Scavengers - Revision history

Ccarlsson: added photo

2020-06-17T01:57:01Z

added photo

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:57, 16 June 2020
Line 36:		Line 36:

	Sunset Scavenger had its corporate offices on Hampshire near 19th Street, but most of the Boss Scavengers lived further west, many on today’s Oakwood Street when it was a dead-end alley from 18th near Dolores. Boarding houses and stables crowded the cul-de-sac and every night the scavengers’ horses and carts would fill what they commonly referred to as “Dago Alley.” Stefanelli says his three uncles had places on the alley, along with many Sunset “Boss Scavengers” with names like Campi, Fontana, Chiosso, Borghello, Onarato, Moscone, Leonardini, Guaraglia, Scolari, Salvi, and Musante.		Sunset Scavenger had its corporate offices on Hampshire near 19th Street, but most of the Boss Scavengers lived further west, many on today’s Oakwood Street when it was a dead-end alley from 18th near Dolores. Boarding houses and stables crowded the cul-de-sac and every night the scavengers’ horses and carts would fill what they commonly referred to as “Dago Alley.” Stefanelli says his three uncles had places on the alley, along with many Sunset “Boss Scavengers” with names like Campi, Fontana, Chiosso, Borghello, Onarato, Moscone, Leonardini, Guaraglia, Scolari, Salvi, and Musante.

			[[Image:Oakwood near 19th Jun 12, 1915 wnp36.00828.jpg\|800px]]

			'''Oakwood Street, a.k.a. "Dago Alley" looking south towards 19th Street, June 12, 1915.'''

			''Photo: OpenSFHistory.org wnp36.00828''

	The two companies founded a third entity in 1935, the Sanitary Fill Company, which ran the dump on Tunnel Road, assuming responsibility from Southern Pacific railroad after 1952 for slowly filling in Brisbane Lagoon over the course of a half century. The techniques pioneered by Sanitary Fill Company—covering garbage with layers of fresh soil cut from the flanks of [[Bayview Hill\|Bayview Hill]]—long before any regulatory laws were passed, helped cut down on blowing garbage and the raw stench long associated with dumps. (Ironically, it was the stench of the garbage here blowing south across the flanks of [[San Bruno Mountain\|San Bruno Mountain]] that probably saved the mountain from rampant development in the mid-twentieth century.)		The two companies founded a third entity in 1935, the Sanitary Fill Company, which ran the dump on Tunnel Road, assuming responsibility from Southern Pacific railroad after 1952 for slowly filling in Brisbane Lagoon over the course of a half century. The techniques pioneered by Sanitary Fill Company—covering garbage with layers of fresh soil cut from the flanks of [[Bayview Hill\|Bayview Hill]]—long before any regulatory laws were passed, helped cut down on blowing garbage and the raw stench long associated with dumps. (Ironically, it was the stench of the garbage here blowing south across the flanks of [[San Bruno Mountain\|San Bruno Mountain]] that probably saved the mountain from rampant development in the mid-twentieth century.)

Ccarlsson at 01:05, 18 February 2020

2020-02-18T01:05:51Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:05, 17 February 2020
Line 5:		Line 5:
	[[Image:italian1$brisbane-dump.jpg]]		[[Image:italian1$brisbane-dump.jpg]]

	'''The Brisbane Dump, in the shadow of [[San Bruno Mountain \| San Bruno Mountain]], San Francisco's waste disposal for over 30 years. The stench from garbage wafting up to San Bruno Mtn. helped save it from development, since no one wanted to live with that smell!'''		'''The [[Tunnel Road Dump\|Brisbane Dump]], in the shadow of [[San Bruno Mountain \| San Bruno Mountain]], San Francisco's waste disposal for over 30 years. The stench from garbage wafting up to San Bruno Mtn. helped save it from development, since no one wanted to live with that smell!'''

