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Born: I was born March 15, 1971, in Norfolk, Virginia.
Education: I earned a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from Virginia Tech in 1995.
Family: I’ve been married for 25 years to Alice Bumgarner, and we have two adult daughters—Annabel, 24, and Phoebe, 21.
When and how did you start working in the recycling industry? My first job out of college was with Rainbow Waste Control, a residential and commercial waste hauler in the Northern Virginia/Washington, D.C., region. I was in commercial sales, and my territory was the Arlington/Falls Church, Virginia, area. That’s where I learned the waste and recycling business, including collection routes/equipment, commercial and roll-off service, sales and customer service.
What was it about the industry that inspired you to build a career in it? Recycling always held a special place in my mind as I was wrapping up college and figuring out what I wanted to do. The recycling industry was still in its early days at the time, but I knew this was where I wanted to be and work on recovery opportunities.
What have been your most rewarding professional achievements? Personal achievements? Professionally, I’m proud that I continue to grow in the industry and broaden my reach and impact. It has been rewarding to solve recycling puzzles that keep getting bigger, starting with individual customer-level solutions in my hauler days, growing to university programs, then building state-level infrastructure in North Carolina. For the past 14 years, I’ve been working nationally to build recovery solutions for a wide range of materials and stakeholders. Also, in working with RRS, it has been rewarding to be part of its current transition to an employee-owned company.
Personally, I’m proudest of making a 25-year marriage work and bringing two grown-up, responsible humans into the world. I’m also proud of my ability to keep long-held relationships going while making new ones, both personally and professionally. And I did get fifth place in my age group in a local 5K race about 10 years ago—that was super rewarding!
What are you passionate about? Besides trying to maintain a good work-life balance, I’m passionate about three things: 1. Good beer and food—and sharing those with friends, family and colleagues. 2. Virginia Tech Hokie sports. Whatever sport, whenever. I’m a glutton for punishment, but the Hokie teams always work hard. 3. Biking. I started riding pre-Covid as running became more problematic (see rewarding note above), but I’ve been riding on the regular since about 2019. I try to get out two or three times a week, with longer rides on the weekend. It’s a hobby I share with my older brother, so we get together to ride whenever we can. It’s best when passion 3 is coupled with passion 1 (and maybe even passion 2)—that makes for a perfect day.
Tell us something about you that would surprise people. I’m not as good at golf as you may think I am, but I’m not too bad for playing only three or four times a year. Also, I’m not a big fan of smoke (except the kind used for pork butt).
If you could improve anything about yourself, what would it be? Apart from the golf skills, I think about doing more locally to improve my community—mentoring, volunteering and so on. Trying to layer in some additional local action would be a personal improvement.
What do you like to do in your free time? See passions noted above, plus travel with family and friends. Let’s go!
You’re now the Associate Member on PSI’s board of directors. How and when did that involvement come about? And what motivated you to become a PSI volunteer leader? I started attending then-ISRI events around late 2021 and was introduced to the PSI crew through my RRS colleagues Marty Seaman and Michael Timpane. I attended a few PSI events at the Southeast Recycling Conference and Trade Show and regularly work with several folks as part of my day job that are active in ReMA committees and chapters, including PSI. Last year, PSI Chapter President Kathy DeLano asked me if I’d consider a spot on the PSI board starting in 2026, and I gladly accepted. With RRS as an associate member of ReMA and PSI, it was nice to get the opportunity to represent membership and bring my industry experience to the PSI board. Also, I was asked to fill and accepted the associate member position on the ReMA national board of directors and have been serving in that capacity since ReMA’s 2026 convention in Las Vegas.
What benefits have you received from your PSI involvement either as a leader or in general? Besides working together to move industry initiatives forward or to consider various grade specifications and material-specific updates, it has been helpful to see the full range of work that PSI is engaged in—scholarships, outreach, communications, government affairs, specifications and more. It’s also a great opportunity to build relationships and connections in the industry with fellow board members and active PSI Chapter participants.
What are the major challenges facing your company and the overall recycling industry today? The recycling industry is constantly evolving, from contracting and developing infrastructure to packaging design and recovery pathways. This keeps a consultancy like RRS on its toes and creates opportunities to lean in and help guide clients and systems in a proactive way. As a company, we have doubled in size over the past five years, and I think that’s a testament to RRS operating effectively in a dynamic environment and providing quality support, data, collaboration and partnerships across the recycling industry.
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