This video, part of the 10-part series “What’s Going On Around Here?” — produced by GENO TV (Geno Geng) in 2004 — follows Nelson Widell as he tours Nantucket’s Waste Options facility, recalling what the dump looked like when he first arrived and how it evolved into a national model with recycling rates near 90%. Decades later, the same complex, highly specialized system he helped build remains largely unchanged — and helps explain why no one else bid.
Who is Waste Options?
Behind the name is a “boutique” monopoly. Unlike the multi-billion-dollar conglomerates like Waste Management (WM) that dominate the mainland, Waste Options is a specialized firm that has built a fortress around Nantucket’s unique geographical and operational constraints.
Waste Options was built around the expertise of founders Nelson and Nathan Widell. Nelson Widell is not simply a contractor — he is a veteran of the waste and composting industry with more than four decades of experience in organics processing, waste conversion, and facility development.
He co-founded Bedminster Bioconversion Corporation, helping to commercialize large-scale rotary drum composting systems that have been deployed internationally, including in Europe, Japan, and Australia.
Widell’s career spans the design, permitting, and operation of complex waste systems, as well as advisory roles in renewable energy and composting projects across the United States.
They didn’t just win a contract; they helped design the system Nantucket still relies on today. The island’s facility — built in the late 1990s around Bedminster technology — remains a rare example of mixed-waste composting operating at municipal scale in the U.S.
That system is high-maintenance, labor-intensive, and technically demanding. It requires precise sorting, material balance, and continuous monitoring — conditions that most mainland firms avoid in favor of simpler landfill or export models.
Since 1997, the town has paid Waste Options an estimated $150 million to $200 million in service fees and operational costs. Unlike other municipalities that split contracts between hauling and disposal, Waste Options provides “blanket coverage,” managing the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), the composter, and the C&D transfer station.
The “Only One Bid” Reality
In 2024, the town explored everything from gasification to pyrolysis in an attempt to break the monopoly. The result? Not a single other company in America bid on the contract.
The absence of competition isn’t a coincidence — it’s a signal.
Replacing Waste Options would not simply mean hiring a new vendor — it would require replacing a system built around specialized equipment, technical processes, and decades of institutional knowledge. Because they possess nearly 30 years of operational experience on Nantucket, the company is effectively “un-fireable.”
The Surcharge Strategy
The most controversial element of the current agreement is the surcharge system. The town pays a fixed fee for a set volume; once that threshold is exceeded, a $93-per-ton surcharge kicks in.
This creates a paradox: to avoid escalating costs, the town — operating under a self-declared emergency — must actively limit how much waste its own residents and businesses can bring to the facility.
- Marcel Deer
3/19/26