Marin Sanitary still evolving with the times

In these economic times, when longstanding local businesses retire or are sold, it's unusual when others celebrate 75 years of doing business in Marin.

In the case of the Marin Sanitary Service, which has provided garbage and recycling service to most of the county, the business is celebrating its impressive longevity with a step toward the future.

Stepping up the company's efforts to reduce the amount of household and business waste that winds up in landfill, the company has invested in new technology. One device separates packaged food from its containers and cleans the packaging so it can be recycled. The green waste is then sent to the nearby Central Marin Sanitation Agency where it is used in its anaerobic digester that produces biogas energy.

According to a 2021 state report, packaging makes up about 25% of the trash tossed away by consumers and businesses.

Another device will be used to separate paper products, a task that in the past has been done by hand.

The overall goal is to increase recycling.

Marin Sanitary Service has long been a pacesetter when it comes to recycling. It launched one of the first curbside recycling programs in California and has helped put Marin in the forefront of diverting waste from landfills.

Joseph Garbarino Jr., chair of the Marin Sanitary Service board, said the firm recycles about 60% of the waste it collects. That number reflects both the company's initiative and its 30,000 customers' awareness of the importance of recycling.

A statewide study in 2021 showed California's recycling rate was 40% and had declined. The report said the drop was the result of products using unrecyclable designs and an international market reduction in recyclable products.

Still, the state remains focused on a “zero waste” goal and significantly reducing the stream of waste that's heading to landfills.

In 2016, then-Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation that set the target of 75% by 2025.

Even in Marin, we have to improve on our commitment to reduce waste and increase recycling.

At 75, Marin Sanitary Service has built an impressive reputation for being on the front end of innovation toward that goal.

Its latest investments are part of that initiative and entrepreneurial mindset.

As Garbarino frames it, “we're doing as much recycling as we possibly can do and sell that rather than burying it.”

That's a long way from the days when Garbarino Jr.'s father and cousin, both Italian immigrants, used a horsedrawn wagon and burlap sacks to pick up and haul garbage in San Francisco.

Marin Sanitary Service was formed in 1948 by Joe Segale and Guido Zanotti. They were joined by Joe Garbarino Sr. — a cousin of today's board president — Ruben Valtierra, Ernie Zappettini and Lorry Morcone. In 1955, Joe Garbarino Jr. and Joe Cattanei joined the ownership.

They would hardly recognize the recycling-focused business of today. It's much more complex than collecting trash and taking it to the dump — though scavenging and reselling glass, cardboard and other items were always some part of the equation.

Our congratulations to the Marin Sanitary Service for its impressive milestone and marking it with an eye to the future, one that builds on its foundation of innovation and a reputation that reflects the environmental focus of the community it has been serving for 75 years.