NWRA announces 2023 Hall of Fame class

The National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA), Arlington, Virginia, has announced its Hall of Fame inductees for the class of 2023. They are the late Nicolas Belanger; Bob Lee, chief executive officer of Ecotech Waste Logistics and Clark-Floyd Landfill LLC; the late Tommy Stump of First Piedmont Corp.; and Richard Wojahn, vice president of business development for Waste Connections Inc.

The NWRA’s board of trustees selected the inductees from a list of distinguished finalists compiled by the Association’s Awards Committee.

“The board of trustees and the Awards Committee always have a difficult task with so many distinguished nominations submitted to them and this year was no different,” says NWRA President and CEO Darrell Smith. “Ultimately, the leadership and contributions exhibited by Nicolas, Bob, Tommy and Richard were deemed to have reached the iconic status required to be a member of the Hall of Fame.”

Hall of Fame inductees are selected based on scores in five categories, including recognition in the industry as a founder, pioneer, visionary or icon, legacy and impact of contributions to the industry for a minimum of 25 years. Inductees also showed values such as integrity, respect, courage, mentorship, volunteerism and inclusiveness. They also show inspirational leadership at an NWRA service provider or supplier and issues important to NWRA at the national, state or local level and more.

Belanger served in the waste and recycling industry for 25 years. In 1999, he established Machinex’s presence in the United States market and drove the company’s growth more than fourfold as president of Machinex Technologies Inc. He was recognized as a leading industry expert in automated recycling facilities and robotic sorting. The NWRA says he was sought after as one of North America’s most intelligent, visionary and talented systems design engineers. Belanger died in 2020.

Lee has more than 50 years of experience in environmental management, directing activities in every facet of the solid waste industry. Over the years, he has been involved in environmentally sensitive public relations issues and local, state and federal zoning and permitting affairs. In 1998, Lee established Ecotech Environmental as a solid waste consulting firm, which evolved into a solid waste broker and finally acquired a solid waste collection truck in 2001. In 2004, he signed an agreement to manage and operate the Clark-Floyd Landfill.

Stump dedicated his entire career to the waste and recycling industry. He spent more than 40 years at First Piedmont Corp. (FPC). After graduating college in 1980, Stump began his career as a dispatcher and sales representative. Within two years, he became chief operating officer, and in 1996, he was promoted to vice president. In 2000, he became president and CEO of FPC and served in that role until he died in 2021.

Wojahn’s career spans more than 40 years with WM, Allied Waste, Mountain Jack Environmental Services and Waste Connections. He has done more than 500 deals and touched every public company and hundreds of small and regional companies. The NWRA says he has been important in growing and strategically positioning companies to become the top public waste and recycling companies in North America. Wojahn is a recognized leader in mergers and acquisitions in the industry.

The 2023 Hall of Fame inductees will officially be recognized at WasteExpo 2023 during the NWRA awards breakfast.