employee-owned resource recovery company

Recology

An employee-owned recycling, compost, and waste-services company with resource-recovery value, municipal-contracting exposure, and prior legal issues. Recology remains weak because of person-dependent governance and material opacity, even where the product or service has practical value.

Why this matters: Waste and recovery firms combine public-service value with contracting and accountability risks.

Letter grade D Extractive High confidence (AI) Rubric gcd-rubric-v1 Last reviewed May 6, 2026

Final Score 23* D - Extractive

DEXTRACTIVE23 pts

* Tentative scaffolding score. Not human-checked or final.

Base Material34

Bonus+0

Cap66No structure cap

After Cap34

Penalties-11

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Evaluation Overview

D - Extractive

The score turns mainly on Ownership, with the largest penalty coming from Reversibility.

Strengths

Ownership6/10
Governance4/10
Extraction4/10

Penalties

Reversibility-5
Policy Capture-4
Accountability Opacity-2

Evidence state

ConfidenceHigh confidence (AI)
ThoroughnessPartial (AI)
Linked claims14
Direct axis claims12
Coverage12/12

Scoring Axes

Axis	Score	Why this score
Ownership ? Control rights: shareholder-dominated at 0, worker cooperative control at 10.	6 / 10	The linked record identifies Recology as an employee-owned resource recovery company. The linked record identifies Recology as an employee-owned resource recovery company. That places Recology in the middle of Ownership: there is some mission, member, producer, or public-interest constraint, but decisive control is not fully democratic. The value stays below the top tier because the linked record does not show full democratic control, non-extractive lock-in, or complete stakeholder protection on this axis. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 125 scored entries below, 20 tied, 81 above on Ownership. Linked evidence Recology describes itself as an employee-owned resource recovery company. [1]
Governance ? Binding decision authority: centralized control at 0, democratic stakeholder control at 10.	4 / 10	The linked record identifies Recology as an employee-owned resource recovery company. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 108 scored entries below, 18 tied, 100 above on Governance. Linked evidence context Recology describes itself as an employee-owned resource recovery company. [1] Recology describes itself as an employee-owned resource recovery company, but the San Francisco settlement shows regulated service users relied on public enforcement rather than democratic customer control. [2]
Extraction ? Surplus allocation, wage share, CEO pay ratio, margins, and structured extraction judgment.	4 / 10	The linked record identifies Recology as an employee-owned resource recovery company. The linked record identifies Recology as an employee-owned resource recovery company. That places Recology in the middle of Extraction: the institution creates real value but still leaves room for rent extraction, unequal bargaining, or surplus capture. The value stays below the top tier because the linked record does not show full democratic control, non-extractive lock-in, or complete stakeholder protection on this axis. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 62 scored entries below, 32 tied, 132 above on Extraction. Linked evidence context Recology describes itself as an employee-owned resource recovery company. [1] The San Francisco City Attorney announced a Recology settlement over ratepayer overcharges, documenting extraction risk inside a regulated local waste-service relationship. [3]
Labor Sovereignty ? Worker power: coercive conditions at 0, co-determination or ownership at 7. Employee dissatisfaction matters only when source-backed evidence shows concrete limits on worker agency, such as coercive scheduling, retaliation, wage theft, harassment, unsafe conditions, suppression of worker voice, or extreme turnover.	4 / 7	The linked record identifies Recology as an employee-owned resource recovery company. The linked record identifies Recology as an employee-owned resource recovery company. That places Recology in the middle of Labor Sovereignty: workers or participants have some protection or agency, but not enough binding power to control the relationship. The value stays below the top tier because the linked record does not show full democratic control, non-extractive lock-in, or complete stakeholder protection on this axis. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 112 scored entries below, 39 tied, 75 above on Labor Sovereignty. Linked evidence context Recology describes itself as an employee-owned resource recovery company. [1] Recology's employee ownership gives workers an economic stake in the resource-recovery business, while the reviewed record does not establish full worker cooperative governance. [4]
