Progressive Waste Management

Covers Many Bases In The Waste Management Industry

By Tammy Boone

	(Left) Art Gonzales, President of Progressive Waste Management. (Right) Progressive Waste Management uses a JD 644H Wheel Loader to load the Vermeer HG 6000 Horizontal Grinder.

What began as a landscaping business 22 years ago has grown into Progressive Environmental Industries, Inc. which comprises Progressive Care, Agri-Chip and Progressive Waste Management, Inc. The family-owned company was begun by Jose Gonzalez and his two sons, Art and Jesus. Art Gonzalez is the sole owner and president and Jesus is the Director of Landscape Operations.

Art and Jesus are first generation United States citizens. Their parents came to the United States from Mexico in the late ‘50s; his father started out as a gardener in Santa Barbara. Art and Jesus worked with their father since they were “old enough to get in the way,” Art says “our father taught us the value of hard work and dedication.”

Art attended Santa Barbara City College and earned his degree in Ornamental Horticulture from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. One of their three sisters, Olivia Rodriguez is an attorney and worked for Progressive Waste Management, Inc. as in-house counsel.

During its days as strictly a landscaping business, Progressive Environmental Industries, Inc. saw that the company, along with other landscape businesses, produced a large amount of green and wood waste. They decided that they wanted to come up with a way to recycle it.  In 1990 they began operating Agri-Chip, which handles grinding and processing of green and wood waste. Agri-Chip concentrates in the processing of the recycled materials into a finished quality organic product. Again, they first processed their own waste and used the finished product in their landscape business. Then, they began selling materials to landscapers and homeowners.

Agri-Chip has grown into more of a manufacturing company, Art says. “Everything we recycle, we sell.” The finished products made by Agri-Chip includes everything from basic “cover-the-earth” mulch, Art says, to “blond chip” mulch (produced from pure wood scrap), and now colored mulch. The colored mulch is produced from recycled construction wood waste that is chipped and then dyed with a color machine that produces a clean, non-toxic, totally organic product in colors from gold to brown to red. According to Art, the colored chip market is booming in California.

	(Top) Progressive Waste Management uses a scale to weigh the inbound materials that are to be processed and to weigh the outbound finished products. (Middle) The JD 644H Wheel Loader and the Vermeer HG 6000 Horizontal Grider working together. (Above) The JD 644H Wheel Loader Mixes wood waste with green waste to produce a more desirable product.

In 1997 they purchased a roll-off company, Progressive Waste Management, Inc., that holds a solid waste permit in Santa Barbara county. They use their dumpsters not only for their own waste, but for other companies, as well. “The roll-off box rental by Progressive Waste Management, Inc. and the processing of recycle green and wood waste by Agri-Chip are the perfect business combination” Art says, “together they achieve the goal of recycling and production of quality finished marketable products.”

The two companies, which employ five operators, in addition to Art, along with an office support staff, have recently joined forces to better meet the needs of the entire spectrum: hauling, land clearing and grinding.

Progressive Waste Management, Inc. and Agri-Chip recently purchased a Vermeer HG 6000 Horizontal Grinder. According to the Vermeer website, the horizontal grinders are offered in a “variety of configurations to suit large land-clearing and municipal waste operations.” The horizontal grinder also features remote-controlled operation. The “Smart Grind” feature on the machine “optimizes machine performance and production electronically and allows the operator to focus on loading raw product and moving finished product about the job site.”

Art is currently focusing on the new branch of the business, Land Clearing and Contract Grinding, “We’ve just applied for our minority contractor status with CalTrans.,” he adds. “That will be key in working with union contractors on large projects.” The Vermeer HG 6000 will also serve as a back up to the Morbark Tub Grinder 1300 that they’ve owned for eight years and is the core grinder at Agri-Chip. The Vermeer seems to be a good choice to run in the populated area of downtown Santa Barbara where their offices and yard are located. Art says, “It’s safe to run in a small situation without ejecting debris into surrounding areas,” he continues.

At first, Art was reluctant to purchase any equipment other than Morbark, having used that grinder manufacturer exclusively for years. He feels that Michael Wiebel from Vermeer did a great job of selling him on the positives of the Vermeer HG 6000.

“He gave me the names of people to call who owned the machine, but he didn’t just give me the names of people who were happy with the machine, he gave me the names of those who were unhappy, too,” Art explains.

“We’ve run the machine pretty hard for about a month and it’s performed well so far,” he continues. “This new addition to our existing equipment will fill a gap in our current fleet.”

The Morbark Tub Grinder is able to power through difficult wood debris of all kinds, including palm. Depending on the material, it’s possible to attain production rates of up to 400 yards per hour with the machine.

In addition to the Vermeer and Morbark grinders, Progressive Waste Management, Inc. owns a John Deere 644 H Wheel Loader, Caterpillar 938F and 928G Wheel Loaders and a 2005 Hitachi 200 Medium Excavator with thumb attachment used to increase production and handling.

With the addition of equipment to their fleet, the company is poised to go for larger jobs, such as land clearing for orchards, and large tree removal. The company has ten years experience grinding at the Santa Barbara County landfill and five years experience at Vandenburg Air Force Base landfill in Santa Barbara County. They performed contract grinding at the Santa Barbara county transfer station, basing prices on tons ground.

	(Top Right) 2” Mulch. One of Progressive Waste Managements finished products used to cover various landscaping purposes. (Top Left) The JD 644H Wheel Loader filling the roll-off box for customer order. (Middle) The Vermeer HG 6000 Horizontal Grinder at work. (Bottom Left) The JD 644H mixing wood waste and green waste for processing.

At Vandenburg, they had to sort through construction trash, wood waste and green waste. It was the company’s first large grinding contract, focusing on green waste (limbs, cuttings, and small tree rounds), but there ended up being things like refrigerators and steel tubs in the waste, which Progressive’s employees had to carefully sort through so as not to damage their equipment.

Based on the 16 year of grinding and 10 years of contract grinding experience for Santa Barbara County Transfer Station, along with their commitment to new challenges, Art knows that Agri-Chip and Progressive Waste Management, Inc. can handle the new Land Clearing aspect of the business. “I’m gearing up to go wherever the work takes us,” Arts says. “We own a fleet of trucks (tractor-trailers) and we move our own equipment around.” Art believes what sets Progressive Waste Management, Inc. and Agri-Chip apart from their competitors is the fact that they’re very ambitious and aggressive. He adds “We have the right equipment, and the sheer tenacity to do the jobs, and we want the opportunity to prove that we can branch out into a related aspect of our business.”

While Progressive Waste Management, Inc. and Agri-Chip expand into the Land Clearing and Contract Grinding business, the landscape and arbor divisions of Progressive Environmental Industries, Inc. will continue focusing on all aspects of tree work for golf courses and municipalities, and high-end landscape installation.

For more information call (805) 965-2045. Cc