By Andy Furman
NKyTribune Reporter
Efficiency and less wear and tear on vehicles. These were the words that were heard above all on Tuesday afternoon at the ceremonial opening of the Rumpke Waste and Recycling Transfer Station at (4399) Boron Drive in Covington.
“Our Covington Transfer Station was a $20 million project,” Jeff Rumpke, president of Rumpke Waste and Recycling, told the Northern Kentucky Tribune.
The company recently completed a $3.5 million renovation of the former Covington Public Works building. It previously opened a new transfer station at the site for $8.2 million. Including construction and paving, the project totaled $20 million.
“All of our trucks from Northern Kentucky will now come here and compact the garbage here,” Jeff Rumpke continued. “Then the entire load will be taken to our landfill in Pendleton County.”
Hence – the efficiency factor.
“Having our trucks parked in Covington will greatly increase our efficiency and enable us to better serve Covington and other communities and businesses in Northern Kentucky,” said Adam Rumpke, vice president of the region.
According to Andy Beever, who has worked as a sales manager for Rumpke for 19 years, in the past, individual loads were transported from Northern Kentucky to Pendleton County and the landfill.
“Now we certainly have an efficient way to dispose of waste,” he said.
“Route trucks now have a place to unload and do not have to travel long distances to our landfills.”
Therefore, less wear and tear on the vehicles.
“We now load the semi-trailers here in Covington,” Beever said, “and get waste for three or four route trucks. It makes our whole process much simpler and easier.”
Beever said Rumpke owns landfills in Northern Kentucky in both Pendleton and Montgomery counties.
“And,” he said, “at some point in the future we plan to have about 75 garbage trucks.”
Tuesday’s opening was primarily an open house for media and local dignitaries, as the plant is already up and running. The 25,000-square-foot facility will initially house 45 employees, but is expected to grow to over 80 employees in the coming months.
Rumpke has been in business since the 1930s, when founder William F. Rumpke operated a junkyard and coal delivery business in Cincinnati. William repaired some old trucks from the junkyard and hired relatives to scavenge for junk to feed the pigs he received as payment for some of his services. His customers often traded sheep, chickens and old cars and trucks as payment for his services.
William J. Rumpke was only five years old when he began helping his father collect garbage from homes and businesses.
In 1986, Rumpke Sanitary Landfill was one of the first landfills to capture methane gas and use it as natural gas energy. Over the years, this operation has grown to over 200 gas wells, which produce enough natural gas energy to power up to 25,000 homes in the Greater Cincinnati area.
As for growth, there’s always room for that. In fact, Beever says Rumpke is currently hiring for the following areas:
Rear loader driver
Roll-off driver
Roll-off driver (without CDL)
Delivery truck (CDL)
Maintenance and repair technician
Preventive maintenance technician
Inventory Specialist
Head of Vehicle Maintenance
You can reach Andy Beever at 859-512-4495.
