"The customer saved more than $5,000 of service time over four weeks."

In Shepherdsville, Kentucky, located south of Louisville, a Rumpke customer opened its fifth fulfillment center in the summer of 2023. Following a performance assessment, the business found its cardboard processing equipment unsuitable. That’s when they turned to Rumpke Waste & Recycling’s Sustainability & Diversion team for help.

Problem: Challenging Cardboard Overflow

With the approaching holidays, seasonal discounts and deals, the volumes of packages circulating through the warehouse increased. The facility’s machinery was not prepared to process the enormous quantities of cardboard, delaying transportation and disposal.

Piles of flattened cardboard stored in bulk bins, also called ‘shuttles’, sat on pallets that overcrowded the floor space. By November, the storage floor had several days' worth of material backed up.

Rumpke already serviced the facility with hauling support, and our conventional industrial waste trucks could only haul 24 shuttles at a time. The customer averaged 750-900 shuttles a day. This process was costly, time-consuming and a potential safety risk.

Rumpke’s Sustainable Solution   

Rumpke swapped out the industrial waste vehicles with rear-load trucks to accommodate the facility’s high volumes. Rear-load trucks are used to collect trash and recycling throughout your neighborhood. This all-in-one vehicle streamlines the loading, packing, transportation and disposal of waste material.

The automated loading system requires little physical labor, and the built-in compactor crushes any collected cardboard. When full, the driver can immediately transport material to Rumpke’s recycling facility in Louisville with limited downtime.

This approach is safe, efficient, cost-effective and decreases carbon footprint through trip reduction. Rumpke took on all the work, so the customer didn’t have to.

Customer Response

Rumpke’s innovative strategy cleared over 750 shuttles—about 23.58 tons of cardboard—in only two days. The customer saved more than $5,000 of service time over four weeks.

Their leadership praised Rumpke’s industry know-how and ability to get the job done, saying Rumpke acted “in an instant and with great flexibility” and “made the magic happen.”

Of course, Rumpke's “magic” comes from over 90 years of industry experience and a team dedicated to finding responsible and advanced solutions for anyone’s needs.

About Rumpke’s Sustainability & Diversion Team 

Rumpke’s Sustainability and Diversion team are your perfect sustainability partners. From collection and hauling, to processing and developing fresh solutions, we perform waste assessments on any business to discover cost-effective waste diversion options that also achieve sustainability objectives.

Three Primary Focuses

Our sustainability and diversion team operates on three primary focuses:

1. Collection

With a fleet of 2,700 vehicles and nearly 40 hauling locations, Rumpke is equipped to service stops on time, every time.

2. Innovation

In 2023, Rumpke invested $109 million into implementing new recycling innovations.

3. Diversion

In 2022, Rumpke processed more than 1.4 billion pounds of recycling.

Since 1932, we have been committed to cleaner, greener communities, making us a leading expert in the industry. We cover a wide variety of services, and no task is too big for us to handle.

To learn more about Rumpke and our services, check out our social media channels on Instagram, X, Facebook and YouTube.

Join Us!

Interested in becoming part of a team that commits to the community and environment? Check out our career opportunities below.