Solidarity with the Unemployed ? Treatment of exits and nonworkers, including severance, redeployment, and non-competes.	3 / 7	The linked record identifies Recology as an employee-owned resource recovery company. The linked record identifies Recology as an employee-owned resource recovery company. That places Recology in the middle of Solidarity with the Unemployed: some access, severance, retraining, openness, or mutual-aid value is present, but it is not central or durable. The value stays below the top tier because the linked record does not show full democratic control, non-extractive lock-in, or complete stakeholder protection on this axis. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 81 scored entries below, 45 tied, 100 above on Solidarity with the Unemployed. Linked evidence context Recology describes itself as an employee-owned resource recovery company. [1] Recology's recycling, composting, and resource-recovery services have public environmental value, while the ratepayer settlement shows weak protection for residents dependent on the service. [5]
Loss-Bearing Fidelity ? Willingness to absorb costs to preserve values, workers, users, and public obligations.	3 / 7	The linked record identifies Recology as an employee-owned resource recovery company. The linked record identifies Recology as an employee-owned resource recovery company. That places Recology in the middle of Loss-Bearing Fidelity: there is some willingness to preserve obligations, but the record still leaves meaningful risk-shifting concerns. The value stays below the top tier because the linked record does not show full democratic control, non-extractive lock-in, or complete stakeholder protection on this axis. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 48 scored entries below, 39 tied, 139 above on Loss-Bearing Fidelity. Linked evidence context Recology describes itself as an employee-owned resource recovery company. [1] The Recology settlement documents overcharges to San Francisco ratepayers, showing that customers bore costs that required public enforcement to correct. [6]
Market Conduct ? Pricing fairness, switching costs, lock-in, and rent extraction.	2 / 5	The San Francisco City Attorney announced a Recology settlement over overcharges to San Francisco ratepayers. The San Francisco City Attorney announced a Recology settlement over overcharges to San Francisco ratepayers. That places Recology in the middle of Market Conduct: the product has real value but still uses meaningful lock-in, gatekeeping, market power, or dependency. The value stays below the top tier because the linked record does not show full democratic control, non-extractive lock-in, or complete stakeholder protection on this axis. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 31 scored entries below, 22 tied, 173 above on Market Conduct. Linked evidence The San Francisco City Attorney announced a Recology settlement over overcharges to San Francisco ratepayers. [7]
Product Integrity ? Preservation of quality rather than degradation for monetization.	4 / 5	The San Francisco City Attorney announced a Recology settlement over overcharges to San Francisco ratepayers. The San Francisco City Attorney announced a Recology settlement over overcharges to San Francisco ratepayers. That places Recology high on Product Integrity: the core offering is genuinely useful and comparatively less dependent on traps, degradation, or harmful dependencies. A still-higher or maximum value requires stronger proof that this structure is durable, broad, and not merely discretionary. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 61 scored entries below, 72 tied, 93 above on Product Integrity. Linked evidence context The San Francisco City Attorney announced a Recology settlement over overcharges to San Francisco ratepayers. [7] Recology provides useful recycling, composting, and resource-recovery services, while the overcharge settlement materially compromises trust in service integrity. [8]
Scale Integrity ? Whether growth improves or degrades fairness and accountability.	4 / 5	The San Francisco City Attorney announced a Recology settlement over overcharges to San Francisco ratepayers. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 109 scored entries below, 81 tied, 36 above on Scale Integrity. Linked evidence context The San Francisco City Attorney announced a Recology settlement over overcharges to San Francisco ratepayers. [7] Recology's employee-owned resource-recovery scale produces environmental utility, but regulated local-service dependence and the overcharge settlement show accountability strain at scale. [9]

