HATFIELD — Its longtime owner was dubbed by some as The Trash King of Hampshire County, with the family name part of the region’s solid-waste industry since his parents founded the company in 1947.
But Duseau Trucking, which was built into a significant regional residential and commercial hauling company by the late Armand “Buddy” Duseau, is not immune to the issues confronting the industry, including longer distances to get trash to landfills and lower reimbursements for recycled materials.
Facing this situation, the 72-year-old Duseau Trucking, located on Elm Street, is merging with USA Hauling & Recycling, a larger entity based in Enfield, Connecticut. It’s the second foray into western Massachusetts for USA, which also recently bought Alternative Recycling Systems, a smaller hauler on West Street in Hatfield.
Eric Fredericksen, director of operations for USA Hauling & Recycling, said declining recycling revenue and escalating fuel costs — created in part by the lack of a regional landfill in western Massachusetts — are why smaller companies are often seeking to merge with or be taken over by his company.
“In most cases, we have people reach out to us knowing we have a good reputation for being a family-owned business,” Fredericksen said.
When the opportunities with Duseau Trucking and Alternative Recycling Systems came up in the last few months, Fredericksen said USA decided to expand the residential service it was already providing for the past few years to area residents.
For the time being, Duseau will continue to operate as it always has, with trucks donning its name and whale logo. Alternative, though, has already changed over, with its website and contact information now directing customers to USA Hauling & Recycling.
Fredericksen said the changes should be seamless, noting that service is a priority, and that customers shouldn’t notice anything different. The company will also continue to follow the rules set by communities where it is permitted to work.
“We’re getting trash picked up, and the recycling,” Fredericksen said. “We’re working on integrating routes, which as far as services goes that’s our number one concern.”
Jan Ameen, executive director of the Franklin County Solid Waste District in Greenfield, said she has slowly observed smaller haulers be taken over by bigger ones, based elsewhere in New England or as multistate corporations.
“This region, western Massachusetts, has been fortunate to have so many locally owned waste and recycling haulers,” Ameen said.
This has changed as haulers need to travel farther in state, or out of state, which she said can be financially daunting. Private haulers also have to find places to get rid of bulky items such as furniture.
Ameen said that many customers may not even be aware of the changes, as trucks continue to operate with previous logos, and phone numbers and rates remain unchanged.
Mimi Kaplan, the waste reduction enforcement coordinator for Amherst, said the changes are coming fast for residents who have been accustomed to being served by a handful of local trash haulers. A third hauler also based in Hatfield, Amherst Trucking, remains independent and handles many of the residential customers in Amherst.
Already Republic, a national hauler, does most of the major apartment complexes in Amherst, she said.
Kaplan said she will focus on whether USA Hauling & Recycling is able to handle dual-stream recycling, in which paper and bottles are kept separate.
Duseau has been run by Buddy Duseau’s daughters, Beth and Pam, and Pam’s husband, Richard Carnall, in recent years.
Richard Carnall said merging with USA is all about efficiency and is necessary to ensure survival.
“You need to get large due to the collapse of recycling and the increasingly long distances trucks have to travel,” Carnall said. “Aggregating is best for customers and employees.”
Carnall said USA’s involvement will not change operations at the Valley Recycling facility in Easthampton, which is a partnership between Duseau and Amherst Trucking.
Carnall said the merger is the best move for the family.
“This generation is getting ready to retire, and we were looking to do what’s right for customers and employees,” Carnall said.
Efforts to reach Patrick Kennedy, who started Alternative Recycling Systems in 1996, were unsuccessful. In a Gazette story marking the company’s 20th anniversary, he said he began with a 40-year-old truck that picked up the recyclables from a dozen businesses once a week, but within 20 years had expanded to 25 employees, 20 trucks and 2,500 customers, and moved from Leeds to a site on Routes 5 and 10 in West Hatfield.
At Alternative, USA is running some of the same trucks, which will be marked with the Connecticut company’s logo, as well as investing in new equipment.
In addition to keeping customers happy, Fredericksen said USA has retained all of the employees at the company.
“We’re really fortunate to work with the team that’s there,” Fredericksen said. “Our employees and folks are serving the community they live and work in, and still patronize all the same businesses in the area.”
He said the company is also pledging to remain involved in the communities it serves in the same way Duseau and Alternative were.
“Civic duty activities are continuing,” Fredericksen said.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