	''Photos: San Francisco History Center, SF Public Library''		''Photos: San Francisco History Center, SF Public Library''

Ccarlsson: removed photos to new page on Sierra Point

2020-01-31T22:13:38Z

removed photos to new page on Sierra Point

@@ Line 55: / Line 55: @@
 <blockquote>“Time was running out—by now it was July 1966. The current waste site would fill to capacity in three short months… With my approval, along with the people of Sanitary Fill Company and the Easley & Brassy Corporation, Scavenger’s Protective Association agreed to proceed.  The plan was confidential and would be implemented through tactics similar to a well-planned military action. On a Friday night in late November of 1966, we would terminate the current operations on the west side of the freeway in the City of Brisbane and begin dumping garbage at Sierra Point.”</blockquote>
-Repeated efforts by Brisbane citizens to block the bay dumping eventually failed. Sierra Point today is an office park east of Highway 101 at the southeast corner of San Bruno Mountain.
+Repeated efforts by Brisbane citizens to block the bay dumping eventually failed. [[Sierra Point: From Dump to Office Park|Sierra Point]] today is an office park east of Highway 101 at the southeast corner of San Bruno Mountain.
 The next location for San Francisco’s garbage dump became the wetlands in Mountain View where a future park was promised (and eventually became home too to the Shoreline Amphitheatre) along with substantial fees from the garbage companies to the city coffers. Once that landfill was exhausted, San Francisco began sending its garbage to the Altamont Pass dump in eastern Alameda County, which it is still using at present.
 [[Image:Brisbane-lagoon-and-fwy-1955-AAC-5259.jpg]]

Ccarlsson: added photos, category and link

2020-01-31T21:50:46Z

added photos, category and link

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:50, 31 January 2020
Line 60:		Line 60:

	'''Sierra Point and Highway 101 as it wraps around southeastern corner of San Bruno Mountain, 2018.'''		'''Sierra Point and Highway 101 as it wraps around southeastern corner of San Bruno Mountain, 2018.'''

			''Photo: Chris Carlsson''

			[[Image:View-north-from-Sierrra-Point-towards-Bayview-hill--and-downtown 20200119 132214.jpg]]

			'''View north from shores of the former landfill at Sierra Point, now an office park. Bayview Hill and Candlestick Point across the water, downtown in far distance.'''

	''Photo: Chris Carlsson''		''Photo: Chris Carlsson''
Line 70:		Line 76:

	''Photo: San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library''		''Photo: San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library''

			[[Image:Sierra-Pt-view-e-ne 20200126 154931.jpg]]

			'''Sierra Point in 2020, viewed from old Bayshore Highway above and west of Highway 101.'''

			''Photo: Chris Carlsson''

	[[Image:Brisbane-lagoon-and-fwy-1955-AAC-5259.jpg]]		[[Image:Brisbane-lagoon-and-fwy-1955-AAC-5259.jpg]]
Line 76:		Line 88:

	''Photo: San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library''		''Photo: San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library''

			[[Image:View-north-across-remains-of-brisbane-lagoon-w-bayview-hill-and--fwy 20200126 155258.jpg]]

			'''View north in 2020 across remains of Brisbane Lagoon, Bayview Hill in distance, Highway 101 on causeway between lagoon and bay.'''

			''Photo: Chris Carlsson''

	By 1966, Scavenger’s Protective Association had changed its name to Golden Gate Disposal, and continued to see its business grow rapidly since their territory was largely the northeastern part of San Francisco encompassing the Financial District which was was increasingly vertical. In 1972 Sunset Scavenger merged its operations with Los Altos South Valley, Stockton Scavenger, Sanitary Fill Company, Joseph Petigera Company (our independent salvage/recycling entity), and others, and took the name Envirocal.		By 1966, Scavenger’s Protective Association had changed its name to Golden Gate Disposal, and continued to see its business grow rapidly since their territory was largely the northeastern part of San Francisco encompassing the Financial District which was was increasingly vertical. In 1972 Sunset Scavenger merged its operations with Los Altos South Valley, Stockton Scavenger, Sanitary Fill Company, Joseph Petigera Company (our independent salvage/recycling entity), and others, and took the name Envirocal.
Line 81:		Line 99:
	In the early 1970s, Golden Gate Disposal took its growing profits to buy out the original share structure that the companies had maintained since their founding a half century earlier and replace it with an Employee Stock Ownership Plan. Sunset Scavenger’s profits were shrinking due to being dependent on residential areas, in contrast to Golden Gate Disposal’s growing downtown business. In both companies, wages that had been identical for decades now began to vary depending on more typical considerations. Seeking to expand into the lucrative trash business throughout Northern California, Golden Gate Disposal changed its name to Norcal Solid Waste Systems in 1983. In 1986, Norcal was sold back to the original Employee Stock Ownership Plan, and a year later it absorbed the former Envirocal/Sunset Scavenger, becoming one company.		In the early 1970s, Golden Gate Disposal took its growing profits to buy out the original share structure that the companies had maintained since their founding a half century earlier and replace it with an Employee Stock Ownership Plan. Sunset Scavenger’s profits were shrinking due to being dependent on residential areas, in contrast to Golden Gate Disposal’s growing downtown business. In both companies, wages that had been identical for decades now began to vary depending on more typical considerations. Seeking to expand into the lucrative trash business throughout Northern California, Golden Gate Disposal changed its name to Norcal Solid Waste Systems in 1983. In 1986, Norcal was sold back to the original Employee Stock Ownership Plan, and a year later it absorbed the former Envirocal/Sunset Scavenger, becoming one company.

