Shoreline business assists flood-ravaged south Texas

KILLINGWORTH » BullBag, a dumpster company headquartered in Connecticut, is contracted to help with relief efforts in south Texas following devastation broughtby ahurricane this week.

BullBag CEO Paul DiSpazio said his company, which was founded in New Haven, was bringing “thousands and thousands” of bags to ravaged areas, aswell as mobile homes for about 25 staff members who will work with government agencies and private contractors to clean up after parts of Houston were hit with more than 50 inches of rain during the storm.

“This is what we do on a daily basis, but on a larger scale,” DiSpazio said. “Things are changing on an hourly basis. Things are getting better in terms of weather, but things are getting worse and we’re praying for our friends over there.”

Currently, the company is working for private contractors who are hired by governmental agencies to assist with cleanup efforts in the area. Historically during other cleanup efforts, DiSpazio said, the company has also gone on to work directly for the state and federal government.

“To see such devastation, to see people at the mercy of others, is really, really a sad thing to see, but its gratifying that we’re there to help,” DiSpazio said. “My employees are great because they are putting in non-regular hours and it’s gratifying to see humanitarian efforts.”

DiSpazio said everything in the hurricane’s path, from schools, local stores, government buildings and the housing authority’s properties, will need to be remediated for cleanup.

According to media reports, eight to 21 people were confirmed dead in Texas by Wednesday, and tens of thousands more have been displaced from their homes.

“It’s going to be years and years of cleanup there, and we hope to employ locals to give them jobs and assist with humanitarian efforts,” DiSpazio said.

Victoria Jacobs, chief marketing officer for BullBag, said many dumpsters have washed away in the rain, leading to a shortage.

“You’re going to need thousands of dumpsters,” she said.

On its website, BullBag lists its product as a reusable, eight-cubic-yard bag, capable of holding two and a half tons.

DiSpazio said this is not the first storm for BullBag; the company helped in Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina, in the northeast following Hurricane Sandy and along the east coast following Hurricane Matthew.

“This event in Texas made us turn on our efforts quicker,” DiSpazio said. “We’ll provide BullBags for people who are actually doing demolition and reconstruction and providing them services for debris removal.”