What began with 14 trucks has grown to a fleet of 31. Knight Waste Services is a collection partner that provides residential garbage and recycling services to the city of Fort Worth.
Knight Waste Services (KWS) is a privately held minority, family-owned company that has been servicing the garbage collection needs of the Fort Worth community since 2003. KWS was founded by Richard Knight Jr. whose long history of achievements gave him motivation and confidence on his road to becoming an entrepreneur.
He founded several other businesses including of KnightCo Oil Company. Throughout his professional career he took on leadership roles. As a dedicated public servant, he held managerial positions in several cities, including Durham, North Carolina, and Gainesville, Florida. As City Manager for the City of Dallas, he administered an operating budget of more than $869 million, a capital budget of more than $247 million and a payroll of more than 13K city employees. All if this prepared him for and gave him insight for KWS.
There is no doubt that Knight Jr had a strong work ethic and there is no doubt that same work ethic and focus on community has been instilled in his family.
Knight Jr, passed away in November of 2021. His sons Marcus Knight and Richard L. Knight continue running the business with the same passion and drive as their father. They’ve gladly accepted responsibility to keep the company moving forward.
“Our mission remains the same, which is to not only provide communities with residential waste collection services that are environmentally responsible and cost-effective, but also to value both the communities we work in and our employees,” said Marcus. He serves as president of Knight Waste Services, Ltd, where he has overall responsibility for business activities including but not limited to human resources, finance and contract oversight. His previous business management roles include president of KnightCo Oil and president/owner of ARK Waste Haulers. Marcus also served three terms as Mayor for the City of Lancaster, Texas (2008-2018). During his tenure as mayor he served on a number of regional and state boards including the North Central Texas Council of Governments Executive Board, Texas Municipal League Board and the Metroplex Mayors Association.
To read the full article, click on the cover of the August 2022 issue
