SMART Recycling

What SMART Recycling does

SMART Recycling is a privately held commercial organics hauling company headquartered in North Charleston, South Carolina, that collects food waste from restaurants, hotels, hospitals, schools, universities, industrial facilities, and government clients across the Carolinas and delivers it to local composting facilities for closed-loop processing. Founded in 2013 by Gary Bilbro, the company operates a turnkey recycling program built around proprietary SMART Carts (lock-seal lids, caster wheels, 300-lb capacity) and a structured implementation playbook that includes site assessments, waste audits, free employee training, and customizable pickup frequency. Service delivery is governed by the branded SMART Service Standards framework (Specialized, Measurable, Adaptable, Resources, Timely) and reinforced with monthly diversion tonnage reports that enable customers to substantiate ESG and zero-waste commitments.

The business runs on a recurring subscription model with nonbinding quote-based pricing and sells through a direct enterprise field-sales motion complemented by an online Instant Quote tool, phone/email inside sales, and partner referrals. SMART Recycling has expanded from its Charleston origin into Columbia, Myrtle Beach, Greenville, Spartanburg, Asheville, and Raleigh, supported by partnerships with local composting facilities and a product supply relationship with EcoSafe Zero Waste for compostable bags. The company reports consistent volume growth (1,832 tons in 2022, 2,129 in 2023, 2,743 in 2024, a 29% YoY increase in the most recent year) and has won repeat regional recognition including Charleston's Best Sustainable Business in 2023 and 2024 and the 2019 EEASC Green Business of the Year award. Following a 2015 majority sale by founder Gary Bilbro, current leadership comprises CEO Dr. Michael Gorton, Chairman John Horton (PE background across 20+ platforms), CFO Joann Horton, and founder Bilbro as an active board member.

Name

SMART Recycling

Legal name

SMART Recycling

Website

https://smartrecyclingus.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

SMART Recycling is a privately held Carolinas-based commercial organics hauler that collects food waste from restaurants, hotels, hospitals, schools, universities, and industrial clients, using proprietary SMART Carts and routing tonnage to local composting facilities under a recurring subscription model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Composting and Organics Recycling Services

NAICS

Waste Collection (5621), Waste Collection (56211)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953)

akta.pro primary industry

Source-Separated Organics (SSO) Collection & Hauling (EUAIAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Commercial Food Waste Programs & On-Site Solutions (Cafeterias, Grocers, Hospitality) (BPALAEAE), Organics (Food/Yard) Collection (Residential & Commercial) (EUAIAAAO)

Keywords

• Commercial food waste collection
• Organics recycling services
• Commercial composting solutions
• Food waste diversion
• Sustainable waste management

Headquarters

HQ city

North Charleston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Commercial Food Waste Collection and Composting Services: Recurring commercial food waste collection and composting services for businesses across the Carolinas. The company collects food waste and transports it to local composting facilities, providing a complete turnkey solution for commercial clients seeking to divert organic waste from landfills.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

SMART Recycling collects commercial food waste from businesses across the Carolinas and transports it to local composting facilities, providing a turnkey organics recycling program. The service includes custom-designed SMART Carts, free on-site employee training, customizable pickup frequency, and monthly diversion reports quantifying tonnage diverted and environmental impact. Target customers are restaurants, hotels, hospitals, schools, universities, industrial facilities, and government/municipal clients seeking to divert organic waste from landfills.

Product overview

SMART Recycling operates a single unified food waste recycling program for commercial customers. The core offering is the SMART Food Waste Recycling Program, which provides collection and composting services to divert organic waste from landfills to local compost facilities. The service is supported by SMART Carts (custom-designed rolling containers for organic waste) and an online Instant Quote tool. The company also offers a turnkey composting program that includes implementation and training, SMART service standards, organics separation strategy, and partnerships with local composting facilities. SMART Recycling has received multiple awards recognizing its sustainability leadership in Charleston and South Carolina.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SMART Food Waste Recycling Program Turnkey commercial food waste collection and composting service that diverts organic waste from restaurants, hotels, hospitals, schools, universities, and industrial facilities across the Carolinas to local composting facilities, including SMART Carts, free on-site training, customizable pickup frequency, and monthly diversion reports.

