James Ratto, owner of Sonoma County鈥檚 dominant but embattled garbage hauler, is selling his waste and recycling empire to a San Francisco-based rival in a multimillion dollar deal that promises to reshape the region鈥檚 garbage business.
Ratto on Friday agreed to sell his companies, which handle garbage and recycling services in eight of Sonoma County鈥檚 nine cities as well as parts of north Marin County, to Recology, one of the largest solid waste firms on the West Coast.
鈥淗e鈥檚 getting out of the garbage and recycling business,鈥� Ratto spokesman Eric Koenigshofer said Saturday. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a major event in the history of Sonoma County.鈥�
The deal sets in motion several months of review and calls for Recology to take over Ratto鈥檚 entire North Bay garbage operation, including its Santa Rosa recycling facilities, dozens of trucks and a workforce of 440 employees.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. It would bring to a close the remarkable career of an Italian immigrant who began collecting garbage cans on the streets of San Francisco at the age of 16 and through tenacity and competitive drive became rich building and selling solid waste businesses in the North Bay.
He once said that he was able to beat out larger competitors by being 鈥渢he Wal-Mart of the garbage business.鈥� That approach won him supporters who valued his ability to keep customer rates low but also earned him detractors who say he cut corners and thumbed his nose at regulators.
The Ratto Group, the umbrella business, and North Bay Corp., one of its controlling entities, face nearly $14 million in fines from Santa Rosa from alleged violations of its contract with the city. The Sonoma County Department of Health Services also has levied steep fines for permit violations at Ratto鈥檚 Standish Avenue recycling facilities. The company鈥檚 aging fleet of trucks and equipment also need millions of dollars in upgrades.
The company鈥檚 largest contract, covering curbside hauling for 55,000 Santa Rosa homes and businesses 鈥� worth about $27 million annually 鈥� is up at the end of this year and Monday marks a key deadline to decide who gets that work. A scathing audit of Ratto鈥檚 operations spurred the city to open bidding for the contract.
Ratto, 77, is in poor health and neither of his sons, Lou and Steve, who help manage the business, want to be in the garbage industry long-term, Koenigshofer said. Ratto declined to be interviewed Saturday.
The regulatory and financial issues facing the company also played roles, Koenigshofer said. 鈥淥f course, the last year, year and a half have had an influence on the family鈥檚 decision making,鈥� he said. Ratto is both proud of the company he built but resigned to its fate given the challenges facing it, Koenigshofer said.
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