For more than a century, Santaguida Sanitation has provided top-tier waste collection and dumpster rental services. Driven by a profound vision of environmental sustainability and unmatched customer service, they have grown into a community-conscious organization that is now in the hands of a fourth-generation owner.
鈥淢ore than a century ago, my grandfather Joe Caruso began collecting ash using a horse and wagon. I always say, 鈥榯hey added a TR to ash, and it became trash.鈥� As times changed, the horse and wagon were replaced by dump trucks for hauling,鈥� says Jimmy Santaguida, Owner of Santaguida Sanitation (Cos Cob, CT). During that period, Jimmy鈥檚 grandfather operated these trucks, growing a mom-and-pop business. In the early 1930s, his three children鈥擣rank, Joe, and Pat鈥攁long with his future son-in-law James Santaguida, learned the business. Joe Caruso also owned a small farm with livestock consisting of chickens, goats, sheep, rabbits, but mainly pigs. In addition to hauling ash, trash, and garbage, he transported bread from bakeries to feed his pigs, selling the excess to feed companies. He was an original recycler.
鈥淢y dad, James Santaguida grew up in the business and started using his name. Eventually, going from a dump truck with arched cover doors (called a round top) to progressing to a rear loader packer, which was called the Gar Wood Load-Packer. Back then there weren鈥檛 any automated equipment鈥攏o dumpsters or roll-offs,鈥� explains Jimmy. 鈥淲hen I started at seven or eight, my dad gave me a cardboard box used for small appliances. I followed him to each house, where he would give me two to three bags of garbage to put in my box. I felt like this was a big deal. Originally, with ashes, he used metal tubs and cardboard barrels for garbage. Fortunately, the large green plastic barrels became our life savior. My older brother Joe started working the business at a very young age and expanded it to another level that my dad was very proud of.鈥� After years in the business, Joe decided to leave and pursue his love in the music industry in Nashville, TN. As a result, Jimmy, his dad, and his mom ran the business for several years allowing him to slowly grow it, through sales, new construction sites, and small acquisitions in the area as well as keeping it as a local mom-and pop company. 鈥淢y dad was the most consistent worker I鈥檝e ever met, and the customers loved him. He was very genuine and always happy. Until his late 70s he worked the truck, fixed the trucks, and walked to hand deliver over 200 bills to his accounts. Fortunately, my mom forced him to mail all the others. He was the 鈥榤an of steel鈥�,鈥� says Jimmy. When his son Chris joined the company after college, he become the fourth generation in the business. Within a few years Chris worked all aspects鈥攆rom driving garbage and roll-off trucks, to working sales and running the office. 鈥淗e鈥檚 made the business what it is today. I have stepped aside. Although I go to the office daily, Chris has taken the wheel over the last 15 years.鈥�
Currently working with 20 rear loaders and five roll-offs, Santaguida Sanitation serves Fairfield County in Connecticut and Westchester County in New York and collects waste and recycling primarily from residential, commercial businesses, C&D, and horse farms. They also do some municipal work in both counties. Since the company鈥檚 inception, the area has transitioned a lot from rural to urban. 鈥淪ome of the cities and towns have become larger. We are growing at a consistent rate because we pride ourselves on good service and fair rates, but we are still focused on serving our customers properly. We want to keep them happy,鈥� says Chris.
He comments that Santaguida Sanitation provides single-stream recycling service for businesses and residents. The company also provides compactor services for clean cardboard and clean paper from commercial businesses. This is one of the challenges of dealing with single-stream recycling with the fluctuating markets. 鈥淎t one point there was a good market for resale, but since COVID and other factors, I don鈥檛 believe there is really a market for recycling other than the clean cardboard and paper.鈥� He goes on to explain that most of the recycling materials are accepted in the towns that Santaguida Sanitation services and from there they have outside vendors removing the recycling out of the waste stream. These vendors also haul the MSW and C&D.
Combatting Challenges
Chris says that over the last several years the company has dealt with a few challenges, but has been able to get through them strategically. 鈥淩ight after COVID, we were experiencing issues with the supply chain that continues today in different aspects. Back then, we were having a problem getting things for maintenance, such as oil for the trucks, tires, etc., but that has cleared up, so now we are seeing some issues with getting delivery of new vehicles because factories have cut back employment, so that has delayed shipping.鈥� While CDL drivers are in shortage, he offsets that by running a combination of CDL trucks and under-CDL trucks.
As far as employment at Santaguida Sanitation, Chris is proud of the fact that their retention rate is high, with many of the employees working there for several years, with some even celebrating 20 years. 鈥淲e have been lucky and pride ourselves on being a comfortable company to work for since we are a family organization. We actively recruit through word of mouth. Many people come to us because we are flexible. We are not here to be babysitters. If there is a problem, they are all welcome to call me any time. If there is a customer service issue or quality issue, I am on top of it because of either a customer call or videos on the trucks. We also do quality checks randomly a couple of times at each location to make sure everything is up to my standards.鈥� For training and safety, Chris says they do an online safety program and video Q&A through their insurance company. The company provides six-month driver training for new hires and once per year, they do a follow up with the insurance company with additional videos. 鈥淥ur GPS also has sensors for speeding, hard braking, hard turning, etc. I monitor that daily and get warning alerts in my e-mail, so I can go back to the tapes and see what鈥檚 going on. As the safety and training coordinator, everything goes through me, and I determine how to handle the situation by looking at it on a case-by-case occurrence.鈥�
Currently, Chris feels that the industry challenge is the rising costs of fuel and insurance, especially since he feels that they cannot raise their prices at the rate they are getting charged. In turn, this shrinks the profit margin at the end of the day. So, to combat this, Chris consolidates routes where he can, so he can close in on the 鈥渄ead spots鈥� and save on labor and fuel. 鈥淚鈥檓 not the highest priced and I鈥檓 not the lowest priced, but we always give the best bang for the buck with our services and try to grow it that way.鈥�
Community Engagement
Chris thinks that their biggest accomplishment is the trust the company has gained from their customers鈥攚ord of mouth has been their best advertisement. They communicate with their customers via e-mail, website messages, and phone calls and texts. Everything is posted on their website, including holiday schedules, and any changes. There is also a prompt on the company鈥檚 answering service to press for holiday questions. 鈥淲e do get feedback from our customers through Google reviews, letters, and office calls. Our drivers have a great relationship with their customers. In fact, we received a call last week about our driver Jerry. They talked about how much they love him and that he is a great and helpful guy. We like to remember we are only as good as the people that work for us.鈥�
Chris also makes it a point to provide donations and sponsorships to local organizations, such as Wishes, a foundation for kids with cancer. 鈥淲e also go to local schools and churches when they have the fairs and events, and we have a 鈥淭ouch a Truck鈥� program in the towns for the kids.鈥� The company also sponsors 鈥淪hred-It Day鈥� where people can bring in confidential documents to shred.
Looking Ahead
As Santaguida Sanitation looks toward the future, their focus remains on maintaining the strong legacy built over generations while embracing opportunities for growth and innovation. 鈥淲e are committed to expanding our reach through strategic acquisitions, enhancing our service capabilities, and staying ahead of industry trends. Our dedication to customer satisfaction, employee welfare, and community engagement will drive us forward, ensuring that Santaguida Sanitation not only meets, but also exceeds the evolving needs of our customers,鈥� says Chris. 鈥淲e look forward to many more years of growth and success, serving our community with the same integrity and dedication that has defined our company for over a century.鈥� | WA
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