Waste Eliminator and Liberty Waste Solutions Announce Combination and Appoint Rich Kang Chief Executive Officer

TPG-backed businesses will operate under a unified leadership team across Georgia and the Carolinas

RALEIGH, N.C., & GAINESVILLE, Ga.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Waste Eliminator and Liberty Waste Solutions today announced that they will operate under common ownership and a unified leadership team led by newly appointed Chief Executive Officer Rich Kang. TPG acquired both companies in August 2026 through its TPG Transition Infrastructure strategy. Together, the businesses provide waste and recycling services across Georgia and the Carolinas, with a highly differentiated network of 14 permitted facilities and more than 500 fleet vehicles spanning collection, transfer, processing, recycling, composting, beneficial reuse, and disposal.

Kang brings more than 15 years of experience across the waste and infrastructure sectors. Most recently, he served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Ruppert Landscape. Prior to Ruppert, Kang spent more than a decade at Republic Services, where he served as Senior Vice President of Operations and held leadership roles spanning operations, finance, and business development. During his tenure, Kang led Republic’s Environmental Solutions business across the U.S. and Canada, established following the company’s $2.2 billion acquisition of US Ecology. Earlier in his career, Kang served as Director of Corporate Development and Strategy at Summit Materials and worked in investment banking at Evercore.

“The Southeast is growing quickly, and the waste infrastructure that serves its communities and businesses needs to keep pace,” said Kang. “Waste Eliminator and Liberty Waste Solutions have each built strong local operations, and together they offer broad capabilities across Georgia and the Carolinas. I’m excited to benefit from Rick and Kacy’s depth of knowledge as key founders of their respective businesses, and work closely with the entire team to invest in our people, safety, and infrastructure while continuing to deliver exceptional and reliable service to our customers.”

“Rich is a proven operator with deep industry experience and a track record of leading businesses through growth and transformation,” said JD Vargas, Partner at TPG Transition Infrastructure. “He complements the strong local leadership already in place, and we look forward to supporting Rich, Rick, Kacy, and the broader team as they build a leading waste infrastructure company across the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast.”

Kang will work closely with Kacy Cronan and Rick Prather, who will continue in senior leadership roles across the combined business and the company’s core growth markets. “We’re incredibly proud of the businesses and teams we’ve built and the relationships we’ve established across our markets,” added Cronan and Prather. “Bringing Waste Eliminator and Liberty Waste Solutions together creates an opportunity to build on that foundation, and we’re proud to continue playing an important role in what comes next.”

About Waste Eliminator
Waste Eliminator is a premier, full-service provider of waste collection, storage, removal, hauling, recycling, and landfill services to industrial and large commercial businesses and governmental entities across Metro-Atlanta. With state-of-the-art recycling capabilities, technology and equipment, and an impressive collection fleet, Waste Eliminator offers unparalleled service and can assist customers across the entire waste stream. For more information, visit www.wasteeliminator.com.

About Liberty Waste Solutions
Liberty Waste Solutions is a leading provider of integrated waste and recycling solutions in North Carolina. Committed to sustainability and innovation, the company offers comprehensive waste management solutions tailored to meet the needs of residential, commercial, and municipal clients. For more information, visit www.libertywastesolutions.com.

About TPG
TPG is a leading global alternative asset management firm, founded in San Francisco in 1992, with $327 billion of assets under management and investment and operational teams around the world. TPG invests across a broadly diversified set of strategies, including private equity, impact, credit, real estate, and market solutions, and our unique strategy is driven by collaboration, innovation, and inclusion. Our teams combine deep product and sector experience with broad capabilities and expertise to develop differentiated insights and add value for our fund investors, portfolio companies, management teams, and communities.