The longtime leader of East Granby-based recycling and waste hauling provider Paine’s Inc. was inducted this month into the National Waste & Recycling Association’s (NWRA) Hall of Fame.
Michael Paine, who has been president of his family’s business since 1989, received the honor June 7 in Las Vegas at an industry trade show.
Paine’s, which was once primarily an egg farm with a hauling side business, said its leader helped it become the first New England company to offer automated trash collection and curbside recycling.
Paine joins more than 180 fellow industry managers and executives who the NWRA has inducted since 1986. The association said the award recognizes “industry visionaries and icons that have created an enduring legacy through their inspirational leadership, core values and significant contributions.”
Paine has chaired the NWRA’s Connecticut chapter since the 1990s, testifying regularly on proposed state legislation related to waste and recycling.
He served as NWRA’s chairman in 2007, as a member of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s Modernizing Recycling Working Group in 2012, and he is currently serving his second term as a Simsbury selectman.
