Republic Boosts Recycling Capabilities with Acquisition of ReCommunity

Republic Services Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire ReCommunity Holdings II Inc., an independent recycling-processing company with 26 recycling centers in 14 states.

The companies did not disclose a transaction price.

Republic cited ReCommunity's assets and expertise as complementing its existing recycling collection and processing operations. The deal, if finalized, will also enable the company to meet growing demand for recycling in multiple markets.

ReCommunity’s facilities recover approximately 1.6 million tons of recycled commodities annually. The transaction also includes the assumption of multiple long-term municipal agreements with processing fee-based structures, which Republic says align with its recycling pricing model.

"We believe this transaction will enable us to meet growing customer demand for recycling services, while achieving one of our key sustainability goals," Republic President and CEO Don Slager said in a statement. “Recycling continues to be one of the fastest growing segments of the waste stream, and our focus remains on investing in traditional recycling in select and prioritized markets where customers have demonstrated both a demand and a willingness to pay for recycling."

"Through the use of innovation and technology, ReCommunity has developed state-of-the-art recycling processing capabilities in select markets, enabling communities to recover valuable commodities from the waste stream and achieve their sustainability goals," ReCommunity CEO Dennis McGill said in a statement. "With this acquisition, we are joining a company committed to the same environmental and community ideals and will be able to deliver a broader range of services to our customers."

As part of its Blue Planet sustainability platform, Republic has a goal of adding an additional 150,000 tons or more per year of recycling capacity by 2018. Republic currently operates 64 recycling centers nationwide which recover approximately 2.5 million tons of recycled commodities annually.

In its second quarter earnings report, Republic reported that it had invested $36 million in tuck-in acquisitions during the second quarter and $91 million year-to-date.