Inside WM’s Plan to Automate the Future of Trash

What this episode covers

WM CEO Jim Fish joins Leadership Next to unpack how the company formerly known as Waste Management is reinventing itself for a new era—one defined by sustainability, automation, and culture-first leadership. Fish explains how WM is transforming from a landfill-dependent waste hauler into a high-tech environmental leader, investing in profitable recycling centers and piloting autonomous garbage trucks. He shares why recycling is not only good for the planet but a major business driver, and reveals WM’s plan to reduce 5,000 jobs through attrition—not layoffs—by automating hard-to-fill roles. Along the way, Fish reflects on the surprising role trash collection has played in improving public health, and why, in his eyes, managing waste responsibly is a civic duty we all share.

Share this episode

Similar Episodes

D-Day: The Longest Day

Jun 6, 2026 ·9m

Defense for Women: Introduction

Jun 2, 2026 ·8m

Defense for Women: Where It Happens

Jun 2, 2026 ·9m

Defense for Women: The Dangerous Need to Be Nice

Jun 1, 2026 ·8m

What Freedom Means to Me

May 31, 2026 ·2m

Defense for Women: Boundaries Are a Weapon

May 30, 2026 ·10m

Similar Podcasts

Wild WinsDay Wild WinsDay Pump the hump with WILD WINSday 🐪💪: Your 3-minute weekly video boost for leadership, sales, marketing, and business breakthroughs to WIN the day! NEWMORROW SESSIONS - A PodCast Series on the Future of Hospitality Mario C. Bauer, Florian Schneider, Axel Weber & Dr. Tillman Bardt The Newmorrow PodCast is more than a podcast — it's a platform for open dialog on the future of our business, a platform for those building what doesn’t exist yet. Here, we share and embrace our passion for the hospitality industry, but we won’t romanticize the journey. We ask the tough questions, confront uncomfortable truths, and prepare for a future that resists easy answers. We believe that the tougher and wilder times become, the more openly, honestly and humanely people need to talk to each other and act together. We believe, openness, togetherness, and truthfulness should also be cornerstones of a professional community to develop our utopian idea of „open source“. This is a space where visionaries don’t just imagine the future — they wrestle with the paradoxes that shape it: success vs. happiness, data vs. instinct, stability vs. reinvention. Join leaders, entrepreneurs, and thinkers as they share not what made them — but what’s actively shaping them, now and next. So tune in Leading From All Sides Abbie Mirata Discover the various styles of leadership, from leading at the forefront to steering from behind, rising to the top or empowering from the bottom. We'll explore horizontal and vertical leadership, leading through your brand, and even leading in your most intimate relationships. Join me in engaging conversations with special guests who are leaders in their careers, communities, and families. Gain insights, perspectives, and invaluable lessons that challenge traditional notions of what it means to lead. Hyperfluent Hypio Hyperfluent transmits straight from the heart of Hyperliquid, where culture, creativity, and capital converge. Anchored by the architects of Hypio—the decentralized cultural virus—each episode archives the minds engineering the blockchain built to house all finance. These conversations are traceable artifacts in HyperEVM’s evolution: not just what’s being built, but why it matters, how it mutates, and where it’s taking us next. Listen in for the blueprints, the blind spots, and the narrative weapons shaping tomorrow’s markets.Hyperfluent: learn the language, ride the wave, spread the strain.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Leadership Next?

This episode is 57 minutes long.

When was this Leadership Next episode published?

This episode was published on August 5, 2025.

What is this episode about?

WM CEO Jim Fish joins Leadership Next to unpack how the company formerly known as Waste Management is reinventing itself for a new era—one defined by sustainability, automation, and culture-first leadership. Fish explains how WM is transforming from...

Can I download this Leadership Next episode?

Yes, you can download this episode by clicking the download button on the episode player, or subscribe to the podcast in your preferred podcast app for automatic downloads.