Nicolina Cabezal

Testimony of Action Environmental Group, Inc.

Ronald Bergamini, CEO

New York City Council

Sanitation Committee

Honorable Antonio Reynoso

Committee Chairman

June 27, 2019

My name is Ron Bergamini. I am the CEO of Action Environmental Group, the parent company of Action Carting, NYC’s largest hauler of commercial solid waste & recycling materials. We employ over 1,000 people with our entire labor force union members. There are a number of bills on your agenda today related to our industry; however, my testimony will focus on intro 1574, the Creation of Commercial Waste Zones.

Action would be nothing without the amazing men and women who work with us.

Today we want to highlight the amazing journey of our Billing Manager April Levine. April is an amazing mother of two who was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in 2015. After kicking cancers butt she turned to CKO Kickboxing to learn how to really kick some butt.

April found a sense of community and support within this kickboxing group. So much so that she built up enough confidence to go way out of her comfort zone and participate in the 2019 Fitness Atlantic show.

Last night CEO Ron Bergamini was honored at the Alley Pond Environmental Center Green Gala. Thank you to Council member Paul Vallone for presenting Ron with the award. This annual gala is vital to the organization by raising funds for the center and aids in the resources needed to reach their goal of establishing awareness, understanding, and appreciation of the environment and to preserving nature in an urban setting.

We had the pleasure of presenting our 2nd annual Safest Driver of the Year award to Alfred “Mike” Sandoval. Mike's family was on hand to present him with this honor. Mike and his family won an all-expense paid trip to Disney World for being our safest driver in 2018.

To win such a remarkable award was no easy feat. To win Mike had to go a full year without any accidents, injuries, and no call no shows. As you can imagine driving in a highly congested area like New York City makes this challenge that much harder. 

Congratulations to Mike for going above and beyond the safety standard.

No-Zones are danger areas around trucks and buses where crashes are more likely to occur. Some of those No-Zones are actual blind spots where your car “disappears” from the view of the truck or bus driver. These safety tips will help you safely share the road with these large vehicles by staying out of the NO ZONE!

For more safety tips visit: http://actioncarting.com/

Teaneck, NJ December 17, 2018 – The Action Environmental Group, provider of non-hazardous waste management and recycling services for New York City, Northern New Jersey, Rockland and Orange County, New York; today announced the completion of its acquisition of J. Pyskaty Disposal, a Hudson County, New Jersey-based waste management company.

With this transaction, The Action Environmental Group, through its subsidiary Interstate Waste Services (IWS), has acquired operations and assets of the Secaucus, NJ based company. The acquired business assets include commercial waste and recycling collection, equipment, vehicles, and staff.

“We are pleased with the acquisition of J. Pyskaty Disposal, to complement our North New Jersey operations. We look for companies whose work ethic and commitment to its employees and customers mimic our own. With this acquisition it further allows us to continue the level of services that customers have come to expect from us” said Ron Bergamini, Action CEO.

In a business like ours, there are a lot of moving parts and we use some pretty heavy duty equipment. So operating safely while at work is paramount to our operation. One tip to keep everyone safe is to ALWAYS be aware of your surroundings while on the job.

For more safety tips check out our Action Safety University channel!

Attention All Waste Industry Professionals!

In partnership with the NWRA, you are invited to a free mock DOT Inspection safety session. A NYSDOT Inspector will be doing a hands-on mock inspection session with some additional folks from his unit.

The session will be held at Interstate Waste Services/Action Chester depot.

Date: Thursday, November 29, 2018

Location: 89 Black Meadow Road Chester, NY 10918

Time:

• 12:30pm – lunch 
• 1:00pm  – program/mock inspection time
• 3:30pm – program end time

Why should you attend and send your operations and route supervisor? You know why. One life saved; one less accident; fewer out of service and other citations; and lower insurance premiums -- are just some of the reasons off the top of the list.

This will be a good session for you and your team. Talk it up; refer this notice to a friendly competitor and to local government with a DPW waste/recycling collection program, etc. – and the effort to make this training happen will be more than worthwhile. It is worth your time and energy to get out to it; and to “think safety” and learn more about safety with your industry peers for the afternoon!

The holidays are synonymous with toys and gift giving. It is a joyous time for most. But, for struggling families it is a time of stress and anxiety. Parents want their children to experience the joy and excitement of receiving the toys of their dreams. Thankfully, holiday toy drives help fill the need.

Every year we pick an organization that is in need of some extra love during the holiday season. This year we have partnered with Center for Hope and Safety and their Holiday Gift Drive.

About The Center for Hope and Safety: The Center for Hope and Safety is founded on the vision and belief that every person has the right to be safe, empowered, and free from violence and the fear of violence. Central to this belief, CHS seeks to eliminate domestic violence.

