Waste Eliminator and Liberty Waste Solutions are combining under common ownership and a unified leadership structure following TPG’s acquisition of both waste management businesses in August 2026.
Rich Kang has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of the combined organization, which will provide waste and recycling services across Georgia and the Carolinas.
TPG acquired both companies through its TPG Transition Infrastructure strategy.
Together, Waste Eliminator and Liberty Waste Solutions operate a network of 14 permitted facilities and more than 500 fleet vehicles.
The combined platform spans waste collection, transfer, processing, recycling, composting, beneficial reuse and disposal, giving the business capabilities across multiple stages of the waste management lifecycle.
Kang brings more than 15 years of experience in the waste and infrastructure sectors.
Most recently, he served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Ruppert Landscape.
Before joining Ruppert, Kang spent more than a decade at Republic Services, where his roles included Senior Vice President of Operations.
He also led Republic’s Environmental Solutions business across the United States and Canada following Republic’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.
Kang will work alongside Waste Eliminator and Liberty Waste Solutions founders Kacy Cronan and Rick Prather, who will remain in senior leadership positions across the combined organization and its core growth markets.
Waste Eliminator provides waste collection, storage, removal, hauling, recycling and landfill services to industrial, commercial and governmental customers in the Metro Atlanta market.
Liberty Waste Solutions provides integrated waste and recycling services to residential, commercial and municipal customers in North Carolina.
TPG said the combination is intended to create a larger waste infrastructure platform serving the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast while investing in people, safety and infrastructure.
TPG manages approximately $327 billion in assets across strategies including private equity, impact, credit, real estate and market solutions.
KEY QUOTES:
“The Southeast is growing quickly, and the waste infrastructure that serves its communities and businesses needs to keep pace. Waste Eliminator and Liberty Waste Solutions have each built strong local operations, and together they offer broad capabilities across Georgia and the Carolinas.”
Rich Kang, CEO of Waste Eliminator and Liberty Waste Solutions
“Rich is a proven operator with deep industry experience and a track record of leading businesses through growth and transformation. He complements the strong local leadership already in place.”
JD Vargas, Partner at TPG Transition Infrastructure
“We’re incredibly proud of the businesses and teams we’ve built and the relationships we’ve established across our markets. Bringing Waste Eliminator and Liberty Waste Solutions together creates an opportunity to build on that foundation.”
Kacy Cronan and Rick Prather
