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Company Bio:
Burrito Brands Incorporated founder Marc Mataya invented the Leaf Burrito® in his front yard in Charlotte, NC in 2015, out of frustration with filling and wasting single-use bags. The City of Charlotte Solid Waste Department does not accept tarps as they can be dangerously overloaded and can blow back into the road. The Aha moment was when Mataya watched the Solid Waste staff ripping open the neighbor's plastic bags one-by-one on their way down to his house where they were stuffing plastic bags with additional bags that they had emptied. The staff ultimately made it down to Mataya's non-compliant tarp full of leaves that was tied up which resembled a giant burrito. The staff were effortlessly able to dump over 25 bags worth of leaves into the truck in a matter of seconds. The staff member commented, "Yeah, we actually prefer it this way, otherwise we have to rip open every bag as you can see." This was the second Aha moment recognizing that we need a manageable, uniform, ergonomic and standardized "tarp" which stays closed and is easy to empty. This is where the Leaf Burrito® idea was born!
Leaf Burrito® is a twice-patented, reusable yard-debris removal tool, made of customized industrial-grade mesh and heavy-duty YKK® zippers. Our product eliminates single-use bags and tarps, and preserves landfills. It has strong handles for ergonomic loading and lifting onto rear-loaders, trailers or trucks and comes in 5-foot and 7-foot zipped-length sizes. Leaf Burrito’s goals are to reduce single-use bags and short-lived tarps, while making the arduous task of bagging leaves, weeds, grass, hedge and garden clippings a simple and eco-friendly experience.
Leaf Burrito® was invented, designed, and they are all manufactured in Charlotte, NC, USA! The product launched in 2016 in Charlotte, North Carolina, where it was well-received by residents, green industry businesses and Home-Owners Associations (HOAs). As of March 2018, the 5-Foot Leaf Burrito® has been approved for curbside-emptying by the City of Charlotte Solid Waste Department.
Leaf Burrito® bags help protect valuable landfill space by eliminating the need for plastic bags. As cities around the world slowly discontinue picking up plastic film bags, homeowners are left with only paper bag options which are cumbersome to use, make curbsides unattractive, and are ultimately still single-use items that carry a very significant carbon footprint to produce and distribute. The City of Charlotte’s ordinance has banned plastic bags for yard waste as of July 5, 2021 and our approved 5-foot Leaf Burritos are here to save the day!
“One of my favorite things about the very simple design of the product is that it can create thousands of jobs as its construction is comprised of only cutting, sewing and screen printing. There are no batteries, bulbs or beeps.” - Marc Mataya
CEO Bio:
Marc Mataya, born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA, blindly moved to Charlotte in July of 1993 to seek a career in technology in the financial services world. At that time, Charlotte was the 4rd largest banking industry in the country, so the city was a perfect fit for his degrees at The Ohio State University in Accounting, Finance and Computer Information Science.
Marc worked as a software developer for Wells Fargo and Bank of America for seven years before breaking out and forming his own programming consulting business back in 2000. With the combination of his financial skills, business operations knowledge and website development experiences, Marc then began his credit card processing company, called Straightline Processing, a few years later.
Marc pursues his other creative ideas via his company called Idea Endeavors. He owns multiple patents on a reusable yard debris bag called Leaf Burrito®. Originally invented for the ease of use by the homeowner to avoid bagging leaves, Marc discovered that this product has a much greater purpose around the globe of eliminating plastic film used for yard debris.
Marc’s hobbies include touring the country on his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, mountain biking, tennis, water & snow skiing, spending a lot of time in the mountains and playing in a hobby-band that he formed back in 1996 called Orange Crush.
His mantra is Roman Philosopher Seneca’s quote of “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity!”
marc@mataya.net | http://www.marcmataya.com