Former Sunset Scavenger President Leonard Stefanelli has Died

Former Sunset Scavenger President Leonard Stefanelli died at the age of 83 on April 6 after fighting a battle with a long illness.

Stefanelli started working in the waste and recycling industry at the age of 19 as a garbage collector, and he worked his way up through the ranks to become president of Sunset Scavenger (now part of Recology Inc.) at the age of 31. Throughout his career, he helped transform the garbage business in San Francisco from simple collection to a major enterprise that recycles and reuses trash. In his recently published book, “Garbage,” he tells the story of that transformation.

SFGATE has more details:

Leonard Stefanelli, who rose from a garbage collector to president of San Francisco’s largest refuse firm, died April 6 after a long illness. He was 83.

Stefanelli had a key role in transforming the garbage business from simple collection into a major enterprise that recycles and reuses trash. Sunset Scavenger, the company he headed, is now part of Recology Inc., which has revenue of more than $1 billion a year and operates 45 solid waste companies from Bakersfield to Seattle.

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