About this episode
Dominic “DJ” Mazza walks through how a third-generation New Jersey scrap and demo outfit became one of the region’s most diversified recycling platforms—spanning transfer stations, a single-stream MRF, mulch & bagging, roll-off and commercial collection, scrap, concrete, and more. The Blue-Collar Twins dig into capital intensity, acquisitions (Liberty/Bull), building a professional management layer, and why process, cost accounting, and tech are DJ’s real superpowers.
You’ll hear:
How a Big Four CPA ditched fluorescent auditor rooms to scale the family business with cousin Jimmy.The “feed your own transfer station” move: launching roll-off & commercial collection to control inbound.Building a state-of-the-art single-stream MRF and a Scotts mulch bagging line—plus what they’d do differently.Buying right: Liberty & Bull, when to keep local brands, and bringing in an A-player COO from Waste Management.Valuation reality in waste/recycling, why the industry is capital- and compliance-heavy, and where DJ’s building next.
Show links:
From Gym Teachers to Service Leaders: The Julio Twins' Story | Last Bite Mosquito, Viking Pest https://youtu.be/DAYxtzhswxs
From PE Teachers to Pest Control Owners: The Julio Twins Share Their POTOMAC Experience https://youtu.be/HAx9noqsqTo
https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulgiannamore
www.potomaccompany.com
https://bluecollartwins.com
Produced by: www.verbell.ltd
Timestamps
00:00 – Cold open: capital-intensive ops, team size, and early acquisitions (Liberty/Bull)
00:49 – Intros; first waste/recycling guest on the Buzz
01:32 – BU ? Deloitte CPA years; why auditing felt like “double-checking” not building
02:36 – Back to the family business; the 1964 roots and grandfather’s original operation
05:12 – The cousins’ plan: DJ + Jimmy begin shaping the next chapter
07:24 – From local scrap to regional platform; footprint across New Jersey and greater Philly
07:46 – Exiting demolition to focus: redeploying time/capital into scalable lines
09:15 – “Feed the transfer station”: launching roll-off with a truck and ten cans
10:32 – New bagging plant: producing Scotts mulch for Home Depot/Lowe’s in the Northeast
11:17 – Inside the single-stream MRF: optical sorters, PET capture, and why the facility’s different
12:59 – Why processing costs are high; plant capex and how the permit strategy started (cardboard ? full stream)
15:08 – Touring plants, picking vendors, and w
