Family-owned Maple Disposal puts customers’ needs first

By Pat Stinson
Sun contributor
With one truck and a goal of giving nothing but the best possible service and price, Dave Barron bought Cedar Disposal from Waste Management in the spring of 2002. The solid waste collection corporation, headquartered in Texas, had acquired the company from original owners “Art and Mike” when the pair decided to retire.
Now in its fifth year, Dave’s company, which he renamed “Maple Disposal,” is the only Ma-and-Pa operation still servicing the area, according to its owner.

“We had and still have a lot of growth,” Dave says. “We’ve added routes, people and trucks.”
He credits his ability to compete against three other major waste hauling operations with his family-owned business priorities: service first, employees second and profit third.
A heavy equipment operator by trade, Dave pushed and packed trash and worked in other capacities for 24 years, 19 of those with Glen’s Landfill on M-72. When Waste Management bought Glen’s, Dave said it was time to “fly or die,” and he made the decision to try the trash hauling business. Being able to look at the big picture and plan for the future were two things he felt were absolutely necessary for success. He said he is not in favor of “the corporate mentality of chasing money at all costs.”
“Thinking purely on price … you can’t do that,” Dave says. “Trucks wear out, costs go up. I have a formula I have to follow; you fail, if you don’t. You can’t be competitive if you don’t plan ahead and manage dollars.
Dave says residents who call Maple Disposal become the company’s top priority, and he never wants the company to get so big that it loses a one-on-one connection with its customers.
For a small company, Maple Disposal’s flexible service plans give residential customers a huge array of choices: two rental tote sizes or budget tag service for individual bags of garbage; weekly, every-other-week or monthly pick-up service; seasonal service; and special pick-ups on non-compactable items, (furniture, tires, large metal objects, etc.).
“I try to be fair with my customers,” he says. “We’re not the cheapest, but we’re certainly not the most expensive.”
To keep capital costs down, he partners with a friend in Grand Rapids — a third-generation garbage man — who has connections for used rigs. Dave’s ace mechanic can build a much less expensive truck by combining a cab from Michigan with a chassis from Washington State.
His commitment to top customer service at reasonable prices meant he had to turn down “tons of business” in Traverse City the first few years.
“I didn’t allow myself to cover too much area,” Dave says. “When gas prices went to $3.20 a gallon, a lot of haulers went out of business.”
His Leelanau County service area has expanded, however, to include the west side of Grand Traverse County and that portion of Benzie County north of Cinder Road. Though Frankfort and Old Mission Peninsula have called, he said he currently can’t service those areas properly.
It’s a matter of priorities … and Dave’s second priority is his employees. He says his staff of 13, (four office personnel plus eight truck drivers and one full-time mechanic), is “exceptional.” All are local people. The labor-intensive waste disposal business needs dependable employees, so Dave’s original “flight” plan included hiring key staff. To that end, he offered employment with good pay and benefits — Blue Cross/Blue Shield, a 401(k) plan, Christmas bonuses — to people with whom he had previously worked.
“I have one word for this business … effort,” he says.
He works five to six days per week, 12 hours per day, (as he has since 2002), and “flies down the road” with his laptop. Wife Amy does the all-important billings. When customer dollars come through the door, the money is spent locally, whenever possible. The black garbage totes are made in Michigan, as are the big, red roll-offs. Huge commercial cans are purchased from a family-owned business in the Thumb area. Supplies come from Buntings Market in Cedar or the Short Stop in Maple City. Fuel is supplied by Lawson Oil.
“It comes back in spades,” Dave says of his company’s local purchasing habits.
Dave is also active with the Leelanau County Solid Waste Council, which meets the first Tuesday of every month, and is currently the chair pro tem. (Counties are required to have at least two or three disposal company representatives on the board or council, Dave says.)
When Waste Management could no longer provide recycling services for Leelanau at rates the county could afford, Dave’s company bought the trucks, picked up the cans and began making runs to WM’s processing center. By the next year, Maple Disposal had its own transfer station and collected all of the recycling at the county’s seven drop-off sites. Since 2006, Maple Disposal has also furnished recycling services to Benzie’s seven sites.
“We were asked to improve the program and reduce costs, and we did both,” he says. “We reduced Leelanau County’s processing costs by $10 per ton. We keep finding ways to reduce costs and pass it along,” he says. “I’ve got a huge investment, and I try to maintain it,” Dave says. “I’m happy to make a smaller amount and do it for a long time.”
For information about Maple Disposal call 231-228-7274 or 22TRASH.