Quantifiable outcome

• 29% increase in food waste diversion from 2023 to 2024 (2,129 tons to 2,743 tons)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• EcoSafe Zero WastecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Gary Bilbro, founder of SMART Recycling, serves as Director of Sales at EcoSafe Zero Waste. EcoSafe makes the compostable bags used in SMART's commercial food recycling program, representing a key product partnership for the composting solution.
• Local Composting FacilitiescoreOthersSMART Recycling partners with local composting facilities to transform collected food scraps into organic, nutrient-rich compost for organic farms, gardens, and soil restoration. This closed-loop solution supports local composting infrastructure.
• Charleston Climate CoalitionminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSMART Recycling sponsors the Charleston Climate Coalition's publication Surge: The Lowcountry Climate Magazine. The coalition promotes composting as part of Charleston's Climate Action Plan.
• City of Charleston, Charleston County, Folly Beach, Isle of PalmscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partnership supporting the Charleston Composts initiative. This partnership provides free composting drop sites for residents in the Charleston region as part of the city's growing composting program.
• Dutch Fork Elementary SchoolminorOthersStarted composting program in 2016 at Dutch Fork Elementary in Columbia, SC. Through the 'Crumbs to Compost' program, 485+ students divert an average of 30 tons of food waste from the landfill annually.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bootstrap Compost: Washington DC-area food waste collection service for commercial and residential customers that partners with local farms for compost processing. Comparable subscription-based commercial organics collection model and similar target verticals (restaurants, institutions).
• Veteran Compost: Commercial and residential food waste collection and composting services operating primarily in the Mid-Atlantic (Maryland/Virginia). Direct peer in commercial organics hauling with similar subscription model and enterprise customer focus.
• CompostNow: Residential and commercial food waste collection service headquartered in Durham, NC, operating throughout the Carolinas and Southeast. Most direct comparable — same regional footprint, same subscription-based organics hauling model, and overlapping target segments (restaurants, universities, offices).
• Peninsula Compost Company: North Carolina-based commercial food waste hauling service that routes organic material to local farms and composting sites. Comparable Southeast operator with similar commercial organics focus and dependence on regional processing partners.
• Natural Upcycling: Southeast-based commercial food waste hauler that collects organic material from restaurants, grocers, and institutions and delivers it to composting facilities. Direct peer given overlapping commercial organics collection model and Southern US operating territory.

Others

• EcoSafe Zero Waste: Supplier of compostable bags and zero-waste consulting, currently employing SMART Recycling's founder as Director of Sales. Adjacent ecosystem participant that supplies products into the same commercial organics programs SMART operates.
• Cascadia Consulting Group: Environmental consulting firm that supports commercial and municipal organics diversion program design, audits, and implementation. Adjacent ecosystem participant that competes in the consultative side of commercial composting programs that SMART Recycling's organics separation strategy addresses.

Regional players

• Royal Waste Services: New York City-based commercial waste and recycling hauler with growing organics collection programs for restaurants, hotels, and institutions. Regional peer with similar subscription-based commercial collection model but operating in a different geography than SMART Recycling.

Broad incumbents

• Republic Services: National solid waste and recycling company with a growing organics recycling offering targeting commercial and institutional generators. Broad incumbent leveraging scale, integrated hauling fleets, and material recovery facilities across the same enterprise customer base.
• Waste Management (organics division): Largest US solid waste and recycling hauler, with an expanding organics and food waste diversion line for commercial customers. Broad incumbent with nationwide collection infrastructure and vertically integrated composting/AD facilities that competes for the same commercial contracts as SMART Recycling.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 SMART Recycling