Todd Stamper, the founder and then-CEO of Priority Waste, speaks to the Macomb Township Board of Trustees in August 2025 about Priority’s contract coming into default.
By: Dean Vaglia | Metro | Published February 9, 2026
CLINTON TOWNSHIP — Trash hauler Priority Waste has confirmed that as of Feb. 9, founder and CEO Todd Stamper is no longer with the company.
Stamper was reportedly ousted by the company following a meeting of its board of directors on Feb. 7. A statement from the company reads as follows:
“On February 7, 2026, the Board of Directors of Priority Waste determined it is in the best interests of the Company and its stakeholders to part ways with Todd Stamper. Effective immediately, Vincent Hoyumpa has been appointed as interim CEO and Mr. Stamper has been removed as CEO and Board Member. Mr. Hoyumpa has been with Priority Waste for over seven years in his role as Chief of Staff and General Counsel and the Board is confident he is the right person to take over day-to-day leadership of the Company. He knows the business well and is supported by a deep bench of talent and strong financial institutions that are focused on ensuring this is a smooth transition for Priority Waste employees, customers and partners.”
In a phone call with C & G Newspapers on Feb. 9, Stamper confirmed that he is no longer with the company.
“I’ve been with Priority Waste for seven years,” Stamper said. “It’s a great company, (I) love everybody there and look forward to working with the company in the transition. I wish them nothing but the best. … They’re great.”
According to Priority Waste’s website, Stamper founded the waste hauler in 2018 with people experienced in the industry. After handling waste for the city of Detroit and other communities, the Clinton Township-based company took over much of southeastern Michigan’s residential waste hauling business when it bought out equipment, employees and municipal contracts from Green For Life Environmental in the summer of 2024.
The transition from GFL began in July 2024 and was marred with complaints about service problems and improperly maintained equipment. Residents in dozens of municipalities hoping for a seamless transition with Priority continuing GFL’s level of service told tales about missed pickups, which resulted in burned relations and reputational damage for the company. The governing bodies in the dissatisfied communities took actions that included activating default proceedings in their respective contracts, as was the case in Macomb Township. Others, including Clinton Township, fined the company for the missed pickups. Some even switched waste haulers entirely, including Harrison Township and the city of Bloomfield Hills.
Bloomfield Hills’ move to stop contracting with Priority came in January 2026, when its City Commission addressed complaints about missed pickups to Dan Venet, the company’s vice president of municipal sales. The city ultimately chose to negotiate a contract with Express Waste Services.
Stamper’s ouster leaves municipalities at a crossroads.
In Macomb Township, Treasurer Leon Drolet was left weighing options for how the township can prevent the change from affecting residents.
“Our top priority is just ensuring consistent service to residents,” Drolet said. “There’s been some tough spots in the Priority Waste service over the past year, so at this point we are in a holding pattern while we look at what our potential midterm options are. Do we need to go to bid early, even though we’ve got two years left on the agreement? … Where are we going to be a few months from now?”
Drolet noted that service has had consistent improvement since the township issued a notice of default to Priority over the summer of 2025. With the exception of occasional weeks where complaints will spike, service in the township has been “relatively consistent and reasonably good.”
At press time, the only communication Drolet has had with Priority Waste’s new management was an email informing the township of the change in leadership.
C & G Newspapers was unable to speak with Hoyumpa before press time.
This was a developing story at press time. For updates, chck back to candgnews.com.