We will be collecting new toys and clothing items to donate to the center now until Friday, December 14th. They have asked for the following items:

WASTE INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS OPPOSE NEW YORK CITY’S PROPOSAL FOR COMMERCIAL WASTE ZONES

Better Options Available to Pursue City’s New Goals

By: Kendall Christiansen, Executive Director New Yorkers for Responsible Waste Management and Steve Changaris Northeast Chapter Manager National Waste & Recycling Association

Two leading waste industry associations – New Yorkers for Responsible Waste Management and the New York City Chapter of the National Waste and Recycling Association – jointly criticized and rejected the Plan announced by the City’s Department of Sanitation to implement a new system of geographic zones and city-selected companies to provide waste-related services to the city’s businesses and industries.

As children take to the streets on Halloween to trick-or-treat, their risk of being injured by motorists increases greatly. In fact, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that Halloween is consistently one of the top three days for pedestrian injuries and fatalities.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also estimates that children are four times more likely to be struck by a motor vehicle on Halloween than any other day of the year. Because excited trick-or-treaters often forget about safety, motorists and parents must be even more alert.

Here are some tips for helping keep young ones safe on Halloween:

For more safety tips check out our Action Safety University channel!

Earlier this month we invited our front line Managers to attend our first Front Line Manager Training session. Here we had a meaningful discussion on Safety here at Action.

The discussion was lead by Ross Sandler, a Law Professor at NewYork Law School. Ross also has had a very successful career as a Safety Consultant for Con-Ed and worked as the Department of Transportation Commissioner under Mayor Edward Koch.

The video below highlights the important topics covered and what is expected of all employees as we are all members of the Safety Team!

This past Sunday we said goodbye to Summer and hello to the Fall. With the cooler temps and changing leaves, comes the added risk of driving hazards due to sun glare. It might sound counterintuitive, but sun glare is actually worse in the fall.

Why? This has mostly to do with the sun moving closer to the horizon.

Sun glare can best be described as sunlight obstructing your windshield during sunrise and sunset hours, making it incredibly difficult to see anything in front of you. Unfortunately for us, we also happen to drive during the times when sun glare is the worst (the morning and evening commute).

Here we offer you some useful tips on how to drive safely when experiencing sun glare.

Check back for more safety tips from our Action Safety University.

As a hauling company, we spend a lot of time on the road. So we think the safety of all drivers on the road is important. Here are some Safe Driving Tips on how to be a Focused Driver from AAA.

Check back for more safety tips from our Action Safety University.

Attention all NYC Customers:

Today we had the pleasure of presenting our 2nd annual Action Environmental Group scholarship award. The winner was High School Senior Gianna Falletta. Our CEO Ron Bergamini and her father NJ Sales Manager, Sal Falletta were on hand to present Gianna with her award. Her captivating essay and incredible 4.71 GPA makes Gianna the ideal recipient of this award.

In the fall she will begin the journey of receiving her Bachelors Degree in Occupational Therapy at Quinnipiac University. She also plans on receiving her Masters in the field.

Read her award-winning essay below.

As unemployment falls to nearly 4 percent, a 17-year low, employers are finding it hard to find the right employees. Expanding the applicant pool to include individuals with criminal records is becoming increasingly necessary and attractive.

Action is happy to partner with Cornell University's ILR School, in their partnership with When People Work, GOSO, Defy Ventures and the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, at their Reimagining Employment Summit: An Untapped Talent Pool. Join us for this unique program to learn from employers, including our own CEO Ron Bergamini as the keynote speaker, about their successful approach to hiring justice-involved citizens. Hear from three organizations, When People Work, GOSO and Defy Ventures, how they can work with you to find the right employee to suit your needs.

"Mother's love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible."—Marion C. Garretty

In honor of Mother's Day this Sunday, the team would like to share a little bit about the women who made them who they are.

When you work in the recycling business every day is Earth Day! But it's still important to come together at local events to speak to members of the community about the importance of recycling.

Let's take a look at all of the amazing events that took place this year that celebrated the planet and discussed ways that we can help save it.

Last week industry leaders, government officials, and the public gathered together for the 4th NYC Waste & Recycling Safety Symposium. The event was hosted by the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), the City of New York Business Integrity Commission (BIC), the National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA) and the New Yorkers for Responsible Waste Management Inc.

Sadly waste & recycling collector is the 5th deadliest job in America. The purpose of such an event is to bring folks together in the interest of bettering safety practices industry-wide in hopes of improving this statistic. Commissioner and chair of the BIC, Daniel Brownell, kicked off the symposium by stating that “the government needs to work with the waste and recycling industry to mandate certain safety protocols and equipment that every truck should have, such as GPS.”