Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation

What Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation does

Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation (RIRRC) is a quasi-public state government corporation chartered under Title 23, Chapter 23-19 of Rhode Island General Laws, headquartered in Johnston, Rhode Island. Founded in 1974, it serves as the state's primary solid waste and recycling authority, with operational reach across all 39 Rhode Island municipalities. The organization operates a single integrated campus comprising five main facilities: the Central Landfill for trash disposal, the Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) for processing commingled curbside recyclables, the Eco-Depot for free household hazardous waste collection, the Residential Recycling Area for bulky and special-item drop-offs, and a Leaf and Yard Waste Composting Operation. Supporting services include a mattress recycling program, e-waste and shred-event coordination with third-party partners, municipal profit-share and tip-fee rebate programs, and a substantial educational portfolio spanning school tours, a waste sorting game, Earth Day events, and a transportation grant program. RIRRC also hosts a MOTUS Wildlife Tracking System receiver on the landfill, providing environmental research data to external scientists.

RIRRC's business model is built on three primary revenue streams: tipping fees charged to municipalities and commercial haulers for waste disposal at the Central Landfill; municipal service fees for recycling processing, hazardous waste coordination, and back-office support to city and town DPWs; and income from the processing and sale of recyclable materials. Residential drop-off services (hazardous waste, bulky items, leaf and yard waste) are provided free of charge to households, subsidized by tipping fee revenue. Distribution occurs through direct facility access by residents, coordinated curbside programs with municipal DPWs, and a growing third-party event channel involving partners such as Indie Cycle LLC, AARP Rhode Island, multiple Rhode Island credit unions, the Rotary Club of East Greenwich, Rhode Island Energy, and Bob's Tire Co. The corporation is governed by a Board of Commissioners and is operationally independent, having achieved debt-free status and extended landfill capacity by an additional 10 years under prior leadership. As of December 2023, the organization is in a leadership transition, with former COO Lou Vergato serving as Interim Executive Director following the departure of Joe Reposa.

Name

Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation

Legal name

Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation

Website

https://rirrc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation is a quasi-public state government corporation that provides integrated solid waste disposal, recycling, composting, and household hazardous waste services to all 39 municipalities and residents of Rhode Island from a single campus in Johnston, RI.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Solid Waste Management & Recycling Services

NAICS

Materials Recovery Facilities (562920), Solid Waste Collection (562111), Hazardous Waste Treatment and Disposal (562211)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953), Sanitary Services (4950), Hazardous Waste Management (4955)

akta.pro primary industry

Solid Waste & Recycling Services Administration (BPAIACAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Specialty Materials Recovery (Carpet, Mattresses, Bulky Items) (EUAIADAL), Hazardous Waste Recycling & Recovery (Solvent Recovery, Oil Re-refining, Metals Recovery) (EUAIAFAI)

Keywords

• Solid waste management
• Recycling processing services
• Household hazardous waste
• Municipal landfill operations
• Organic waste composting

Headquarters

HQ city

Johnston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Supply Chain, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Tipping Fees: Fees charged to municipalities and commercial entities for waste disposal at the Central Landfill and other facilities
2. Municipal Services: Services provided to Rhode Island cities and towns including recycling processing, hazardous waste collection, and profit-share programs
3. Materials Processing: Processing and marketing of recyclable materials collected from residential and commercial sources

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation operates an integrated single-site waste management campus in Johnston, RI providing municipal solid waste disposal, recyclables sorting and processing, household hazardous waste collection, leaf and yard waste composting, and bulky-item drop-off services. The corporation serves all 39 Rhode Island cities and towns through coordinated curbside programs and direct facility drop-off, supplemented by statewide educational programs and third-party e-waste collection events.

Product overview

Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation operates a single-site campus in Johnston, RI, offering integrated waste management services through five main operations: the Central Landfill for trash disposal, Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) for processing bin and cart recyclables, Residential Recycling Area for special and bulky item drop-offs, Eco-Depot for household hazardous waste collections, and Leaf and Yard Waste Composting for organic materials. The corporation also provides educational programs including tours, presentations, and an interactive waste sorting game. These operations function as a unified waste management system serving all Rhode Island municipalities, with the Materials Recycling Facility serving as the primary processing hub where tours begin.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) Processes standard bin and cart recyclables, sorting and processing commingled materials for resale to recycling markets. Serves Rhode Island municipalities and residents.
• Residential Recycling Area (RRA) Handles special and bulky item drop-offs for Rhode Island residents, accepting items not suitable for standard curbside recycling.
• Eco-Depot Household Hazardous Waste Collection Provides free collections of household hazardous waste from Rhode Island households, accepting items labeled with skull and crossbones or words like 'toxic', 'flammable', 'combustible', including mercury devices, automotive fluids, fertilizers, pesticides, pool chemicals, and polishes.
• Leaf and Yard Waste Composting Operation Processes leaf and yard debris from Rhode Island residents, turning organic waste into compost available for purchase or backyard composting programs.
• Central Landfill Receives and manages trash disposal for Rhode Island municipalities, providing landfill capacity with environmental monitoring. Tipping fees are charged to municipalities and commercial haulers.
• Mattress Recycling Program A statewide program that recycles mattresses and box springs, reducing landfill waste through specialized processing.
• Educational Programs and Support Educational offerings include tours, field trips, virtual tours, presentations, speakers, event tabling, classroom activities, student projects, internships, and an interactive waste sorting game for K-12 students.

