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.
Documentary tracks 34-year build from street collection to municipal contracts
Directed by Errol Webber, the film follows founder David Duong from the 1975 fall of Saigon, when he led 23 family members to sea, through a refugee camp in the Philippines to a 1979 arrival in San Francisco, where the family collected bottles and cardboard at night before founding CWS in Oakland in 1992. The company operates six Bay Area recycling facilities, processing roughly 1,000 tons weekly in Oakland and 1,300 tons weekly in San Jose, with more than three million tons managed over its history.
