When you think of a “circular economy,” you probably picture recycling—turning plastic bottles into new products or composting food scraps into soil. That’s a critical part of it. But the circular economy is a much bigger idea. It’s about creating closed-loop systems where resources, energy, and—most importantly—money are kept circulating within a local community for as long as possible, creating value and strength at every turn.
Your choice of who picks up your trash is a powerful vote for the kind of economy you want for Northeast Pennsylvania. As one of the last remaining truly locally owned and operated waste collection companies in our region, we at Prestige Disposal want to show you how your decision directly fuels a healthier, more prosperous local community.
The Leaky Bucket vs. The Local Multiplier Effect
Imagine our local Northeast PA economy is a bucket of water. Every dollar spent here is a drop of water in that bucket.
When you pay a large, publicly traded national waste company, you’re paying a company with headquarters in another state. A small portion of your payment stays here to cover basic local payroll. But the vast majority—the profits—is immediately funneled out of our bucket. It goes to corporate offices, to executives in other cities, and to shareholders on Wall Street. This is the leaky bucket effect: money comes in from the community and immediately leaks out, leaving the local economy drier.
Now, consider what happens when you pay your bill to Prestige Disposal.
- 100% of our profit stays right here. Because we are a local, family-owned business, our earnings don’t go to distant shareholders. They stay in Northeast PA.
- We use that money to buy from other local businesses. We get our trucks repaired at local garages, buy tires from local suppliers, and use local accounting and marketing services.
- Our local employees take their paychecks and spend them at other local establishments—the neighborhood grocery store, the family-owned restaurant, the local hardware store.
This is the Local Multiplier Effect. Every dollar you spend with us is re-spent multiple times within our community, filling up our collective bucket instead of draining it. That single garbage bill payment helps pay our mechanic, who then buys lunch at the local deli, and the deli owner then pays their local farmer. Your money keeps working for Northeast PA long after we’ve serviced your curb.
The Real Cost of National Waste Companies
On the surface, a big national company might seem to offer the same service. But when a community loses its local businesses, it pays a much higher price in the long run.
When money is constantly funneled out of an area, the results are predictable:
- Fewer Quality Jobs: National corporations often centralize their best-paying management, finance, and marketing jobs at their headquarters. What’s left for the local branch are often lower-wage, frontline positions with little room for growth and no local decision-making power.
- Higher Prices & Poorer Service: As local competitors like us are pushed out, these giants face less competition. With a near-monopoly, they have the freedom to consistently raise prices while cutting back on the customer service that local companies are known for. You become an account number in a database, not a neighbor.
- A Weaker Community: The profits that could have been used to sponsor a little league team, donate to a local charity, or be reinvested into a new local business venture are gone for good. The community is left with a transactional service but none of the long-term, wealth-building benefits.
Your Choice is a Stand for Northeast PA
We’re not just another trash company. Prestige Disposal is one of the last full service (residential, commercial, and industrial) locally owned waste haulers serving our region. We are your neighbors. We shop at the same stores, our kids go to the same schools, and we are deeply invested in the well-being of the communities we serve because we live here, too.
Choosing Prestige Disposal isn’t just about getting great, reliable service. It’s an active decision to support the local circular economy. It’s a vote to keep our money here, create better jobs, support a network of interconnected local businesses, and build a more resilient and prosperous future for all of us in Northeast Pennsylvania.
Thank you for supporting local and for being a vital part of our community’s success.
