Waste Pro USA, a Longwood-based garbage collection and processing company that operates in 10 states, has always been in the business of giving individuals second chances.
“That’s just one of our values as a company,” says Shannon Early, Waste Pro’s vice president of human resources. “We really tap into a market that most people either aren’t comfortable with or haven’t wanted to take a look at.”
In 2018, the company partnered with the Florida Department of Corrections, which was looking to reduce recidivism rates, to help provide a pipeline of workers. It has employment specialists throughout Florida, its largest fast-growing market, who work with FDC staff, sometimes setting up Zoom interviews or on-site recruiting efforts.
Waste Pro will consider inmates for any position, be it customer service, sales, accounting, or its signature roll-off truck drivers, who handle and transport waste from high-volume construction, residential and commercial facilities. Candidates are vetted on a case-by-case basis. Those convicted of violent crimes are given extra scrutiny, for example.
“It’s really, what is the whole makeup of that person?” Early says. “Their lapse doesn’t define who they are. There’s more to the individual, so we have to make sure as a company we look at the whole and how does that fit into what our needs are. I think we are very fortunate to be able to do that as an organization.”
Waste Pro recruited Daitrium Turnbull at an FDC work release site and onboarded him by the time he was released from prison in December 2021. Turnbull served seven-and-ahalf years for strong-arm robbery.
Now age 34, Turnbull grew up in Miami the eldest of four siblings. Both his parents had military and law enforcement backgrounds. His work ethic, dedication and mindfulness made him a good fit for Waste Pro’s job.
“Not every individual who was once identified by a number shall forever be just that number,” he says. “A lot of people who transition out of incarceration have been able to go on and do great things.”
Early says it’s hard to find drivers and technicians in the waste industry.
“You have to build your army, so to speak. …We’re just broadening the network of our talent pool, that’s how we look at it. And we know we could be missing out on really good individuals if we do not look at this segment.”