	Soon after, Norcal Waste, certain that their clients would never recycle, and institutionally opposed to the “hippie” approach to solid waste, sought to build a massive incinerator just south of city limits in Brisbane. Supervisors of both San Francisco and San Mateo approved the plan, as did the city council of Brisbane, but Brisbane citizens revolted. A popular initiative was put on the ballot, and the NIMBYs of Brisbane defeated the planned incinerator (which would have spewed toxic exhaust over their town), foiling the plans of Norcal and PG&E (who would have generated electricity with the burned trash). Combined with the California statewide mandate to reduce waste due to overflowing landfills, the renamed Recology had to establish curbside recycling in San Francisco, now taken for granted by City residents.		Soon after, Norcal Waste, certain that their clients would never recycle, and institutionally opposed to the “hippie” approach to solid waste, sought to build a massive incinerator just south of city limits in Brisbane. Supervisors of both San Francisco and San Mateo approved the plan, as did the city council of Brisbane, but Brisbane citizens revolted. A popular initiative was put on the ballot, and the NIMBYs of Brisbane [[San Francisco's Trash\|defeated the planned incinerator]] (which would have spewed toxic exhaust over their town), foiling the plans of Norcal and PG&E (who would have generated electricity with the burned trash). Combined with the California statewide mandate to reduce waste due to overflowing landfills, the renamed Recology had to establish curbside recycling in San Francisco, now taken for granted by City residents.

	* Quotes from ''Garbage: The Saga of a Boss Scavenger in San Francisco'' by Leonard Dominic Stefanelli, University of Nevada Press: 2018		* Quotes from ''Garbage: The Saga of a Boss Scavenger in San Francisco'' by Leonard Dominic Stefanelli, University of Nevada Press: 2018
Line 100:		Line 118:
	[[Bank of Italy\| Prev. Document]] [[Italians and Sports\| Next Document]]		[[Bank of Italy\| Prev. Document]] [[Italians and Sports\| Next Document]]

	[[category:Italian]] [[category:1910s]] [[category:1920s]] [[category:1930s]] [[category:1960s]] [[category:1970s]] [[category:Labor]] [[category:Ecology]] [[category:Waste]] [[category:Mission]] [[category:North Beach]] [[category:Visitacion Valley]]		[[category:Italian]] [[category:1910s]] [[category:1920s]] [[category:1930s]] [[category:1960s]] [[category:1970s]] [[category:Labor]] [[category:Ecology]] [[category:Waste]] [[category:Mission]] [[category:North Beach]] [[category:Visitacion Valley]] [[category:2020s]]

Ccarlsson at 08:18, 19 January 2020

2020-01-19T08:18:16Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:18, 19 January 2020
Line 38:		Line 38:

	The two companies founded a third entity in 1935, the Sanitary Fill Company, which ran the dump on Tunnel Road, assuming responsibility from Southern Pacific railroad after 1952 for slowly filling in Brisbane Lagoon over the course of a half century. The techniques pioneered by Sanitary Fill Company—covering garbage with layers of fresh soil cut from the flanks of [[Bayview Hill\|Bayview Hill]]—long before any regulatory laws were passed, helped cut down on blowing garbage and the raw stench long associated with dumps. (Ironically, it was the stench of the garbage here blowing south across the flanks of [[San Bruno Mountain\|San Bruno Mountain]] that probably saved the mountain from rampant development in the mid-twentieth century.)		The two companies founded a third entity in 1935, the Sanitary Fill Company, which ran the dump on Tunnel Road, assuming responsibility from Southern Pacific railroad after 1952 for slowly filling in Brisbane Lagoon over the course of a half century. The techniques pioneered by Sanitary Fill Company—covering garbage with layers of fresh soil cut from the flanks of [[Bayview Hill\|Bayview Hill]]—long before any regulatory laws were passed, helped cut down on blowing garbage and the raw stench long associated with dumps. (Ironically, it was the stench of the garbage here blowing south across the flanks of [[San Bruno Mountain\|San Bruno Mountain]] that probably saved the mountain from rampant development in the mid-twentieth century.)

