C&D World: Lomangino Reflects on Several Decades of Recycling

In a keynote presentation at the 2010 C&D World Exhibition & Conference, Anthony Lomangino reflected back on his evolution from a trash hauler to an entrepreneur who deploys sophisticated sorting and processing technology to recycle C&D materials.

Lomangino, president of the Sun Recycling division of Southern Waste Systems, Lantana, Fla., recalled that as a young trash hauler in the New York City metropolitan area, “when we used to drop that stuff in the landfill, it would bother me; it was unholy. But what could you do?” he asked regarding an era when the recycling infrastructure was much smaller.

He recounted that his own recycling experience began by “pulling out a little bit of metal” at his transfer stations followed by pulling out scrap wood to use as a heating feedstock. “Before you know it, I’ve gone from a company losing $10,000 per month to one making $10,000 per month. There’s gold in them there hills, I start realizing,” said Lomangino.

Lomangino praised advances in equipment technology, recalling how the first shredder his company tried to use could barely lasted one day on the job, and his second one only a few months. “We’ve come a long way in technology and in end markets,” he stated.

After moving to Florida, Lomangino was an investor in Star Recycling, which was eventually sold, and then started Southern Waste Systems and Sun Recycling in 1999. Sun Recycling operates 10 facilities—four processing plants and six “feeder” locations—that have a combined 90 percent materials recycling rate, according to Lomangino.

Regarding end markets, Lomangino said that in Florida the colored mulch market has been a worthwhile one for companies such as Sun Recycling. He also urged C&D recyclers to pay more attention to the sorting and marketing of their scrap metals and paper. “The winner is the company that can separate out clean products that can go out to the market,” he stated.

Lomangino also urged attendees to be involved with and support organizations such as the Construction Materials Recycling Association (CMRA), co-organizers of the C&D World event. “It’s important to get our legislators to understand what we do and how we do it,” he commented. “And if you have learned something that can benefit others, there is no point in keeping it under a shell. Shore those experiences. Events like this one and groups like the CMRA are necessary to take us where we need to go as an industry.”

The 2010 C&D World Conference & Exhibition was held March 28-30 at the Rio Casino Resort in Las Vegas.