In recent years, volunteer-led groups like Urban Compassion Project have struggled to deal with illegal dumping in Oakland. Despite removing more than half a million pounds of trash this year, piles of garbage continue to plague our streets. How did this problem get so bad and why is it so hard to fix?
As usual, I turned to history for answers. Before Waste Management took over in 1986, trash collection was handled by the worker-owned Oakland Scavenger Company, a business founded by Italian immigrants more than a century ago. For this episode, I spoke with several retired third-generation garbage men: Robert Biasotti and the Muzio brothers – Tony, Dino, and Mike. I also unearthed a 1981 interview with Ed Lavagetto, whose father was one of the original Oakland Scavenger partners.
These conversations revealed not only a totally different system of trash collection, but a story that illuminates so many changes in American culture. It’s a story of poor immigrants grinding their way into the middle class. It’s the story of why Temescal, now one of Oakland’s trendiest neighborhoods, used to be called Little Italy. It’s a story of an old world mentality clashing with new values ushered in by the Civil Rights era… and it’s also a story of what’s been lost as mega-corporations have risen to dominance.
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