Oakland, Calif. – September 19, 2026 -- California Waste Solutions, founded in 1992 with eight used trucks, now serves more than 343,000 customers across Oakland and San Jose and processes over 717,000 tons of recycling material annually, according to figures cited in the feature documentary "The King of Trash," which returns to Bay Area theaters this month.
Oakland, Calif. – September 17, 2026 -- Vietnam Waste Solutions (VWS), the Vietnamese subsidiary of Oakland-based California Waste Solutions (CWS), has proposed a 50- to 60-megawatt waste-to-energy plant at its Da Phuoc Integrated Solid Waste Facility (DPI) outside Ho Chi Minh City, adding to roughly $200 million already invested in the site.
DPI, a 341-acre facility built in the mid-2000s to the U.S. Subtitle D standard, currently buries up to 6,500 tons of municipal solid waste daily -- about 2.4 million tons a year -- covering more than half of Ho Chi Minh City's household waste output of roughly 10,000 tons per day. VWS this year formally submitted the waste-to-energy proposal and is now moving through appraisal and permitting.
San Jose, Calif. – September 14, 2026 -- Over 60 drivers and mechanics at California Waste Solutions in San José have overwhelmingly ratified a new five-year labor contract, securing substantial wage increases, expanded protections for relief employees, and a ninth week of vacation time described by union officials as industry-leading.
The ratified agreement, negotiated by Teamsters Local 350, covers employees who provide residential recycling services to more than 170,000 households across the San José area. The five-year term locks in economic terms and revised work rules through the contract period.