City Government

California Waste Solutions to Move from West Oakland to Army Base

Published

7 years ago

October 26, 2018

From left to right: Kristina Duong, David Duong, and Victor Duong.

California Waste Solutions (CWS) is doing all it can to vacate its current location in West Oakland, which is surrounded by residential properties, and move to the Oakland Army base, allowing them space to expand their existing operations.

The growing recycling company is among the largest in Northern California and is consistently ranked as one of the top companies of its kind, nation-wide by Waste Age Magazine.

The new plant is scheduled to be a state-of-the -art 12- acre facility, built at the Army base.

Negotiations between CWS and the City of Oakland have been jump-started to facilitate a fast-tracked departure from the company’s two current locations in West Oakland.

Jackie Nelson, a West Oakland resident, says is looking forward to CWS’ departure from the neighborhood. “We hope they will continue to hire Oakland residents and the those who were formerly incarcerated,” she said.

CWS is a minority business owned by the Duong family from Vietnam. They barely escaped the ravages of the Vietnam War on a small boat in 1977 after losing the family’s paper mill.
David, the eldest of the seven Duong children, was 16 years old when the family left Saigon with only the clothes on their backs.

After spending nearly two years in a refugee camp in the Philippines, they arrived in San Francisco. The 16-member Duong family squeezed into two small studio apartments.
At 19, David and his siblings collected recyclables every night for three years after school and saved enough to purchase their first warehouse.

Today, CWS employs more than 300 people at Oakland and San Jose locations.

“Community is the core of our business. We’re committed to providing exceptional service to our customers, and we must continuously invest in the communities we serve,” said Duong.

Rev. Ken Chambers, pastor of West End Baptist Church, near the business, said he wants to work with the Duong family to find gainful employment for West Oakland residents.

They also own and operate an integrated waste management facility in Vietnam—Vietnam Waste Solutions—which manages solid waste collection, landfills, recycling and composting for the entire country.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

UN Report Says Oakland Guilty of “Cruel and Inhumane Treatment” of Homeless

Don't Miss

$300K for Safe Car Parks at Churches

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of November 26 – December 2, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 26 – December 2, 2025

Published

1 week ago

November 28, 2025

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of November 19 – 25, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 19 – 25, 2025

Published

2 weeks ago

November 24, 2025

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

IN MEMORIAM: William ‘Bill’ Patterson, 94

Bill devoted his life to public service and education. In 1971, he became the founding director for the Peralta Community College Foundation, he also became an administrator for Oakland Parks and Recreation overseeing 23 recreation centers, the Oakland Zoo, Children’s Fairyland, Lake Merritt, and the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center.

Published

3 weeks ago

November 20, 2025

Oakland Post

William "Bill" Patterson, 94. Photo courtesy of the Patterson family.

William “Bill” Patterson, 94, of Little Rock, Arkansas, passed away peacefully on October 21, 2025, at his home in Oakland, CA. He was born on May 19, 1931, to Marie Childress Patterson and William Benjamin Patterson in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Dunbar High School and traveled to Oakland, California, in 1948. William Patterson graduated from San Francisco State University, earning both graduate and undergraduate degrees. He married Euradell “Dell” Patterson in 1961. Bill lovingly took care of his wife, Dell, until she died in 2020.

He served on the boards of Oakland’s Urban Strategies Council, the Oakland Public Ethics Commission, and the Oakland Workforce Development Board.

He was a three-term president of the Oakland branch of the NAACP.

Bill was initiated in the Gamma Alpha chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity.

In 1997 Bill was appointed to the East Bay Utility District Board of Directors. William Patterson was the first African American Board President and served the board for 27 years.

Bill’s impact reached far beyond his various important and impactful positions.

Bill mentored politicians, athletes and young people. Among those he mentored and advised are legends Joe Morgan, Bill Russell, Frank Robinson, Curt Flood, and Lionel Wilson to name a few.

He is survived by his son, William David Patterson, and one sister, Sarah Ann Strickland, and a host of other family members and friends.

A celebration of life service will take place at Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center (Calvin Simmons Theater) on November 21, 2025, at 10 AM.

His services are being livestreamed at: https://www.facebook.com/events/1250167107131991/

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Euradell and William Patterson scholarship fund TBA.