Recology appoints new CEO

Recology, San Francisco, announced Jan. 4 that Sal Coniglio has been appointed CEO. Prior to this appointment, Coniglio served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of Recology. He took over Jan. 1 as part of a transition plan put in place prior to the Dec. 31, 2020, retirement of Recology CEO Mike Sangiacomo.

Sangiacomo had been with the company for 37 years.

“I have dedicated over three decades of my professional life to Recology, and I am deeply proud of the work we have done together to reduce waste and promote recycling with a focus on sustainability,” Sangiacomo says. “I have had the privilege of acting as a mentor to Sal over the course of his five years with Recology, and I wish him and Recology every success going forward.”

Coniglio has worked in the waste management industry since 2000, beginning as a weighmaster for Garaventa Enterprises (now Mt. Diablo Resource Recovery) in Pittsburg, California. He worked his way up at the company, serving as a route auditor and then transitioning into managerial roles, overseeing various business aspects including collection operations, transfer stations, material recovery facilities, landfills, composting, customer service, information technology systems and finance.

Coniglio joined Recology in 2015 as the general manager of Recology Butte Colusa Counties and was promoted in 2018 to be the group manager of the Inland Group, overseeing many of the company’s Central Valley collection and processing facilities in California. He was promoted to the role of executive vice president and COO in July 2020.

“We are delighted that Sal is now stepping into this role. He is a proven leader who knows our business top to bottom,” Christa Steele, chair of the Recology board of directors, says. “He understands the critical importance of waste reduction, and he is committed to advancing Recology’s sustainability efforts and building strong relationships with the communities we are privileged to serve. We look forward to working closely with him in the years to come.”

Recology is an employee-owned integrated resource recovery company providing materials collection, processing, commodity sales, and outreach and education to customers throughout California, Oregon and Washington. Recology has more than 3,700 employees, who serve in excess of 150 communities.

“I am honored by this appointment,” Coniglio says. “Over the past five years, I have come to know our extraordinary base of dedicated employee-owners, and I have every confidence that together, we can deliver outstanding customer service, advance Recology’s environmental stewardship and support our communities across California, Oregon and Washington. As the chief executive officer, I pledge to continue to embrace our strong employee-owner culture and to strive to have a diverse and experienced workforce at all levels of the organization. I am also grateful to Mike for his leadership and for his confidence in me to guide Recology’s next chapter.”

During Sangiacomo’s tenure, Recology implemented numerous recycling and diversion programs. Sangiacomo also led an effort to add a third cart for the collection of organics. This move marked the nation’s first large-scale curbside organics collection program and laid a foundation for further success using a three-cart system in San Francisco and beyond. Under Sangiacomo, Recology expanded composting programs to other jurisdictions in California, Oregon and Washington and embraced technology for advanced materials processing.

In April 2009, in an effort to redefine and expand Norcal Waste Systems as a geographically diverse business, Sangiacomo officially rebranded the company to Recology. During his 37 years at the company, it more than quadrupled in size.

Sangiacomo has earned recognition for his leadership at Recology. Among other honors, Sangiacomo was recently awarded a Lifetime Civic Achievement Award by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and a Distinguished Citizen Award by The Commonwealth Club of California. He was also recently inducted into the National Waste and Recycling Association (NWRA) Hall of Fame.

“There is no question that Mike has advanced the industry and put in place waste recycling and management practices that will serve our communities and our planet for years to come,” Steele says. “We thank him for his contributions to Recology.”