Aspen Waste Systems, a Minneapolis-based company, has opened an office in Commerce City, making it the newest player in metro Denver’s competitive waste disposal and recycling market.
A top 20 waste hauler nationally, with 350 employees and a fleet of 240 trucks, the company doesn’t own any landfills. Instead, it has focused on providing “premium” waste stream management and hauling services to clients using newer trucks and dumpsters.
“We have watched Denver for a while now and we have been evaluating it,” said Alexa Kircher Fang, the company’s president and daughter of CEO Robert Kircher, who founded the company in 1990. “We think there is a niche in the market.”
Unlike the two biggest players in the market, Republic Services and WM (Waste Management), Aspen Waste had grown organically rather than through acquisitions. Kircher Fang said metro Denver represents a healthy and growing market where potential clients will likely value working with an independent, family-owned company.
“We have a strong customer service team. We get things done, get questions answered, get problems solved,” said Thor Nelson, an executive vice president at Aspen Waste and great-nephew of Robert Kircher. “We really care about our equipment and our trucks. We have all new, clean equipment and we maintain it well.”
The new trucks and dumpsters will be stored and maintained at the company’s 12,000-square-foot facility at 7475 E. 84th Ave., east of Quebec Avenue, at a former Alpine Waste & Recycling location.
The company expects its customer split in Colorado to run 80% commercial and 20% residential, similar to its mix in other markets. It will start with a team of six trucks and six employees in Commerce City.
The company operates facilities in Minneapolis and Eagan, Minn., that serve the Minneapolis market, and another two in Earth City, Mo. and National Stockyards, Ill., that serve the St. Louis market. It has locations in Des Moines and Ames, Iowa, that serve the Des Moines market.
Established players in the market are also expanding. On Dec. 18, Republic Services opened a new recycling, waste and organics hauling facility in Parker. Its new 22,000-square-foot facility will host 150 employees and 100 collection trucks providing service in the south metro area, including Centennial, Parker, Castle Rock, south Denver and south Aurora.
“Our new facility in Parker is another example of how Republic Services is investing in Colorado to better partner with our customers to create a more sustainable world,” said Ryan Lawler, the company’s Northwest Area president, in a release.
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