New Rules. Same Old Trash. Ask an Expert with Tedd Schonsheck

Meet Tedd Schonsheck.

Waste strategist. Former Army officer. Recovering retail executive. Now, he’s one of the people dedicated to making sure trash actually works for property owners and managers.

Regulations are multiplying. Recycling streams are expanding. Residents want sustainability, and investors want accountability. And property teams? They just want the dumpster emptied on time.

His take?

Trash is changing faster than people realize. And if you treat it like a set-and-forget line item, you’re already behind.

You’ve spent time in the military, retail, and the waste industry. How did you end up back in trash?

"It’s funny how industries pull you back in. I started my career as an officer in the Army after graduating from West Point. After five years of service, I moved into the private sector and landed at Republic Services working on the hauler side. That was my first real exposure to the waste world: operations, sales, and how the whole system actually works.

From there, I jumped into retail and spent about eight years running Target stores. Retail teaches you a lot. It’s fast, it’s operationally complex, and it’s very customer-focused.

Eventually, I came back to waste, running a nationwide doorstep service called Trash Butler before joining WasteX.

And honestly? Once you’re in this industry, you tend to stay in it. Trash is one of those systems everyone depends on, but very few people really understand."

Most people think trash is simple: a truck comes, the trash disappears. What are they missing?

"A lot. The waste industry has really changed over the past two decades. Twenty years ago, most places had one bin. Everything went in it. It went to a landfill, and that was the end of the story.

That’s not how it works today. You’ve got recycling streams, composting programs, electronic waste, and now the growing challenge of lithium-ion batteries. Technology and regulation are pushing the industry toward pulling more materials out of the waste stream for reuse.

Residents care about sustainability. Investors care about ESG performance. Municipalities are creating new rules about what has to be recycled or diverted from landfills.

Suddenly, what used to be “one dumpster behind the building” has become a system that requires planning, logistics, and ongoing management. Just a lot of complexity."

What’s actually driving those changes? Residents? Regulations? Investors?

"Honestly, all three. But accessibility is the real turning point.

People have wanted to recycle for a long time. Companies have wanted to show sustainability commitments for a long time. Investors have been pushing for it.

But until recently, a lot of those services simply weren’t available at scale.

Now the infrastructure exists. Recycling and composting services are more accessible. Haulers are offering more programs. Municipal regulations are forcing adoption.

When the services become easier to implement, suddenly those expectations become real operational requirements."

Where do WasteX and Conservice fit into that picture?

"The biggest difference is that we cover the entire lifecycle of waste management.

A lot of providers in the space handle one piece of the puzzle. They might help with procurement. Or brokerage. Or invoice auditing. We handle all of that.

That includes contract management, invoice auditing, regulatory tracking, data reporting, ENERGY STAR support, and helping sites actually implement programs that comply with local ordinances.

And that last part is important, right? Lots of multifamily properties weren’t built for today’s waste requirements. They might have space for a dumpster, but not recycling, compost, bulk items, or electronic waste streams.

So part of our job is helping clients figure out the logistics. Where does everything go? How do you educate residents? How do you stay compliant as regulations evolve?

It’s an ongoing strategy and execution now, not just procurement."

Are property teams generally aware of how complex trash has become?

"Usually not, which is, you know, fair. Most sites don’t have a “trash expert” on staff. Property teams know a truck shows up four times a week, and the trash disappears. That’s about it. The details only become visible when something goes wrong.

A missed pickup. Overflowing dumpsters. New city regulations. Suddenly, someone has to figure out how the system works. That’s where we step in. We speak the same language as the haulers. We understand the operations, the contracts, and the regulatory side.

Ideally, we solve problems before they ever happen. Because the perfect waste program is one nobody notices."

You mentioned something interesting: trash isn’t “set it and forget it.” Why not?

"Because the system changes constantly. A property’s waste needs can shift throughout the year. Occupancy changes. Resident behavior changes. Even something like remote work can affect how much waste is generated.

Think about what happened during COVID. Suddenly, people were home all day ordering from Amazon. Residential waste volumes spiked.

Waste management has to be reviewed periodically. Not daily, but at least annually."

You’ve worked in several industries. What’s one skill that’s carried across all of them?

"Attention to detail. That was drilled into me at West Point, and it applies everywhere, from military operations to retail to waste management.

You can focus on big-picture strategy all day long, but if the details aren’t right, the system breaks. In our world, the details mean understanding what clients actually need, understanding what haulers are seeing on their side, and bridging the gap between those two perspectives.

If you get the details right, everything else tends to fall into place."

Final question: If you had one message for property managers thinking about waste management, what would it be?

"Expect change. The waste industry looks simple from the outside, but it’s evolving constantly. New regulations, new services, and new sustainability expectations are all reshaping the landscape.

That doesn’t mean it has to become a burden for property teams. It just means you need someone paying attention to it. Again, when waste management works well, nobody thinks about it.

And honestly, that’s the goal."

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