Difference Makers: Air Force Veteran Shares Why he Employs Fellow Vets and People with Disabilities

By Neil A. Carousso

NEW JERSEY (WCBS 880) — An Air Force Veteran Employs fellow vets and those who are disabled in an effort to make a difference in his New Jersey Community.

https://omny.fm/shows/wcbs-880-difference-makers/air-force-vet-employs-vets-and-disabled-workers-in

Captain Jack Licata served as a nuclear missile officer from 1984-88. One of his less glamorous jobs was taking out the trash, and he hated that duty.

He hated it so much that years after he left the Air Force, Captain Licata finally decided to do something about it and created BagUps, which is a patented biodegradable trash bag dispensing system. It’s like a tissue box for trash bags, so you do not have to stick your hand in the trash can.

His e-commerce business is taking off as Americans create more waste at home during the coronavirus pandemic.

When his then-fiancee suffered severe head trauma in a car accident in 1990, he saw first-hand how life can be disrupted and decided to hire people who suffer with disabilities, including fellow veterans returning home.

“They love it,” Captain Licata told WCBS 880’s Neil A. Carousso, proudly. “This way they’re not identified by their disability, they are now identified by what they’re doing and what they can do, and the difference they make.”

Hear more from our “Difference Maker” today on the WCBS 880 Difference Makers podcast above and on the RADIO.COM app.

Difference Makers on WCBS 880 is supported by New York Community Bank and the NYCB Family of Banks, serving the needs of our communities, in good times and bad, since 1859.