About Us
Meet Your New Waste Management Ally: Monarch Waste Co.
At Monarch Waste Co., we understand the unique challenges that cultivators, manufacturers, testers, and dispensaries face. Our friendly team provides personable and professional cannabis waste removal services tailored to meet your needs and government regulations, ensuring your licensed facility remains compliant and carefree.
Mission
Provide compliant, convenient, affordable, and sustainable solutions, reducing the environmental footprint and setting the standard for cannabis waste removal for the Missouri cannabis industry.
Vision
Support sustainable Missouri cannabis operations, grow the industry, and protect the environment.
Values
At Monarch Waste Co., the integrity of our operations stems from four core values:
Government Compliance
Sustainability
Convenience
Remarkable Customer Service
We are proud members of the cannabis industry, using our passion for ecology and environmentalism to drive our waste removal services for our fellow cannabis operations in Missouri. Since day one, Monarch’s purpose has not changed as we continue to honor our values for the betterment of our customers and the planet.
Zach McCullough
CEO and Co-Founder Monarch Waste Co.
Zach McCullough
CEO and Co-Founder Monarch Waste Co.
Zach McCullough is bringing new energy and ideas to cannabis waste management in Missouri, combining the perfect mix of compliance, sustainability and exceptional customer service, with practical solutions aimed at reducing the cannabis industry's growing environmental impact.
Raised in the vibrant city of Austin, TX, Zach’s love for nature led him to Prescott College in the raised deserts of Arizona, where he majored in Adventure Education, diving deep into environmental science and his passion for the great outdoors. Years later, after journeying back and forth across Asia while living abroad, Zach eventually settled in St. Louis, MO where he co-founded a thriving urban farm in the historic Benton Park West neighborhood, where he currently lives with his family.
In 2021, after being denied medical cannabis cultivation and dispensary licenses, like many others at the time, Zach took a moment to regroup. He then made a strategic hard pivot and co-founded Monarch Waste Co., Missouri’s first and only mobile cannabis waste management service. The rest is history.
As Zach puts it:
"Monarch Waste Co. isn’t the best at what we do. We’re the only ones who do what we do."
Annie Macheca
COO and Co-Founder, Monarch Waste Co.
Annie Macheca
COO and Co-Founder, Monarch Waste Co.
St. Louis native and Monarch Waste Co. COO and Co-Founder Annie Macheca is a committed environmentalist with a background in journalism and agroecology from Prescott College, Arizona. After years of travel and agricultural and food justice roles, Annie returned to St. Louis in 2013 to start Urban Sprout Farm. With Missouri's legalization of medical cannabis in 2018, she co-founded Monarch Waste Co., providing compliant cannabis waste solutions. In her professional and personal pursuits, Annie is passionate about farming, gardening, and beekeeping and enjoys life with her family, plus their dog and ten chickens.
Monarch's Story
Monarch Waste Co. founders Zach McCullough and Annie Macheca are deeply passionate about ecology, environmentalism, and helping communities thrive. After the 2018 legalization of medical marijuana in Missouri, the two were eager to join the State’s cannabis industry. However, Missouri’s early cannabis regulations were ill-prepared for the massive influx of applicants seeking cultivation and dispensary licenses.
Zach and Annie spent the better part of a year and a half applying for a license without success. Despite the momentary setback, it painted a clear picture of what the Missouri cannabis industry was missing: reliable, government-compliant cannabis waste removal.
They quickly pivoted and established Monarch Waste Co. in 2021. When deciding what to call their new venture, the two landed on “Monarch.” But why?
The monarch butterfly holds symbolic significance across many cultures. Revered for its stunning appearance and remarkable journey, the monarch represents the link between all living beings, the beauty of evolving through simple and challenging times, and our internal compass’s unfailing ability to guide us through life.
The symbolic nature behind the monarch butterfly significantly resonated with Zach and Annie, who instantly knew Monarch Waste Co. was meant to be.
