southeast footprint.”

However, O'Brien is sure to make clear it is not an idea Meridian is completely opposed to. Though their focus is on reinforcing and densifying their current areas of operation, if the opportunity were to arise, Meridian is always open to further expansion as long as they can support it.

“We also look for new marketplaces to enter whether it’s in an existing state in which we operate or a new state. The opportunity may present itself as a disposal facility in which we can purchase, improve and expand and then build a hauling operation to support it, or it may be a large municipal contract win that anchors us in a new marketplace. We are always on the lookout for new opportunities for the Company.”