Penalties

Penalty	Applied	Why this penalty
Reversibility ? Applied when positive conduct depends on current living leaders, founders, family owners, or other person-contingent governance rather than durable structure. Range: -5 to 0.	-5	Recology's favorable conduct depends partly on current leaders, founders, family owners, executive discretion, or other person-contingent control rather than a fully locked democratic stakeholder-control structure. Recology's favorable conduct depends partly on current leaders, founders, family owners, executive discretion, or other person-contingent control rather than a fully locked democratic stakeholder-control structure. That warrants a severe Reversibility penalty because favorable conduct depends on current people or discretionary leadership rather than locked stakeholder structure. The value is near the floor because the conduct appears central, large-scale, repeated, or institutionally powerful rather than incidental. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 0 scored entries below, 95 tied, 131 above on Reversibility. Linked evidence context Recology describes itself as an employee-owned resource recovery company. [1] Recology's favorable conduct depends partly on current leaders, founders, family owners, executive discretion, or other person-contingent control rather than a fully locked democratic stakeholder-control structure. [10]
Policy Capture ? Private-interest attempts to bend law, regulation, subsidies, taxes, enforcement, trade, labor, safety, competition, environmental, healthcare, housing, surveillance, civil-liberties, or consumer policy against workers, customers, citizens, affected communities, or ecological life. Public-interest advocacy is not penalized merely because it is lobbying. Range: -15 to 0.	-4	OpenLobby records RECOLOGY INC. lobbying on tax, environment, trade, waste with about $880K in spending across 32 filings; the reviewed filings document private institutional lobbying over public rules rather than a public-interest advocacy role. OpenLobby records RECOLOGY INC. lobbying on tax, environment, trade, waste with about $880K in spending across 32 filings; the reviewed filings document private institutional lobbying over public rules rather than a public-interest advocacy role. That warrants a limited Policy Capture penalty because private institutional pressure is being applied to public rules while affected people cannot democratically govern that agenda. The value is limited because the linked record shows a real problem but not one that dominates the profile on this axis. Linked evidence OpenLobby records RECOLOGY INC. lobbying on tax, environment, trade, waste with about $880K in spending across 32 filings; the reviewed filings document private institutional lobbying over public rules rather than a public-interest advocacy role. [14]
Accountability Opacity ? Material opacity, reputation laundering, or hidden accountability structures that prevent public accountability. Range: -2 to 0.	-2	The San Francisco Recology overcharge settlement is relevant to the accountability-opacity penalty because ratepayers overpaid under a regulated local monopoly-like service relationship. The San Francisco Recology overcharge settlement is relevant to the accountability-opacity penalty because ratepayers overpaid under a regulated local monopoly-like service relationship. That warrants a severe Accountability Opacity penalty because material facts, risks, conflicts, ownership, or accountability information are obscured from the public. The value is near the floor because the conduct appears central, large-scale, repeated, or institutionally powerful rather than incidental. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 0 scored entries below, 52 tied, 174 above on Accountability Opacity. Linked evidence The San Francisco Recology overcharge settlement is relevant to the accountability-opacity penalty because ratepayers overpaid under a regulated local monopoly-like service relationship. [12]

Bonus Credits

No bonus credits applied in this version.

Confidence Basis

Confidence is computed from the evidence trail and review state, not typed into the profile by hand.

High 85/100

14 verified linked claims 12 direct axis claims 0 disputed claims 12/12 components covered

This confidence label measures the source-backed evidence trail. AI-scaffolded scores remain tentative until human review.

Claim confidence 17/20

14 verified linked claims

Source quality 15/18

Best source per verified claim, weighted by institutional reliability

Direct axis-specific claims 14/18

12 direct claims across 12 active components

Dispute load 12/12

0 disputed claims on this entity

Recency 10/10

Newest accepted timestamp: May 13, 2026

Reviewer status 7/12

Human-reviewed components score higher than AI scaffolding

Component coverage 10/10

12/12 evidence-bearing components have direct support

Evidence State

Profile stateAI draft / human-pending

VerificationUnverified

ConfidenceHigh confidence (AI)

ThoroughnessPartial (AI)

Correction routeUse “Challenge this rating” for factual errors, missing counterevidence, source problems, or calculation mistakes.

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Claims and Sources

Claims are the evidence record. Each claim needs a source link, axis category, status, confidence level, and timestamp before it can support a score.

* Tentative scaffolding score. Not human-checked or final.

1Recology describes itself as an employee-owned resource recovery company.

Ownership Verified High confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 5, 2026

AI scaffold

Recology companyGeneral web source · 58%

2Recology describes itself as an employee-owned resource recovery company, but the San Francisco settlement shows regulated service users relied on public enforcement rather than democratic customer control.

Governance Verified High confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 13, 2026

AI scaffold

Recology employee-ownedGeneral web source · 58%
San Francisco City Attorney Recology settlementPrimary public record · 100%

3The San Francisco City Attorney announced a Recology settlement over ratepayer overcharges, documenting extraction risk inside a regulated local waste-service relationship.

Extraction Verified High confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 13, 2026

AI scaffold

San Francisco City Attorney Recology settlementPrimary public record · 100%

4Recology's employee ownership gives workers an economic stake in the resource-recovery business, while the reviewed record does not establish full worker cooperative governance.

Labor Sovereignty Verified Medium confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 13, 2026

AI scaffold

Recology employee-ownedGeneral web source · 58%

5Recology's recycling, composting, and resource-recovery services have public environmental value, while the ratepayer settlement shows weak protection for residents dependent on the service.

