Richard “Red” Gagnon – NSWMA

RichardGagnon
Richard “Red” Gagnon

In 1958, Richard Gagnon accepted his first job in the waste industry as a helper on a truck for B. Ledger & Son, a company his father purchased in 1968. Three years later, he was a 10 percent owner and soon the operations manager. In 1972, when the company was sold to Waste Management, Inc., he continued to work as a manager. He bought back a part of the company in 1977 forming Commercial Disposal Co., which he sold in 1996. In 2002, he purchased The Master Garbologist and Full Cycle Composting, companies he still operates. He was one of the first haulers in Western Massachusetts to use a front loader and helped NSWMA pass legislation to build the first paper recycling plant in the state. He served as NSWMA’s Massachusetts Chapter chair and representative on the Board of Governors. In 1987, he founded a golf tournament to raise funds for special needs children and continues to run the tournament today. He is on the board of directors of Child and Family Services. In 2008, he received an award from the Center for Human Development for generosity and time helping disadvantaged children.