Going green takes on a whole new meaning for one man in Detroit who is making it his chief responsibility to keep communities clean and challenging the norms of the waste industry.
Detroit Environmental Services LLC CEO Sean J. Williams is not new to the waste industry alternatives business — it’s his specialty, all the while using the City of Detroit as his motivation and backdrop.
“I really became inspired by the recent commitment of residents of the City of Detroit, the leadership, and a number of state and federal initiatives that are seriously focusing on issues of eliminating blight in our community, as well as efforts to increase participation in curbside recycling,” Williams said. “Finding alternatives to traditional solid waste disposal is an enormous task that needs to be pursued vigorously, and I wanted to join the efforts of all the community folks that keep the focus on that each day.”
Williams – whose work encompasses waste management, urban development, and environmental stability – said that it’s “relatively easy” to pick up the trash, but what’s next?
“This is a challenge that needs new perspective and the kind of innovation that a guy like me was born to resolve,” Williams said. “Now seems like the perfect time in history to focus on reinventing an industry that is as old as civilization, but sometimes lacks the initiative and resources to change practices that are equally as old.”
Williams added that he feels like he is the right man at the right time to find the missing pieces and help to achieve something great for the community – and the world.
He said that as a young kid watching the garbage truck drive past his front porch every week, he didn’t connect the dots on its next move.
“I have to admit I didn’t think much about what happens next,” Williams said. “When I was grown enough to jump off the porch and start exploring the world outside my neighborhood, I became hip to what happens next, and more importantly, what doesn’t happen in the world of downstream waste disposal.”
He added that Detroit has grown its solid waste and recycling initiatives in a very impressive and positive way in recent years, but an awful lot of what people throw away still goes unfiltered.
“As I’ve grown, I have become more educated and realized the missed possibility of what should happen next with the many precious resources we unknowingly throw in the trash,” he said, adding that growing up in an urban environment made him “well-aware” of how the waste industry can provide lucrative opportunities.
“It is one of the few that offers opportunities to anyone willing to show up and work, and my company is committed to accepting anyone from any background,” Williams said, adding that through his company he is cognizant enough to give it back to others especially from challenging backgrounds. “(People who are sometimes discarded and limited from good employment opportunities because of prior incarceration. Not to mention so many young folks dangling out there who just need to be grabbed up and put on a path forward. Not everyone can be saved, but I know I can do for them what others did for me.
“I will always remember those who are important to me and the people who work hard every day that look like me and who may be flawed like me.”
Williams’ day includes working on impactful projects that boost environmental neighborhood revitalization and sustainability – over time growing his empire to where it is today.
“One of our recent Community Development (CDBG) projects was unpacking a hoarder’s home that had been vacated for several years, tax reverted, and on track to being renovated and occupied by a needy low-income family,” he said. “On this particular project, we packed out an astonishing four tons of debris, while simultaneously employing five hungry young fellas eager to work and deliver a broom-swept property back to the city. This is a winning experience for everyone, and tax dollars spent with measurable results.”
Williams started Detroit Environmental Services with two rear-load packer trucks and uses this particular style of garbage trucks to pack out, crush, compact, and remove.
“Some of our most impactful projects have been packing out properties that would normally sit and contribute to neighborhood blight, so cleaning up empty dwellings and rapidly removing the debris is perfect for our base business model,” he said. “There is now a real commitment by city leadership to create revitalized and sustainable neighborhoods throughout Detroit’s 140 square miles, and I’m committed to bringing my resources and talents to making that happen one household at a time. Anywhere, anytime.”
About Post Author
