Joe Garbarino Jr., Marin recycling pioneer, dies at 91

Joe Garbarino Jr., a pioneering figure in California’s recycling industry, died on Dec. 19. He was 91.

The San Rafael resident died from complications of T-cell lymphoma, his daughter Patty Garbarino said.

“He was a legend, an icon,” she said.

Mr. Garbarino was an owner of Marin Sanitary Service. The company established the first countywide curbside recycling program in the country in 1979. Mr. Garbarino was inducted into the National Waste & Recycling Association’s hall of fame in 2014.

“His mantra was always, ‘An item should never be made that cannot be reused or recycled,’” said his daughter, the president of Marin Sanitary Service.

Assemblymember Damon Connolly called his friend a pillar of the community.

“His tireless work ethic and commitment to both the environment and the well-being of those around him will never be forgotten,” said Connolly, a San Rafael resident. “Joe’s influence has not only shaped Marin County, but has made a lasting difference in our world.”

San Rafael Mayor Kate Colin said Mr. Garbarino set a standard for environmental stewardship and also improved the quality of life for San Rafael residents.

“He will be missed by me personally and the many mayors, council members and city staff who had the good fortune to work with him,” she said.

Mr. Garbarino was born on Feb. 14, 1933, in San Francisco, where he grew up in the North Beach neighborhood. Patty Garbarino said her father’s waste reduction ethic came from his family’s roots in Genoa, Italy. She said there was little farmland in Genoa and wasting anything was “practically a sin.”

During the 1920s, Mr. Garbarino’s father and uncle started the Scavengers Protective Association to collect garbage in San Francisco.

Mr. Garbarino joined Marin Sanitary Service in 1955. In the 1960s, he started working with local conservationists on recycling services.

“As we came out of World War II and into the 50s and 60s, we became a far more wasteful society with single-use items, disposable items, and the like,” Patty Garbarino said. “That was not my father at all and the way he was brought up, and his disdain for anything being wasted.”

Kip Lipper, an environmental adviser at state Sen. Mike McGuire’s office, said Mr. Garbarino’s waste management was revolutionary.

“In an era of massive garbage dumps and throwaway everything, Joe showed that literally everything is recyclable or reusable,” Lipper said. “His recycling ethic was revolutionary at the time back in the 80s when no one else was doing it.”

Mark Murray, executive director of the nonprofit Californians Against Waste, said Mr. Garbarino was an educator and a visionary.

“Joe was a smart and sophisticated businessman, and a passionate advocate for ‘real recycling,’” Murray said. “Over his long career, he has inspired generations of solid waste professionals as well as environmental advocates. I’m indebted to his expertise and example.”

Mr. Garbarino was also well known for his large museum collection of antique military vehicles in San Rafael. He had veterans drive in local Independence Day parades and gatherings for Memorial Day and Veterans Day.

Patty Garbarino said her father owned up to 100 vehicles collected from across the United States and Europe. She said his dedication to supporting the military started when he was a child during World War II. He had a custom of taking his red wagon to San Francisco’s Embarcadero area and offering his father’s wine to troops being deployed to the Pacific theater.

“Reliving his childhood and seeing all of that effort being deployed into the Pacific — it was his dream to honor those vets,” she said.

Lou Shehi, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who flew in the Vietnam War, recalled walking with Mr. Garbarino through his military museum and talking about World War II as well as Marin veterans.

“I will remember with great joy just having that much time alone with such a wonderful guy,” he said.

Bill McNicholas, a retired Navy captain and a Vietnam veteran, said his fondest memory of Mr. Garbarino was joining him and Normandy veteran Phil Economon on a three-hour tour of his vehicle museum. He said Economon was honored to ride one of Mr. Garbarino’s World War II vehicles at an Independence Day parade in Corte Madera.

“I have met Joe many times, and each time, he has never said no to a request for vet support,” McNicholas said. “I just loved the guy. How could you not? In his presence, as a veteran, he made me feel like the most important person in the world.”

A special recognition was given to Mr. Garbarino at the Marin County Veterans Day ceremony this year.

“I just don’t think he ever got enough thank yous for what he did,” said Sean Stephens, the county’s veterans service officer.

He said he did not know that Mr. Garbarino was ill at the time and he was glad that the honoree was able to see a large crowd thank him.

“I thought he was a bigger-than-life character. I was always honored to greet him whenever he came to any of the functions,” Stephens said. “I will miss him.”

Mike Ghilotti, president of the construction company Ghilotti Brothers Inc., was a longtime business neighbor of Marin Sanitary Service in San Rafael. He said it was fitting that another group of Italians moved next door to his company office on Jacoby Street during the 1960s.

Ghilotti said Mr. Garbarino always worked to minimize the impact of the smell, dust and debris from his recycling center upon the Ghilotti Brothers business.

“With Joe’s passing we have lost one of the last remaining icons of the old guard of Marin, but the values and principles that he stood for will continue to shape our incredible county for years to come,” Ghilotti said. “God bless Joe.”

Mr. Garbarino’s family plans to have a private burial service for him. Patty Garbarino said a memorial mass will be scheduled.

Mr. Garbarino’s survivors include a large extended family. Marin Sanitary Service said Patty Garbarino and her cousin, Dave Garbarino, the vice president of operations, will continue to lead the company.