Solidarity Unemployed Verified Medium confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 13, 2026

AI scaffold

Recology homepageGeneral web source · 58%
San Francisco City Attorney Recology settlementPrimary public record · 100%

6The Recology settlement documents overcharges to San Francisco ratepayers, showing that customers bore costs that required public enforcement to correct.

Loss Bearing Fidelity Verified High confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 13, 2026

AI scaffold

San Francisco City Attorney Recology settlementPrimary public record · 100%

7The San Francisco City Attorney announced a Recology settlement over overcharges to San Francisco ratepayers.

Market Conduct Verified High confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 5, 2026

AI scaffold

San Francisco City Attorney Recology settlementPrimary public record · 100%

8Recology provides useful recycling, composting, and resource-recovery services, while the overcharge settlement materially compromises trust in service integrity.

Product Integrity Verified High confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 13, 2026

AI scaffold

Recology homepageGeneral web source · 58%
San Francisco City Attorney Recology settlementPrimary public record · 100%

9Recology's employee-owned resource-recovery scale produces environmental utility, but regulated local-service dependence and the overcharge settlement show accountability strain at scale.

Scale Integrity Verified High confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 13, 2026

AI scaffold

Recology employee-ownedGeneral web source · 58%
San Francisco City Attorney Recology settlementPrimary public record · 100%

10Recology's favorable conduct depends partly on current leaders, founders, family owners, executive discretion, or other person-contingent control rather than a fully locked democratic stakeholder-control structure.

Reversibility Verified Medium confidence Human-reviewed May 5, 2026

Recology companyGeneral web source · 58%

11Recology presents recycling, composting, and resource recovery as core services.

Ecological Harm Verified Medium confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 5, 2026

AI scaffold

Recology homepageGeneral web source · 58%

12The San Francisco Recology overcharge settlement is relevant to the accountability-opacity penalty because ratepayers overpaid under a regulated local monopoly-like service relationship.

Accountability Opacity Verified High confidence Human-reviewed May 5, 2026

San Francisco City Attorney Recology settlementPrimary public record · 100%

13Recology's public materials state a mission, values, ownership model, advocacy role, or institutional standpoint plainly enough that this record does not identify penalty-level neutrality theater.

Ideological Disavowal Verified Medium confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 9, 2026

AI scaffold

Recology official siteGeneral web source · 58%
Recology companyGeneral web source · 58%
San Francisco City Attorney Recology settlementPrimary public record · 100%

14OpenLobby records RECOLOGY INC. lobbying on tax, environment, trade, waste with about $880K in spending across 32 filings; the reviewed filings document private institutional lobbying over public rules rather than a public-interest advocacy role.

Policy Capture Verified Medium confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 11, 2026

AI scaffold

OpenLobby — RECOLOGY INC. lobbying profileGeneral web source · 58%

Alternatives

AGOOD58 Isthmus Engineering worker cooperative engineering firm · same market AGOOD55 New Era Windows worker cooperative manufacturer · same market BQUALIFIED49 MONDRAGON Corporation cooperative federation · Spain BQUALIFIED42 Scott Bader commonwealth-owned chemical company · United Kingdom

Competitors

AGOOD58 Isthmus Engineering worker cooperative engineering firm · same market AGOOD55 New Era Windows worker cooperative manufacturer · same market DEXTRACTIVE33 Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories employee-owned engineering company · same market DEXTRACTIVE12 W. L. Gore & Associates private employee-owned company · same market DEXTRACTIVE9 Henkel public consumer brands and adhesives company · same market DEXTRACTIVE5 Church & Dwight public household and personal-care manufacturer · same market DEXTRACTIVE5 Colgate-Palmolive public oral-care and consumer-products company · same market DEXTRACTIVE4 SC Johnson private household-products manufacturer · same market

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Audit Log

Recent public changes for this company or group. The full audit log is part of the Transparency record.

May 6, 2026 at 12:00 AM UTC ai-scaffolding toxic-products-assessment

Added tentative AI-generated Toxic Products penalty 0 and directory value for current toxic, addictive, pesticide, livestock, chemical, or consumer-safety product exposure.

May 6, 2026 at 12:00 AM UTC ai-scaffolding confidence-calibration

Rechecked evidence coverage and source quality during the evaluation-quality pass; confidence now reflects direct source coverage, complexity, and remaining uncertainty rather than score direction.

May 5, 2026 at 12:00 AM UTC ai-scaffolding ai-scaffolding-score

Added tentative AI-generated claim-backed score components for a previously listed under-review company or group.

View Full Audit Log