Joseph Garbarino
Joseph Garbarino has dedicated an incredible 65 years to the waste and recycling industry. Today he is Chairman of the Board and Co-Owner of Marin Sanitary Service in San Rafael, California, but Joseph has wielded a heavy hand in helping shape the face of the modern waste industry. He is credited with developing several technological improvements for refuse trucks and waste facilities, but perhaps most notably, he developed the nation’s first countywide residential curbside recycling program and opened the country’s first curbside Materials Recovery Facility in 1980. Today, MRFs are an indispensible component in managing America’s waste streams. He has also been a leader on the renewable energy front, partnering with the Central Marin Sanitation Agency to use food waste in anaerobic digestion systems to generate electricity and increase landfill waste diversion to 75 percent. Joseph’s service to his community includes serving on the Marin County Waste Management Committee and dedicating space at Marin’s recycling facility to educational efforts, hosting 2,500 schoolchildren and community group members each year. Joseph is a decorated professional, receiving the John P. Moscone Award from the California Refuse Removal Council in 2004, the Governor’s Environmental Economic Leadership award in 2008, and the “Heroes of Marin” innovation award from Pacific Sun in 2012.