The name change was complete. Waste Management bought out Morristown's CGS Services, Inc. in the fourth quarter of 2020.
On Thursday, Waste Management celebrated renaming the Morristown facility the Crossroads Eco-Center.
An outdoor lunch was held along with a ceremonial ribbon-cutting ceremony and tours of the facility.
"The transition happened a long time ago but today we are making it official bringing the former CGS and the former ADS family into our Waste Management family," said Aaron Johnson, Waste Management Great Lakes Area President.
Morristown staff were asked to submit names for the facility and Crossroads Eco-Center was selected.
Jeff Brown photos
Waste Management celebrated the official opening of the Crossroads Eco-Center in Morristown with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday (top photo). Aaron Johnson (above), Waste Management Great Lakes Area President, talked to the large crowd gathered about how the Eco-Center is more than a traditional dump or landfill.
"Crossroads because it's been the state motto since I was a kid," said Johnson. "And then Eco-Center because it's more than a dump. Dumps and landfills sometimes have a negative connotation when you are talking about them in the public.
"Dumps were 1960s technology where you buried stuff and covered it with dirt. This is an Eco-Center and we have a lot of plans to expand what we do here, what we do with the energy, what we do with the liner systems and the leachate, our plans to produce energy in the future, the composting and the recycling, the hauling and the collection, and being a community partner. That is what an Eco-Center is and we wanted to attach that to the Crossroads name."
CGS started in 1946 as a family-owned business with four generations of the Caldwell family in operations. Johnson can relate as a fourth-generation "garbage man" from northern Indiana.
"For me, this is coming full circle," he said. "My family is similar to what the Caldwells designed here. I'm a fourth generation garbage man from LaPorte, Indiana. My great-grandfather started a garbage company in 1958."
Waste Management bought out Johnson Disposal in 2003 where Johnson has worked ever since.
"When one door closes another door opens and with that brings a lot of new possibilities," said Johnson. "I think this is an opportunity to improve and evolve as a company."
