Harter’s swoops in to take on area garbage business

Harter’s Lakeside Disposal has experienced tremendous growth since opening in May as it takes on more and more municipal waste disposal contracts, many of which were signed when other disposal companies struggled to meet pickup requirements.

Port Washington recently terminated its contract with Waste Management after garbage pickup delays and signed a contract with Harter’s. The Village of Fredonia has decided to hire Harter’s when its contract with Waste Management expires at the end of the year.

Harter’s Lakeside is the latest offshoot of a garbage and recycling collection firm that began in 1994 and has been growing ever since.

Harter’s Lakeside General Manager Michael Thun said that since opening the Oostburg site in May, the company has taken on 13 municipal contacts. Nearly all of them have been the result of municipalities switching after experiencing difficulty with their former provider, he said.

When Harter’s Lakeside opened, he expected more gradual growth, Thun said.

“We were planning on just doing some roll-off (dumpster) work before all these contract and service issues started happening,” he said.  

But as more and more contract opportunities opened up, bringing on additional staff and trucks seemed natural. Thun said Harter’s Lakeside started with just a single driver and truck but now has 16 employees who operate a fleet of 13 trucks.

Thun said with several other municipalities debating switching their waste management provider, he doesn’t anticipate the growth will stop.

“I don’t foresee it slowing down anytime soon,” he said.

While pleased with the growth, Thun said municipalities breaking contracts with waste disposal providers has caused an unusual need — picking up waste bins from the former provider.

Once Port Washington ended its contract with Waste Management, Harter’s was left to pick up about 8,000 bins Waste Management refused to collect.

Thun said the same situation is playing out in several other municipalities in Fond du Lac County.

The company has even adjusted its contract to bill municipalities where old bins need to be collected.

Harter’s Lakeside Disposal is one of three companies bearing the Harter’s name.

The first to open was Harter’s Quick Clean Up in La Crosse, which was founded by Gary Harter in 1994.

In 2010, sister company Harter’s Fox Valley was opened with about five routes, according to Thun.

“We grew that business to about 60 routes and about 100 employees,” he said.

With Harter’s Lakeside, the three companies service more than 100 municipalities throughout Wisconsin in addition to servicing many private businesses.

Thun said he attributes the companies growth to being local, easily reachable and having owners with a stake in the business.

He said having a customer service office that is local and well staffed can appeal to customers more than a far-off call center.

He also noted that each of the three Harter’s companies has a business partner managing them.

“I think you take a little more pride in what you’re doing when you have a stake in the game,” he said. “You make sure people are serviced the way they expected to be serviced.”