Commitment to Quality Begins Here

Walter “Wally” Hall, Jr. started his solid waste career with Browning Ferris Industries (“BFI”) in 1990 and learned the business as a true garbage man: Supervisor, Operations Manager, Manager-Trainee, General Manager, Region Operations Manager and Area President. Within his first 6 years at BFI, he oversaw 400 employees with annual revenue of $50 million. After transitioning to Republic Services in a General Manager position, he was asked to assume the role of Area President for the Southland Waste division of Republic Services. In 2001, Mr. Hall was one of three founders of Advanced Disposal Services, Inc., which became the fourth largest solid waste company in the U.S. before being acquired by Waste Management in 2020. Starting with three trucks, Mr. Hall grew Advanced Disposal’s operations to over $1.4 billion in annual revenue, 5,300 employees, 91 collection/hauling facilities, 45 MSW and C&D Landfills, 71 transfer stations and 21 recycling facilities. After completing the 2012 integration of the Advanced Disposal – Interstate Waste – Veolia Environmental acquisitions by the company, Mr. Hall left Advanced Disposal in 2014 to pursue other interests.  In 2018 he became the CEO of Meridian Waste Acquisitions, LLC with the goal of once again growing a solid waste company to fill the industry need for a well-funded, nimble, and both customer and employee-focused independent company for the Southeast marketplace. He is a graduate of Mississippi College and a former College Baseball Coach at The University of Mississippi.

Dave Lavender has more than 26 years of solid waste industry experience and serves as COO for Meridian Waste and is responsible for all operating aspects of the company including collection, transfer, landfill and recycling services, budgeting, capital expenditures, safety, training, acquisitions, and strategic planning. He has held many operations positions with several of the largest waste companies in the U.S. including Browning Ferris Industries and Waste Management. Prior to joining Meridian Waste, Mr. Lavender spent 13 years at Advanced Disposal where he was regional vice president and oversaw 27 hauling companies, 14 landfills, 18 transfer stations, 3 recycling facilities and over 1,400 employees. He is a graduate of Georgia Southern University with a bachelor’s in business administration.

Mary O’Brien serves as CMO for Meridian Waste and oversees marketing, government affairs and communications for the company. Her responsibilities include existing and new market area expansion via municipal contracts and acquisition integration; company communications, website, digital strategies; public relations and government and legislative affairs. Additional duties include the conversion to cloud-based technologies company-wide for multiple communication, web, development and information storage systems, upgraded online web and app services as well as implementing and auditing efficiency and automation standards and systems utilizing information technology. Ms. O’Brien’s career in the waste industry spans 21 years, and she spent the majority of her tenure with Advanced Disposal serving as CMO where she oversaw all marketing efforts with locations across seventeen states and the Bahamas with annual revenues of $1.4 billion. Ms. O’Brien holds a bachelor’s in business administration and marketing with a minor in English from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Steven Del Corso serves as CFO for Meridian Waste and oversees the accounting and finance departments for the company. His responsibilities include financial reporting, audit, tax, forecasting, planning and analysis.  He also is responsible for maintaining banking relations for both operating and credit functions.  Prior to joining Meridian Waste, Steve spent 18 years with Advanced Disposal where he helped grow the Company to annual revenues of $1.6 Billion and participated in the Company’s Initial Public Offering in 2016. Since joining the company in 2003, he held several positions including controller, chief accounting officer and regional operations manager, developing a skill set that crossed both operational and financial spectrums. Prior to joining the waste industry, Steve spent 5 years in public accounting, with most recent experience at Ernst & Young, LLP. Steve is a Certified Public Accountant.

Marti Dickman joined Meridian Waste in 2021 as the Vice President for Risk Management & Safety. She is the principal person responsible for developing and overseeing risk and safety for Meridian Waste’s seven states and over 300+ employees. An accomplished professional, Ms. Dickman is a recipient of the Business Insurance Women to Watch award and the Risk & Insurance Theodore Roosevelt Workers’ Compensation and Disability Management Award.  Before joining Meridian, she worked for Advanced Disposal as Vice President of Risk Management and has more than 30 years of risk management experience. Prior experience includes being the Assistant Vice President at Hilb, Rogal, & Hobbs in Norfolk, Virginia, and Risk Manager for Dollar Tree Stores, Inc. She holds a Bachelor of Computer Sciences from the University of Maryland and is a Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) as well as a Certified Risk Manager (CRM).

