Recycle Track Systems
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Founder |
|
| Headquarters | , United States |
Area served | United States Canada |
Key people | Gregory Lettieri, CEO Lew Frankfort Shazi Visram |
| Website | www.rts.com |
Recycle Track Systems (RTS) is a waste management and sustainability provider operating across North America.[1][2] RTS produces Pello, which is an AI-power waste sensor technology; and Cycle, a digital recycling rewards platform and reverse vending machine operator. RTS uses artificial intelligence, a software platform, and a proprietary tracking system to provide hauling services for recurring and on-demand waste, recycling, organics, and bulk removal. RTS tracks materials as they travel to recycling or composting facilities and provides companies with reports that show how much material was recycled or composted.[3][4] The customer experience has been compared the app-based car service, Uber.[5][6]
History
[edit]RTS was co-founded by CEO Gregory Lettieri and Adam Pasquale in 2014. [7] [8] Lettieri is a native of Staten Island and formerly worked in technology at Bank of America.[9] Pasquale is a fourth-generation member of a New York waste-hauling family,[8] and his great-grandfather started in the garbage business with pushcarts on Mulberry Street in Manhattan's Little Italy in the early 1900s.[7]
In June 2017, the company closed a series A financing round worth $11.7 million with Boston-based growth equity firm Volition Capital, the former U.S. team of Fidelity Ventures.[10][11] Volition also provided the first outside money into Chewy, a pet supplies company that sold to PetSmart.[12] Lew Frankfort, the former chairman and CEO of Coach, Inc., also served as a board member.[13]
In 2018, RTS donated 17,952 square feet of wood and 27 rolls of unused synthetic snow from the NHL Winter Classic game held at Citi Field to Materials for the Arts, a Long Island City-based program of the Department of Cultural Affairs that supports non-profit organizations and public schools throughout New York City.[14][15] RTS also donated approximately 66,000 pounds of food waste for Washington Nationals in the 2018 season.[16] In 2021 RTS became a member of the Solid Waste Environmental Excellence Performance standard.[17] That year RTS closed a Series C round of financing led by the Citi Impact Fund. The $35 million investment round valued the company at $265 million according to the Wall Street Journal.[18]
RTS customers include Whole Foods,[19] WeWork,[20] SoulCycle, Barclays Center,[21][22] Citi Field,[23] Nationals Park[4][24] and Audi Field.[25][26]
Acquisitions
[edit]In January 2022, RTS acquired Elytus Ltd., a Columbus, Ohio waste services management company that served a cloud-based software platform with 12,000 locations.[27] In February 2023, RTS acquired the assets of Cycle Technology, Inc. (Cycle). RTS introduced Cycle's reverse vending machine to a wider audience during Super Bowl LVII in collaboration with Anheuser-Busch at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. They have also partnered with professional sports teams like the New York Mets[28] as well as teams in the NFL and MLS.[29] In 2023 RTS acquired RecycleSmart Solutions, Inc. (RecycleSmart).[30] The acquisition included the Pello, a waste sensor technology and Internet of Things (IoT) hardware and software platform.[31]
Awards
[edit]RTS was honored in the Best for Environment list, based on an independent, comprehensive assessment administered by the nonprofit B Lab, the organization that certifies B Corporations. [32]
References
[edit]- ^ "'Uber for trash' uses rideshare technology to collect waste". CNBC. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
- ^ "Supporting Sustainability and Healthy Learning Environment through Smart Green Management System (SGMS)". Institute of Physics. doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1019/1/012001.
- ^ "Gregory Lettieri". Wharton Business Radio. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
- ^ a b "How Audi Field's green initiatives will affect the fan's experience". Washington Business Journal. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
- ^ "'Uber for garbage' is using technology to change the recycling industry". Green Matters. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
- ^ "'Uber for trash' startup Recycle Track Systems uses rideshare technology to collect waste". Tech Startups. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
- ^ a b Adams, Susan (February 7, 2018). "Recycle Track Systems wants to be the next uber for garbage". Forbes. Jersey City, New Jersey. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
- ^ a b Flamm, Matthew (March 6, 2018). "Throwing out some new ideas". Crain's New York Business. New York City: Crain Communications. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
- ^ "New recycle on-demand company brainchild of Staten Island native". Silve. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
- ^ "How trash taxi services could be the future of recycling". World Economic Forum. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
- ^ "A company that bills Itself as Uber for trash uses rideshare technology to collect waste". DC Glovebox. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
- ^ "An 'Uber for garbage' picks up steam, and $11.7 million in Series A funding". TechCrunch. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
- ^ "Former Coach CEO and Chairman Lew Frankfort joins RTS' Board of Directors". Waste360. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
- ^ "Wood from Winter Classic hockey rink donated to Materials for the Arts in Long Island City". Queens Times Ledger. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
- ^ "2018 Winter Classic: By the Numbers". NHL. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
- ^ "Washington Nationals post". Twitter. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
- ^ Dyer, Natasha (August 1, 2022). "RTS Helps Shape Future of Sustainable Waste Management as Early Member of SWEEP Standard (12/23/21)".
- ^ Holger, Dieter (2021-06-24). "Recycle Track Systems Raises $35 Million in Series C Round". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
- ^ "Major NYC businesses cut waste by 50% - but can they achieve zero waste by 2030?". Environmental Leader. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
- ^ "At RTS, making trash removal as easy as ordering from Seamless". WeWork. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
- ^ "New York arenas join sustainability drive". Stadium Business. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
- ^ "Barclays Center to eliminate use of plastic straws at all events". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
- ^ "RTS starts Citi Field contract by recycling a hockey rink". Waste Dive. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
- ^ "Washington Nationals, RTS Announce Partnership". Ball Park Digest. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
- ^ "DC United to open Audi Field with LEED accredited recycling partner". Sport Sustainability Journal. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
- ^ "Guide to sustainable spaces for your next event in DC". DC Meetings. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
- ^ "Recycle Track Systems acquires Elytus". www.recyclingtoday.com. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
- ^ "RTS acquires Cycle in effort to broaden reverse vending systems at sports stadiums and events". Waste Dive.
- ^ "HEINEKEN USA Partners with Cycle to Reward Inter Miami CF Fans for Recycling | Inter Miami CF". intermiamicf.
- ^ "Recycle Track Systems acquires RecycleSmart Solutions". www.recyclingtoday.com. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
- ^ "Recycle Tracks Systems acquires RecycleSmart". Recycling Product News. March 31, 2023.
- ^ "Recycle Track Systems receives B Lab honor". Recycling Today. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
Further reading
[edit]- Notation of co-founder Pasquale's graduation from George Washington University: "Class Notes: Summer 2018". GW Magazine. Washington, D.C.: George Washington University. 2018. 1990s: Adam Pasquale, BBA ’97. Retrieved November 18, 2018.