Company Information
Locally-owned and family-operated, Sanitary Service Company, Inc. (SSC) is Whatcom County's largest full-service recycling and waste collection company.
As fellow neighbors, we care about our community and take pride in supporting the areas we service by participating in local events. SSC is a proud business member of Sustainable Connections and the Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce and Industry. As a 5-Star EnviroStar, Whatcom Watershed Pledge participant and Whatcom County Waste-Wise Business, we strive to reduce our waste, reuse and recycle where we can. We regularly use products made from recycled materials and continue to find ways to incorporate other recycled products into our daily operations.
We are fortunate to live in such a beautiful area, but we all share in the responsibility to protect and preserve its health and beauty. At SSC, we take this responsibility seriously and are proud of our many years of service to this community. Working together, we can ensure a clean and healthy environment - today and for the future.
History
In 1929, Sanitary Service Company opened for business in Bellingham with five employees and 500 customers. Today, we employ more than 90 people and serve over 45,000 commercial and residential customers in Bellingham, Ferndale, Birch Bay and the majority of unincorporated Whatcom County.
Garbage collection circa 1930's. Gus Razore (L) and Jaquin (R) and (ret.) Fire House horses "Patrick and Max"
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Sanitary Service Company, Inc. was co-founded by Agostino "Gus" Razore. Mr. Razore was born in 1895 in Sant'Olcese, Italy, a small mountain village just outside Genoa in Northern Italy. Mr. Razore emigrated to the U.S. at the age of 16, entering through Ellis Island, New York, before traveling cross country by train to Seattle. He eventually settled in Bellingham and worked for several years in the truck gardens before starting SSC.
In 1929, Mr. Razore and two other local businessmen, Josie Razore (no relation) and Mario Torre established City Sanitary Service Company, Bellingham's first garbage collection company. City Sanitary Service Company collected garbage from local residents and businesses by horse and wagon. In 1974, the company name was changed to Sanitary Service Company, Inc. (SSC).
Gus Razore died in 1978 at the age of 83. He is well-remembered for his contributions to the community. In 1997, the Washington Refuse and Recycling Association (WRRA), the state trade association for garbage and recycling haulers, honored Mr. Razore for his contributions to the solid waste and recycling handling industry. SSC continued as a family-run business, being operated by Mr. Razore's two sons, Joe and Paul, as well as employing other Razore family members. After retiring from SSC, Joe went on to open Joe and Cora’s U-Cut Christmas Tree Farm with his wife Cora, before passing away in 2008. Paul Razore continues as company President.
 One of Gus Razore's favorite industry stories: Before trucks were available, horses were used to pull wagons to collect garbage. Often, retired "fire hall" horses were used. These horses were trained to respond to the fire bell, pulling the water wagons to fight fires. Even though they were retired from firefighting duty, every time a fire bell would ring, these horses would leave the garbage route and head straight toward the fire hall. - Joe Razore |
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Corporate Sponsorships
Supporting our Community
Depot Market Square - Contributor
ReSources for Sustainable Communities
- Environmental Heroes Award Dinner
- Sustainable Living Center
"It All Ends in Fairhaven" Festival
Ski-to-Sea - Race Sponsor
WWU Cycling Team
Business Memberships
Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Building Industry Association of Whatcom County
Sustainable Connections
Sustaining Member
Green Building Series Sponsor
Whatcom County Economic Development Council
WRRA - Washington Refuse & Recycling Association
WSRA - Washington State Recycling Association |
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Running on Biodiesel Fuel
Since 2005, SSC's garbage and recycling trucks have been running on biodiesel fuel. "We tested biodiesel in a number of our trucks for 18 months with no maintenance issues or loss in performance," said SSC Co-Owner Paul Razore. "We made the switch in mid-2005 and have never looked back." SSC trucks fuel up at one of two Yorkston Oil Yorky's locations that offer biodiesel - State Street and West Bakerview stations. The SSC fleet uses 300,000 gallons of fuel per year to collect garbage and recyclables from residents and businesses in Whatcom County. Biodiesel costs a bit more than regular diesel, but it is biodegradable, non-toxic and virtually free of sulfur and aromatics. Plus it reduces emissions by up to 20%. "We hope our actions will encourage other local fleets to consider biodiesel as their fuel choice."
Biodiesel itself contains no petroleum, but can be blended with petroleum diesel to create a biodiesel mix. Biodiesel is a mix of diesel and a certain percentage (5%, 20%, etc.) of B-100 Biodiesel fuel, usually rapeseed oil, soy oil or reclaimed vegetable oil.
For information about biodiesel contact Matt Yorkston at Yorkston Oil (360) 734-2201.
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100% Green Power Leadership Partner - PSE
Sanitary Service Company is "greening" 100% of its electricity usage through PSE's Green Power program. Our switch in early 2007 made us the largest private business in Whatcom County to use 100% Green Power.
PSE's Green Power Program, ranked as one of the top 10 Green Power programs in the U.S, provides SSC with just over 200,000 kilowatt hours annually of domestically-produced, alternative energy. The city of Bellingham was also recently recognized by the US Environmental Protection Agency as the first Green Power Community in Washington - one of only seven in the nation. Green Power is electricity generated from renewable, non-polluting resources such as wind or solar power.
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EnviroStars
SSC achieved a 5-star rank from the Whatcom County EnviroStars program in 2007. SSC earned 5 EnviroStars, the highest rating possible, for our leadership activities in reduction of both hazardous and non-hazardous solid wastes, and for our sustainable business practices. SSC is the first garbage and recycling collection company in Washington to be included in the EnviroStars program.
SSC places a strong emphasis on fleet maintenance and driver training to reduce spills, leaks and emissions from company vehicles. "SSC has pioneered the commercial use of bio-diesel in Whatcom County fleets, a move which has resulted in decreased diesel emissions from their fleet of 60 vehicles and greater availability of biodiesel fuel in the local area," said Penni Lemperes, Whatcom County Solid Waste Coordinator. Lemperes also highlighted the use of an oil filter crusher which allows SSC to recycle over 500 oil filters each year as scrap metal, and remove and recycle over 300 gallons of additional waste oil per year from the spent filters.
As a part of the certification process, SSC completed a comprehensive review of all toxic shop products in use and was able to switch 12 products to less hazardous or non-toxic alternatives. According to SSC Recycling Manager Rodd Pemble, the company evaluates all waste materials generated by the company and their customers for recyclability. "Based on that on-going evaluation, we have been able to develop new recycling programs for plastics, wood and compostables," said Pemble.
For questions or more information contact Rodd Pemble, SSC Recycling Manager at (360) 734-3490 or rodd@ssc-inc.com.
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- "5 Star Rating" |