			[[Image:Bay Shore R. R. View looking North from Sierra Point. March 31, 1905 11-southern-pacific-company viewfromsierrapt-3-31-1905.jpg\|720px]]

			'''Bay Shore Railroad looking north from Sierra Point, March 31, 1905.'''

			''Photo: Private Collection''

	[[Image:March11 1926 Bayshore Marsh - railroad dpwbook36 dpw10210 wnp36.03363.jpg\|792px]]		[[Image:March11 1926 Bayshore Marsh - railroad dpwbook36 dpw10210 wnp36.03363.jpg\|792px]]

	'''~~Bayshore marsh~~ at Sierra Point, ~~March 11, 1926~~.'''		'''Twenty years later, this train coursing the shoreline around [[San Bruno Mountain\|San Bruno Mountain]] at tip of Sierra Point (1926) is no longer on a trestle over water but part of the expanding landfill beneath San Bruno Mountain. Brisbane Lagoon hasn't yet been filled as a dump, and there isn't yet any Highway 101.'''

	''Photo: OpenSFHistory.org wnp36.03363; DPW Book 36, DPW 10210''		''Photo: OpenSFHistory.org wnp36.03363; DPW Book 36, DPW 10210''
Line 58:		Line 64:

	The next location for San Francisco’s garbage dump became the wetlands in Mountain View where a future park was promised (and eventually became home too to the Shoreline Amphitheatre) along with substantial fees from the garbage companies to the city coffers. Once that landfill was exhausted, San Francisco began sending its garbage to the Altamont Pass dump in eastern Alameda County, which it is still using at present.		The next location for San Francisco’s garbage dump became the wetlands in Mountain View where a future park was promised (and eventually became home too to the Shoreline Amphitheatre) along with substantial fees from the garbage companies to the city coffers. Once that landfill was exhausted, San Francisco began sending its garbage to the Altamont Pass dump in eastern Alameda County, which it is still using at present.

	~~[[Image:Bay Shore R. R. View looking North from Sierra Point. March 31, 1905 11-southern-pacific-company viewfromsierrapt-3-31-1905.jpg\|720px]]~~

	~~'''Bay Shore Railroad looking north from Sierra Point, March 31, 1905.'''~~

	~~''Photo: Private Collection''~~

	~~[[Image:Train-at-Oyster-Point-off-SB-Mtn-1926.jpg\|720px]]~~

	'''Twenty years later, this train coursing the shoreline around [[San Bruno Mountain\|San Bruno Mountain]] at tip of Sierra Point (1926) is no longer on a trestle over water but part of the expanding landfill beneath San Bruno Mountain. Brisbane Lagoon hasn't yet been filled as a dump, and there isn't yet any Highway 101.'''

	~~''Photo: Private collection''~~

	[[Image:bayvwhp$oyster-pt-1976.jpg]]		[[Image:bayvwhp$oyster-pt-1976.jpg]]

Ccarlsson at 08:16, 19 January 2020

2020-01-19T08:16:02Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:16, 19 January 2020
Line 39:		Line 39:
	The two companies founded a third entity in 1935, the Sanitary Fill Company, which ran the dump on Tunnel Road, assuming responsibility from Southern Pacific railroad after 1952 for slowly filling in Brisbane Lagoon over the course of a half century. The techniques pioneered by Sanitary Fill Company—covering garbage with layers of fresh soil cut from the flanks of [[Bayview Hill\|Bayview Hill]]—long before any regulatory laws were passed, helped cut down on blowing garbage and the raw stench long associated with dumps. (Ironically, it was the stench of the garbage here blowing south across the flanks of [[San Bruno Mountain\|San Bruno Mountain]] that probably saved the mountain from rampant development in the mid-twentieth century.)		The two companies founded a third entity in 1935, the Sanitary Fill Company, which ran the dump on Tunnel Road, assuming responsibility from Southern Pacific railroad after 1952 for slowly filling in Brisbane Lagoon over the course of a half century. The techniques pioneered by Sanitary Fill Company—covering garbage with layers of fresh soil cut from the flanks of [[Bayview Hill\|Bayview Hill]]—long before any regulatory laws were passed, helped cut down on blowing garbage and the raw stench long associated with dumps. (Ironically, it was the stench of the garbage here blowing south across the flanks of [[San Bruno Mountain\|San Bruno Mountain]] that probably saved the mountain from rampant development in the mid-twentieth century.)

