Personnel

In memoriam: Theodore ‘Tadj’ Ondrick

Theodore “Tadj” Ondrick Jr., a recycling pioneer and early Construction & Demolition Recycling Association (CDRA) supporter, has died at age 80. 

Known as a “true visionary,” Ondrick had a strong work ethic fueled by weekends and summers spent working at his father’s business. The Chicopee, Massachusetts-based company, known originally as Ted Ondrick Co., provided construction services locally.

After buying the family business from his father, Ondrick quickly expanded to offer construction materials from the company’s sand and gravel pits and granite quarry. In 1973, Ondrick started what is believed to be the first drum mix asphalt plant in Massachusetts.

As recycling grew, Ted Ondrick Co. became a resource to implement regional recycling by using recycled asphalt pavement. With these efforts, Ondrick became an original board member of the CDRA and was an early inductee into the C&D Hall of Fame, receiving the honor in 2014.

Ondrick sold the business in 2014 to his oldest sons, Todd and Adam, who continue to operate it under the name Ondrick Materials and Recycling.