Joaquin Mariel is the Chief Commercial Officer at Balcones Recycling. As the leader of Balcones’ business development team, Joaquin is on a mission to bring the company’s expertise and commitment to recycling to more communities in the southern United States. Joaquin previously served as the company’s Chief Operating Officer, Vice President of Operations, and General Manager of the Austin division. His combination of operations experience and passion for enhancing the MRF’s role as the pioneer of the circular economy, makes him what some in the business like to call a “true believer,” a moniker that he wears with pride.
 
Before coming to Balcones, Joaquin was the Co-Executive Director of historic Central Texas nonprofit Ecology Action of Texas. His efforts there led to increased access to recycling opportunities for Austin residents and an expanded awareness of the importance of recycling and other landfill diversion activities across the state. Joaquin is an alumnus of the University of Texas where he received a BA in English. He loves cooking, camping, and hiking with his beloved children. As a retired rugby player, he still maintains dreams of a comeback career but is mostly now a fan and Oldboy for local Austin club, Huns RFC.