	[Image:March11 1926 Bayshore Marsh - railroad dpwbook36 dpw10210 wnp36.03363.jpg\|792px]]		[[Image:March11 1926 Bayshore Marsh - railroad dpwbook36 dpw10210 wnp36.03363.jpg\|792px]]

	'''Bayshore marsh at Sierra Point, March 11, 1926.'''		'''Bayshore marsh at Sierra Point, March 11, 1926.'''

Ccarlsson at 08:15, 19 January 2020

2020-01-19T08:15:15Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:15, 19 January 2020
Line 20:		Line 20:

	''Photo: Private Collection''		''Photo: Private Collection''

			[[Image:Scavenger truck 1936 AAK-1493.jpg\|right]] '''View of burlap bundles of recyclables hanging from a 1936 Scavenger truck.'''

			''Photo: San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library''

	The story of San Francisco’s garbagemen, or scavengers, or as some like to say “sanitation engineers,” is a surprising and fascinating story. In the late 19th century and into the 20th, garbage collection ("scavenging") was controlled by Italians from the area known as Lorsica, near the city of Genoa. Until 1910, when more workers were needed, they were hired from that province in Italy, rather than from among other Italians in North Beach. (Also, newly arrived Italian immigrants had a hard time finding other kinds of work.) For the next quarter century the Lorsicani of San Francisco provided enough children to satisfy the need for new workers. They would pass through these San Francisco neighborhoods with horse-drawn wagons gathering refuse from the households along the way. Before WWII and the packaging and plastics revolution that followed, nearly everything had a potential use or was made of organic materials and could be decomposed.		The story of San Francisco’s garbagemen, or scavengers, or as some like to say “sanitation engineers,” is a surprising and fascinating story. In the late 19th century and into the 20th, garbage collection ("scavenging") was controlled by Italians from the area known as Lorsica, near the city of Genoa. Until 1910, when more workers were needed, they were hired from that province in Italy, rather than from among other Italians in North Beach. (Also, newly arrived Italian immigrants had a hard time finding other kinds of work.) For the next quarter century the Lorsicani of San Francisco provided enough children to satisfy the need for new workers. They would pass through these San Francisco neighborhoods with horse-drawn wagons gathering refuse from the households along the way. Before WWII and the packaging and plastics revolution that followed, nearly everything had a potential use or was made of organic materials and could be decomposed.

Ccarlsson: added many new OpenSFHistory photos and categories

2020-01-19T08:11:21Z

added many new OpenSFHistory photos and categories

Show changes

Lisaruth at 06:23, 26 July 2016

2016-07-26T06:23:30Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:23, 25 July 2016
Line 13:		Line 13:
	'''[[Daughter of a Sunset Scavenger\|Ines Belli]]’s father and uncle, circa 1912.'''		'''[[Daughter of a Sunset Scavenger\|Ines Belli]]’s father and uncle, circa 1912.'''

	''Photo courtesy Ines ~~Bell~~''		''Photo courtesy Ines Belli''

	[[Image:Scavs930.gif]]		[[Image:Scavs930.gif]]

Ccarlsson: added new photo

2014-09-22T05:12:20Z

added new photo

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:12, 21 September 2014
Line 14:		Line 14:

	''Photo courtesy Ines Bell''		''Photo courtesy Ines Bell''

			[[Image:Scavs930.gif]]

			'''Scavengers on the job, 1930s.'''

			''Photo: Private Collection''

	San Francisco now has only one garbage collection company (Sunset, formed in 1921), but it was formed out of many different companies, almost all of them Italian.		San Francisco now has only one garbage collection company (Sunset, formed in 1921), but it was formed out of many different companies, almost all of them Italian.