Dave Shepler is a 30-year industry veteran serving as the Area President of Florida and is responsible for all aspects of the Florida solid waste collection operations, which include over 10,000 residential customers and 1,050 commercial/ industrial customers.  He oversees budgetary goals and accountability, capital needs and allocation, safety, risk, and revenue growth for the Florida assets. He has held regional manager and district manager positions with several of the largest waste companies in the U.S. including Browning-Ferris Industries, Advanced Disposal, Waste Connections and Waste Management. Mr. Shepler spent eight years with Advanced Disposal where he was Regional Manager for the state of Florida and southern Georgia. Prior to joining Meridian Waste, he founded and operated his own hauling company Partner Disposal for four years which was acquired by Meridian Waste in 2018. Shepler earned his Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of South Florida.

Gregg Asciutto brings over 20 years of experience in the environmental services business ranging from management and ownership, through business acquisition. He has run operations for waste collection businesses in the states of Illinois, Michigan, New York, and much of the east coast. He brings expertise with hauling operations, transfer stations, and landfills. Over the course of his career, he owned his own waste management company with his brother, growing the business from the ground up. Mr. Asciutto has also worked with some of the biggest names in the business including Advanced Disposal, and Waste Management. He earned a Bachelor of Science from Eastern Michigan University.

Josh Daher is the Area President for North Carolina operations and is responsible for all aspects including collection, transfer and disposal operations with $12 million in annual revenues. He oversees budgetary goals and accountability, capital needs and allocation, safety, risk and revenue growth for the North Carolina assets including one hauling company, three transfer stations, and one C&D landfill. Mr. Daher has been with Meridian Waste for three years and most recently ran operations in the Knoxville, Tennessee area. Mr. Daher joined the company in 2017 as the Director - Human Resources & Safety and in his second year was promoted to General Manager of the Company’s newly acquired Tennessee Disposal assets. He implemented the Tennessee Hauling operations as a start-up and built the business into a $2.2 million marketplace. Prior to the environmental services industry, he served as a high school educator and athletic director coaching young adults in baseball, basketball, and football.

Patrick Messinger joined the waste industry in 2019 as a Senior Corporate Analyst for Meridian Waste. Before assuming the role of Area President, he had an instrumental role in overall Company growth of hauling operations, routing efficiencies in each market, and in day-to-day operations. As Area President in South Carolina, he is responsible for all aspects including collection, transfer and disposal operations with $6.7 million in annual revenues, 24,116 residential customers, and 1,028 commercial/industrial customers. He oversees budgetary goals and accountability, capital needs and allocation, safety, risk and revenue growth for the South Carolina assets including one hauling facility, and one transfer station. Mr. Messinger earned two Bachelor of Arts degrees in Finance and Accounting, and Economics from Maryville College.

Bob Pfister leads the Virginia operations and is responsible for all aspects, including collection, transfer, and disposal operations for over 42,000 residential customers and 2,500 commercial/industrial customers. He oversees budgetary goals and accountability, capital needs and allocation, safety, risk, and revenue growth for the Virginia assets, including four hauling companies, two MSW landfills, and two recycling facilities. Mr. Pfister has 40+ years of experience in the environmental services industries serving in roles from general management, operations, and compliance roles through marketing and government affairs positions. He was a three-term chairman of the Illinois Chapter of the National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA)/National Solid Wastes Management Association (NSWMA), board member of Keep Chicago Beautiful, and recipient of many accolades to include the 2017 NWRA Distinguished Service Award, and the 2013 NWRA Special Advisory Board Award.

Larry Seivers is the district manager overseeing the company’s Knoxville hauling operations including construction and demolition (C&D) entities Poplar View C&D Landfill and Riverside C&D Landfill. Years ago, Seivers and his partners managed these same landfills to form Knoxville Landfills LLC, which was acquired by Meridian Waste in November 2018. Following the acquisition, Seivers kept the portable restroom portion of the business, which became East Tennessee Portables (ETP). ETP became one of the area’s largest portable restroom providers, which was acquired in February 2020. Mr. Seivers graduated from the University of Tennessee where he played football. In 2013 he was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame for his accomplishments at UT.