CORDESMAN, FORMER REPUBLIC SERVICES COO , ELECTED TO EIA HALL OF FAME-Honored With Lifetime Achievement Award

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Tuesday, May 4, Mike Cordesman, former President and Chief Operating Officer for Phoenix-based Republic Services, Inc., was inducted into the Environmental Industries Association (EIA) Hall of Fame.  EIA is the non-profit trade association that represents for-profit companies in the waste service and equipment industry throughout the United States.  The EIA Hall of Fame is for industry leaders who over the course of more than 20 years have made significant contributions to the industry and their community.

Corsdesman spent 30 years in the solid waste industry before his retirement from Republic Services in 2008.  He currently resides in Lawrenceburg, IN.

Republic Services is a leading provider of solid waste collection, transfer, recycling and disposal services.  It operates 376 collection companies in 40 states and Puerto Rico and provides top-quality services to commercial, industrial, municipal and residential customers. Republic serves millions of residential customers under contracts with more than 3,000 municipalities for waste collection and residential services. Its headquarters are located in Phoenix, Ariz.

“We are honored to recognize Mike for his dedicated service,” said Bruce J. Parker, President and CEO of EIA.  “His achievements, both professionally and within the community, are impressive.  He was a strong leader within his company and for the trade association, working closely with his peers to tackle critical issues.  His leadership was integral to the success of the industry’s safety program.  Mike represents the best of the solid waste industry, and we are proud to include him among the Hall of Fame.”

Cordesman joined Republic in 2001.  His 30-year career in solid waste began in 1980, when he answered a blind advertisement for a manager at a trucking company that led him to a management trainee program at Waste Management, Inc.  One year later, he moved up to general manager in Fort Worth, Texas and later, general manager in Austin.  In 1988, the company moved him out of Texas, first to Florida as a district manager and then, in 1992, to Virginia as a regional manager.  Within a year, he became manager for the entire Mid-Atlantic region.

Following the merger of USA Waste and Waste Management in 1998, Cordesman joined Superior Waste Services, Inc., and then Republic as regional vice president of the Eastern region.  He was named president and COO of the company in 2002, a position he held until his retirement.

Under Cordesman’s leadership, Republic Services experienced unprecedented growth and innovation, especially in critical areas such as safety, routing efficiency and return on capital investment.  Cordesman maintained a hands-on management style and fostered a decentralized organizational structure, which placed decision-making at the local level with operational employees who could be the most responsive to customers.  He played a major role in transitioning the merger between Republic Services and Allied Industries.

Cordesman’s involvement with EIA is also lengthy.  He served for seven years on the EIA Board of Trustees as the Republic Services representative and was a key advocate for the development of EIA’s Safety Program.  He also has participated in many state chapters, in particular, Virginia, the Carolinas and Florida. 

Cordesman dedicated his free time to several community efforts – including the Broward Partnership for the Homeless in Florida – and encouraged Republic employees to do the same.

The awards ceremony took place in Atlanta as part of the waste industry’s national trade show, WasteExpo 2010 (www.wasteexpo.com).

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For more information about how innovation in the solid waste industry is helping to solve today’s environmental challenges, visit www.environmentalistseveryday.org.