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2005 Award Recipient: The Borgatello Family
The
Borgatello family arrived in Santa Barbara in 1911, and became
a household name within two short decades. That’s when brothers
Mario and Charlie Borgatello started collecting food wastes from
homes and businesses to feed to the hogs their mother raised.
The boys’ father had died when they were babies, so the
six children helped their mother make ends meet in any way they
could.
By
1936, the boys had hauled enough trash and saved enough money
to buy a new stake-sided, flat bed Ford truck with which they
started the business, “Borgatello Brothers Refuse Disposal.”
Recycling
was always a core of their operations. In those days, it was nothing
unusual: metal, cotton, nylon, glass, and other materials were
valuable and reused as a matter of course—first to meet
the shortages of the depression, and later to meet the war mobilization
effort.
Throughout
its history, MarBorg has continued to be on the forefront of recycling
efforts. That has shaped Santa Barbara in ways the public is scarcely
aware of. For example, 70% of the waste that is recycled in Santa
Barbara is recycled by MarBorg--a fact that has enabled the City
of Santa Barbara to reduce the wastes it sends to landfills by
50%--thereby avoiding fines of up to $10,000/day.
The
company is currently finishing an 80,000-square-foot Construction
and Demolition Recycling Facility that, when fully operational,
will be a state-of-the art facility in more ways than one. In
addition to recycling some 500 tons of waste per day, the building
incorporates state-of-the-art solar technology that will make
it 70% self-sufficient in terms of energy. MarBorg’s headquarter
building on Yanonali St. already produces more than 100% of its
own energy needs.
But
these accomplishments aren’t what inspired Emmaus to honor
the Borgatello family as one of “Santa Barbara’s First
Families.” Rather, it was their spirit of giving. The Borgatellos
have generously supported virtually every well-known charitable
organization in town. In recent years, they have raised more than
$100,000 for the Alzheimer’s Association’s Memory
Walk. They are major supporters of the American Heart Association,
Cottage Hospital, Boys and Girls Clubs, Catholic Charities, Breast
Cancer Walk, Girls Inc., Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, Santa Barbara
Scholarship Foundation, all of the local YMCAs, and many local
high school sports teams.
Supporting
the community is just part of their down-to-earth, family-oriented
way of doing business. Although Mario, Sr., and Charlie Borgatello
started the business, after Charlie’s death, Mario brought
in his sons, David and Mario. David’s daughter, Kathy Borgatello
Koeper, has since been brought on board as executive assistant
to her father and uncle, while Mario’s sons Anthony and
Brian manage the Liquid Waste and Recycling divisions, respectively.
Mario’s son-in-law, Derek Carlson, is MarBorg’s business
manager.
“Our
parents were raised with the notion that a family sticks together,”
David Borgatello says. “That’s how my father and uncle
went into business together in the first place—to help the
family survive.
“We
just feel as if we have a larger family than most. That is, the
entire community of Santa Barbara. We support the good things
our community members are doing because we want our family to
be well.”
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