Madison Reporter

The Pellitteri family has been a fixture in the waste management industry for over 85 years, starting with Tony Pellitteri and his brothers using a borrowed truck to deliver coal and haul garbage in Madison, Wisconsin. The business evolved into Pellitteri Waste Systems, Inc., founded by Tom Pellitteri and his wife Michele in 1979. Today, the company serves 44 communities and more than 80,000 households in Southern Wisconsin.

Pellitteri Waste Systems provides comprehensive waste disposal services including recycling collection, specialty recycling services, onsite confidential data destruction, and single-stream recycling processing. In 2024 alone, the company sorted over 77,500 tons of mixed recycling at its local materials recovery facility (MRF) and recycled nearly 27,000 tons of specialty recyclables from manufacturers.

The company faced challenges when one of its largest competitors acquired another competitor in late 2020. This led to an influx of new customers for Pellitteri Waste Systems. President David Pellitteri highlighted the importance of strong vendor relationships during this period: “Our vendor partners were right beside us... Between 2021 and 2024, our revenues increased by 68 percent.”

Labor shortages have been another challenge for the company. David Pellitteri noted that improving pay and benefits was crucial: “Around 2015, we systematically began increasing our pay and benefits package... Our employee count has increased by 50 percent in the past four years.”

Safety remains a core value at Pellitteri Waste Systems. Operations Vice President Drew Cochrane emphasized their commitment to safety: “Over the past 18 months, we have revamped and updated our new driver training program.” Battery fires are currently a significant risk within the industry. David Pellitteri is involved with committees working on safe battery disposal solutions.

Pellitteri Waste Systems also focuses on educational outreach to improve recycling practices among its customers. Vice President of Sales and Marketing Danielle Pellitteri said they developed numerous resources: “We created more than two dozen short recycling tips videos.” Their efforts have earned them several awards for educational outreach.

Giving back to the community is integral to their mission. Vice President of Information Technology Tim Pellitteri stated: “Last year Pellitteri Waste Systems supported 84 local community programs.” The company's future success hinges on maintaining its core values while transitioning ownership across generations.