From Saigon to San Francisco: The Rise of a Recycling Empire

Directed by Oscar-winning cinematographer Errol Webber, the film traces the trajectory of the Duong family following their 1975 escape from Saigon. After arriving in the United States in 1979 with no financial resources, the family relied on the ethic instilled by patriarch Jim Thu Tai Duong—that there is honor in all honest work. This philosophy fueled the 1992 founding of California Waste Solutions in Oakland, which has since grown into a municipal powerhouse processing over 717,000 tons of material annually.

The narrative moves beyond standard success tropes, focusing instead on the grueling, pre-dawn discipline required to maintain urban infrastructure. Today, the company serves more than 343,000 customers across Oakland and San José, while the family’s international arm, Vietnam Waste Solutions, manages large-scale environmental projects in the Ho Chi Minh City region. Through archival footage and dramatizations, the film highlights how the Duong family leveraged their experience to build a third-generation business model that bridges two nations through consistent, often invisible, public service.