News

The Journey Begins … at UMD

Bob’s career began at the University of Maryland at College Park (UMD), where he initially attended the university on a wrestling scholarship and majored in Transportation Administration. After graduating, he was offered a position in the Athletic Department, where his first project showcased his aptitude for managing budgets and negotiation. Tasked with handling airline travel bids for the team, Bob saved the department $15,000 in his first year by securing a cost-effective contract with a local airline. This talent for finding and negotiating cost-effective solutions proved invaluable throughout his career.

After 20 years in the Athletic Department, Bob transitioned to the Facilities Department where he eventually took charge of General Services operations, which included solid waste removal. Then came the The Maryland Recycling Act (MRA) of 1988 mandating recycling, and the task of developing a sustainable recycling program fell to Bob and his staff.

The challenge? This new state-mandated recycling program was not funded. The solution? Shift a portion of the solid waste funds generated from self-supporting units like athletics, dining, and housing to the new recycling program. To help kick things off, Bob was given a one-time $10,000 allocation to buy whatever was needed to get the program off the ground. After that, it would have to be self-sustaining, funded by revenue from the self-supporting units.

After the budgetary issues, the next major hurdle involved an existing student-led recycling program that collected aluminum cans, glass bottles, and newspapers. Initially, the students were resistant to the takeover, but after some negotiation (Bob is good at that), they eventually came around, leading to the establishment of a comprehensive UMD recycling program. Bob also implemented cost-saving measures over the years to sustain the program and by the time he left UMD in 2005, the recycling program had expanded to include steel.

Developing a successful solid waste and recycling program at the University wasn’t Bob’s only challenge during this time. Faced with narrow streets throughout the campus that made operating larger trash trucks difficult, Bob proposed a solution to two major trash truck manufacturers: move the tandem axle forward and install a drop tag axle which would allow for better maneuverability through narrow streets. The resulting trucks were a hit with his drivers and soon got the attention of several major trash haulers Waste Management and BFI. Bob didn’t hesitate to share his design with the haulers and is credited with designing the first-of-its-kind front-loading truck with a drop tax axle in North America.

Retiring in 2005 after 37 years at UMD, Bob took a position as director of DPW in the City of College Park, Maryland. Right out of the gate, as he did at UMD, Bob figured out a way to save the City money. This time, his plan involved replacing the current inexpensive toters—requiring constant maintenance and frequent replacement—with more durable trash and recycling carts which lasted longer and saved money in the long run.

His logic was simple … money spent on those yearly repairs could be used to buy the new, more durable carts. His superior agreed and Bob set out to begin replacing carts in select areas. At the same time, Prince George's County had opened a MRF (Materials Recovery Facility) that could handle single-stream recycling which meant residents wouldn't have to separate their recyclables. The new carts were a hit. Next step? Replace carts throughout College Park.

Of course, instituting a plan such as this depends on budgets so Bob proposed breaking the plan into thirds, rolling out the program to one selected area per year over three years. Bob crunched the numbers, put it in the budget, and the council approved it without a hitch.

Then something amazing happened. Not only did the residents love the new carts, thirty days after the delivery of those first carts, council members from the other districts (scheduled for years two and three), were clamoring to speed things up. Using some budgetary ingenuity and a little bit of luck from a surplus in the snow budget (it had been a mild winter), Bob and his team were able to complete the entire rollout in less than two years. Magic.

Of course, getting residents to put the right items in the right bins can be a challenge. So, at Bob’s suggestion, the City started an enforcement policy to ensure proper sorting, citing residents who didn’t comply while refusing to take anything that was in the wrong cart. After just a few times, people started getting the message. Behavior modification at its best.

Bob didn’t stop there. To get recycling moving in multi-family buildings, he convinced residents of one condo complex to accept shared recycling bins. The incentive? Fewer bins meant more valuable parking space. He repeated this success with other complexes, offering choices and accommodations to suit their needs.

To handle waste management challenges in the City’s large student population, which lived in off-campus housing, Bob worked towards building strong partnerships with landlords and student organizations. He made deals with the fraternities and sororities to consolidate trash and recycling collection by installing trash and recycling dumpsters in strategic areas vs. each house having a separate collection system. The students even agreed to clean the streets around the houses on Sundays, using an extra dumpster that the City would drop off just for that purpose.

Education became a central strategy. Information about recycling and waste management was included in a detailed handout distributed during annual housing inspections, covering everything from trash and recycling to parking regulations and city ordinances. A separate publication—an A-to-Z guide to living in College Park—was created and distributed to every household.

Thanks to Bob’s proactive approach and community collaboration, trash and recycling services not only grew (yard waste curbside collection eventually joined the program) but also made a noticeable difference, boosting recycling rates and creating a cleaner, more environmentally conscious community.

Retirement … But Still Going Strong

Bob retired from College Park in 2018. When asked what makes him proudest of his career in the field, he cites the innovation and improvement in the recycling programs he was a part of at both UMD and College Park. While he was not able to make all the changes at UMD he wanted when he was there, Bob is glad to see at least one he had championed has since become a reality; recycling in the athletic facilities. After all, that is where it all started.

Bob may be retired but he isn’t inactive. He continues to serve the MRN BOD as Chairperson running the MRN Board of Directors meetings with precision and integrity. This long-standing commitment highlights his continuous effort to advance recycling initiatives across the state. His dedication has garnered praise leading to him being listed as an innovator in his industry by Marquis Who's Who, as well as receiving numerous honors from past employers, associations, one mayor and two Maryland governors.

Bob's dedication to his industry is just one part of who Bob Stumpff is. Long-time MRN industry colleague and friend Charlie Reighart says it best: "Bob Stumpff is just the kind of guy you want if you're looking to make progress on anything, because he's the steady, unsung hero who gets things done without fuss or fanfare."

On June 9, 2025, Bob was honored at the 2025 MRN/SWANA Mid-Atlantic Conference on June 9 with a presentation of Dwight Copenhaver Lifetime Achievement Award for his decades of distinguished and devoted service to recycling in Maryland. A well-deserved tribute to a hard-working and dedicated pioneer in the industry. (pictured with MRN BOD member Chaz Miller).

We salute you, Bob!