Biography: William J. Rumpke Jr, President & CEO

William J. Rumpke Jr. became President & Chief Executive Officer at Rumpke Waste & Recycling in 2014. Rumpke is a 90-year-old, family-owned firm that employs 4,000 people and services more than 1.9 million customer accounts across five states. It is ranked 11^th among all waste and recycling firms in the country. Under Bill’s leadership, company revenues topped more than a billion dollars in 2023.

Bill has nearly 40 years of industry experience. Much like his grandfather and father, Bill was born with a passion for the waste and recycling industry. He began learning the business at a very young age earning his first Rumpke paycheck when he was only 13 years old. He started out working as a general laborer, eventually became a driver and then moved into management before founding Rumpke’s Central Ohio hauling districts in 1988.

During his time in Central Ohio, Bill built the market to include a landfill, transfer station and recycling centers in Columbus and Circleville, Ohio. Today, those facilities support the thriving waste and recycling operation that services hundreds of thousands of residential and commercial customers throughout Central, Northern and Southeast Ohio.

On July 1, 2002, Bill was promoted to Chief Operating Officer. During his tenure, Rumpke experienced unprecedented growth in market share and size. During his first few years as COO, Rumpke introduced a consulting firm called The William-Thomas Group to accommodate national accounts. And since 2005, Rumpke has completed more than 70 acquisitions.

Bill partners with his team and works closely with his two brothers, Area Presidents Jeff Rumpke and Andrew Rumpke to implement innovation and develop new infrastructure. New developments have included landfill gas to energy systems. Today, Rumpke operates seven landfills to energy systems that provide energy for about 70,000 homes. The company has expanded use of environmentally friendly compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles and has built CNG fueling stations. At Rumpke’s Cincinnati location, natural gas is recovered directly from Rumpke’s largest landfill, Rumpke Sanitary Landfill in Colerain Township.

With Jeff and Andrew, Bill has also overseen the investment of more than $100 million in recycling technology. In 2013, Bill and Jeff unveiled, one of North America’s largest, fastest and most technologically advanced recycling centers. This $32 million facility serves Greater Cincinnati as well as parts of Kentucky, Indiana and Northwest Ohio. Today, Rumpke Recycling Cincinnati is one of 14 Rumpke Recycling facilities. Rumpke also operates one of the only glass recycling facilities in the nation, processing 70,000 tons of glass annually to be used as raw material for the fiberglass and glass container industries. In 2024, Bill and Andy will open the largest recycling facility in North America, a 223,000 square foot facility in Columbus, Ohio that will process up to 250,000 tons of recycling annually from more than 50 Ohio counties.

Along with these recycling enhancements, Bill also led construction of a new $26 million corporate headquarters for the company in 2019 and the development of new waste transfer stations in Monroe County, Indiana, Scott County, Kentucky, Covington Kentucky and Delaware County, Ohio. Today, Bill is directing his teams as they construct an additional waste transfer facility in Zanesville, Ohio, along with additional landfill construction and infrastructure projects.

As a leader at Rumpke, Bill continues to uphold the values of his father and grandfather – teamwork, quality, perseverance, growth, and responsibility. He ensures everyone has an opportunity to learn and grow within the organization. With these principles in mind, Bill founded Rumpke University for sales team training and overall employee continuing education. He built a new training center and invested resources to develop the Rumpke Leadership & Personal Development Academy. Customer service training and extensive safety curriculum are integral parts of Rumpke University as well.

Simultaneously, Bill has implemented award-winning employee wellness programs to make certain employees lead productive and healthy lives at work and outside of it.

Today, along with new construction, acquisitions and infrastructure, Bill is leading efforts to apply improved technology and information systems, to capitalize on new software designed to improve safety, as well as both the employee and customer experience.  

Rumpke, under Bill’s leadership, was recognized with an Association for Corporate Growth Deal Maker Award in 2010. In 2013, Bill was honored as a South Central Ohio and Kentucky Entrepreneur of the Year. The Public Relations Society of America (Cincinnati Chapter) honored Bill as the CEO Communicator of the Year in 2015, recognizing his transparency and efforts to communicate openly with his employees, customers and the public. In 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, Rumpke was named a US Best Managed Company by Deloitte Private and The Wall Street Journal earning designation as a gold standard company.

Bill earned a bachelor’s degree in general business from Miami University (Ohio). He serves on the Board of the National Waste & Recycling Association. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his wife Diane, adult children and grandchildren. Bill and Diane are proud to be involved with a variety of causes throughout Greater Cincinnati and beyond.