Quantifiable outcome

• Returned 10 additional years of disposal capacity to the state through capital improvements

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Motus Wildlife Tracking SystemminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2022RIRRC became host of a Motus Wildlife Tracking System radio receiver at the Central Landfill. The 560-foot elevation provides ideal tracking conditions with a 15km detection range to study migratory patterns of birds, bats, insects, and other animals. Data is available to researchers and the public.
• Indie Cycle, LLCminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThird-party e-waste collection company that hosts electronic waste collection events at various locations throughout Rhode Island. RIRRC publishes these events on their website but notes these are third-party events with inquiries directed to Indie Cycle.
• AARP Rhode IslandminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership for community shredding events where AARP Rhode Island sponsors free document shredding for Rhode Island residents at various locations.
• RI Credit UnionminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRhode Island Credit Union hosts free Community Shred Days at various branch locations throughout the state, accepting donations of school supplies and food for local charities.
• Navigant Credit UnionminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNavigant Credit Union hosts free Community Shred Days at multiple Rhode Island branch locations, collecting non-perishable food items for local food pantries.
• Washington Trust CompanyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerWashington Trust Company hosts free Community Shred Days at their Rhode Island branch locations.
• Bob's Tire Co.minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorStatewide tire recycling option listed on RIRRC's A-Z disposal guide for Rhode Island residents needing to dispose of tires.
• Rhode Island EnergyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRhode Island Energy partners with RIRRC to host dehumidifier recycling events offering rebates to Rhode Islanders who recycle working older model dehumidifiers.
• Rotary Club of East GreenwichminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRotary Club of East Greenwich hosts combined e-waste recycling and paper shredding events open to all Rhode Island residents, with donations supporting local charities.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Recology: Recology is an employee-owned integrated solid waste and recycling company primarily serving the Western US—offers a comparable combined collection, MRF, composting, and organics service portfolio, though without RIRRC's statewide quasi-public mandate.
• Republic Services: Republic Services is a major national solid waste and recycling company operating landfills, recycling centers, and collection routes across the US—comparable to RIRRC's landfill-plus-MRF-plus-collection service bundle at much greater commercial scale.
• Waste Management, Inc. Waste Management is the largest US integrated waste services company operating landfills, MRFs, hauling fleets, and recycling programs nationally—provides comparable landfill, recycling, and collection services to RIRRC but as a for-profit broad incumbent across all 50 states.
• Clean Harbors: Clean Harbors is the largest US provider of hazardous waste management services including collection, treatment, and disposal—directly comparable to RIRRC's Eco-Depot household hazardous waste collection function, though at industrial scale.

Regional players

• Casella Waste Systems: Casella is a Northeast US-based integrated solid waste, recycling, and resource management operator with strong landfill, MRF, and organics operations in New England—matching RIRRC's geographic focus on Rhode Island and its combined landfill/recycling platform.
• Wheelabrator Technologies (Brookfield Renewable): Wheelabrator operates waste-to-energy facilities in the Northeast US that process municipal solid waste into energy—an adjacent peer to RIRRC's landfill-centric disposal operations serving the same regional waste sheds.
• Tilton & Manchester (Covanta) WTE Facilities: Covanta (now part of the restructured entity) operates regional waste-to-energy and disposal facilities across the Northeast—including in Rhode Island-adjacent markets—providing an alternative disposal pathway for MSW that competes with RIRRC's Central Landfill for in-state waste tonnage.

Direct peers

• Greater New Haven Solid Waste & Recycling Authority: The Greater New Haven Solid Waste & Recycling Authority is a quasi-municipal Connecticut authority providing solid waste disposal and recycling services to member municipalities—a structurally identical peer to RIRRC's charter-and-municipality-driven operating model.
• ecomaine: ecomaine is a quasi-municipal, state-chartered solid waste authority serving municipalities in southern and central Maine with a waste-to-energy facility, recycling, and ash landfill—the most structurally comparable peer to RIRRC's quasi-public, regionally mandated waste authority model.
• New Hampshire Resource Recovery Association: NHRRA is a New Hampshire-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit coordinating municipal recycling programs, education, and HHW collection across the state—a direct peer to RIRRC's statewide educational programming and municipal recycling coordination role, though smaller and narrower in operating scope.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/rirrc
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/RIRRC
• Facebookfacebook.com/rirrc
• Instagraminstagram.com/rirrc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rirrc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation