In 1932, America was in the midst of the Great Depression, and its citizens, desperate for a "New Deal," elected Franklin D. Roosevelt president. It was also the year that Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party rose to power in Germany.

The cost of a first-class postage stamp in 1932 was two cents. The average price for a new car was $610 and gasoline was 10 cents a gallon.

The population of Ventura was 11,000 in 1932. Pork roast was on sale at the Pay ‘n Takit Market on The Avenue for 8 cents a pound, a 25-pound bag of potatoes cost 33 cents and a dozen eggs went for 18 cents. Men had their choice of suits for $9.85, $12.85 and $16.85 at Nash Clothiers on Main Street, and a two-bedroom stucco home on South San Clemente Ave. was yours for $2,500, with $100 down.

Senator Ted Kennedy, actor Peter O'Toole and actress Elizabeth Taylor all were born in 1932. So was Harrison Industries.

The company was founded during the Great Depression by E.J. Harrison, who fashioned a truck from several car bodies and began making a modest living by hauling his neighbors' trash to the Ventura dumps. Harrison's young wife, Myra, helped with the books.

Seventy-five years later, Myra Harrison, who turned 92 in February, remains with the company as founder. Her oldest son, Ralph, is president while her other sons, Jim and Myron, serve as vice presidents.

Harrison Industries celebrated its 75th anniversary in February as one of the oldest and largest privately owned trash collection businesses in the United States. It services about 80,000 customers in Ventura, Camarillo, Fillmore, Ojai, Santa Paula, Thousand Oaks and surrounding unincorporated areas of Ventura County with residential, commercial and industrial service. The company also collects trash in Carpinteria in Santa Barbara County.

Much has changed since 1932, but Harrison Industries has kept up with the times and thrived over the years by offering superior customer service at reasonable rates, and by being on the forefront of the recycling movement in the state. All customers are provided the opportunity to recycle more than 17

(Top Left) Early Harrison trash collection trucks. (Top Right) E.J. unloads boxes of materials that he has collected from his trash route. (Bottom) The ground breaking of the Saticoy shop in 1969.

different materials, including newsprint, glass, cardboard, plastic and paper products, which are taken to Gold Coast Recycling and Transfer station where they are sorted, baled and recycled for use.

Harrison Industries also collects green waste materials like grass, tree branches and leaves and takes them to California Wood Recycling where they are processed and sold for reuse in agricultural products, fuel and landscape materials.

Harrison Industries also has taken several steps toward reducing air pollution by opening the first liquefied natural gas fueling station in western Ventura County. They have converted several diesel trucks to run on cleaner burning LNG fuel and have also purchased and ordered new fully dedicated LNG trucks to bring the fleet to 31 LNG trucks.

For its environmental efforts, Harrison Industries in 2005 was one of five recipients nationwide of the prestigious Blue Sky Award, presented by CALSTART, North America's leading advanced transportation technologies consortium. In 2006, the California Air Resources Board also singled out Harrison Industries as being one of 20 refuse companies statewide to be ahead of schedule in meeting strict cleaner air regulations for its trash and recycling collection vehicles.

E.J. Harrison & Sons founder Myra Harrison was Grand Marshal of the 19th Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade in Downtown Ventura on March 17.

The parade's theme this year was "Go Green," and Myra was selected in honor of Harrison's many efforts in environmental protection, from its innovative recycling programs to the company's purchase of several new trucks fueled by clean-burning liquefied natural gas. Harrison also has converted some of its fleet's diesel trucks to run on LNG. Last fall, the company also took a major step toward helping to reduce air pollution by opening the first LNG fueling station in western Ventura County.

"On March 17th everyone is Irish, but Harrison & Sons is Green all year long," said Ventura City Councilman Jim Monahan, Co-Chairman of the Ventura St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee. "We are honored to have Myra Harrison and E.J. Harrison & Sons as our Grand Marshals, and we thank them for their contributions to Ventura County."

Myra, who turned 92 in February, rode in the lead convertible with her son, Jim. Four

Ventura City Councilman Jim Monahan, aka St. Patrick, greets Grand Marshal Myra Harrison at the St. Patrick's Day Parade.

generations of Harrison family members walked behind, waving to the crowd. Behind them were two Harrison LNG trucks.

The parade began in front of the San Buenaventura Mission and made its way up Main Street, continued past the reviewing stand on Chestnut Street and finished up on Laurel Street.

The parade was an Irish celebration of the environment. Bands, floats, car clubs and horses from all over Ventura County "went green," to the delight of friends and neighbors from throughout the county.

You may have read about San Francisco's ban on plastic bags because of all of the environmental concerns—they cause tremendous litter everywhere and are unsafe for fish, fowl and probably other small animals.

The Los Angeles Board of Supervisors is also considering a ban but rather than be concerned about what will happen in the future let's take immediate action to make sure that they don't cause problems with our environment or habitat.

Things you shouldn't do with plastic bags

There are three things that you should not do with your plastic bags.

• Do not put them in your recycle barrel. Plastic bags are not recyclable. When they are used to hold recyclables, they slow the process at Gold Coast Recycling because the pickers must open the bag to sort the material inside. All recyclables must be put into your recycle barrel loose.
• Do not put them in your green waste barrel. Plastic bags ruin the ability for California Wood Recycling to make high quality mulch—no one wants bits of plastic in their landscape material.
• Do not put empty plastic bags in your trash container. Plastic bags cause problems at our local landfills which are located in agricultural areas. No one wants to see plastic bags hanging on their trees or fences. If you use plastic bags, be sure to weight them down with something when you put them in your trash container.

Things you can do with your plastic bags

• Reuse them to hold trash. You can line your small bathroom trash containers with them, or take them along on your dog's walk. Use them for scooped out kitty litter or keep a supply in your garage and in the glove compartment or under the passenger seat of your car for trash.
  
• Return your plastic bags to the supermarket. You can deposit them in plastic bag recycling bins that are found near the entrances of most supermarkets or reuse them yourself instead of getting new bags. Of course, you could always ask for paper or use your own reusable cloth bags.

There are dozens of ways we can reuse and recycle plastic bags. By doing this, we help to keep them out of our landfills. If you have any great ideas for reuse, please email us and we will pass them along in a future Trash Flash. E-mail to info@ejharrison.com.

Ever wonder what to do with your used batteries or light bulbs? The short answer is to hold on to them and then take them to Gold Coast Recycle or wait for the next City of Ventura Hazardous Waste Collection event. Many don't know that after February 2006 it became illegal in California to dispose of batteries, electronic waste, and fluorescent light bulbs in your trash Batteries and fluorescent bulbs are often overlooked items that are not easily recognized as being hazardous waste.

Batteries are prohibited from entering the landfill because they contain heavy metals and other hazardous materials that may leach out from landfills into the air, soil, and groundwater. The best way to reduce the number of batteries in the waste stream is to purchase rechargeable batteries. Over its useful life, each rechargeable battery may substitute for hundreds of single-use batteries. However, if you must buy regular batteries, make sure the spent batteries are properly recycled. Please visit the City's Environmental Services website at www.venturasenvironment.com for a list of locations or call 652-4525 for more information.

Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) Bulbs last up to 13 times longer and use 75% less electricity than traditional bulbs with similar ratings. However, CFLs also contain a trace amount of mercury, a substance toxic to humans. Recycling CFLs keeps mercury out of landfills and our environment.

Please bring your old batteries, CFLs, and other hazardous waste to one of the City of Ventura's FREE household hazardous waste collection events held on the third Saturday of every month. Ventura residents must call 652-4525 to set-up an appointment.

E.J. Harrison & Sons
Recycling, Yard Waste and Trash Guidelines

What goes in the Trash?

Hopefully, very little.

After you have recycled, composted, filled the yard waste cart, donated old clothing and goods, and done all of those good things and more– most of the rest can go in the trash.

How to Place Your Cart for Automated Collection
The automated arm of the collection truck needs room to grab the cart. Carts should be placed 2-3 feet apart from each other and from objects such as mailboxes and cars.

Carts should be out by 7:00 a.m. on collection days.

What Doesn't go in the Trash or any other cart?

STOP No Hazardous Waste!!

These items are NOT accepted for Trash or Recycling.

Hazardous Waste Tires TVs/Computer Monitors Batteries

Closed Containers Oil or Paints Fluorescent Light Tubes Medical Needles

For information on how to dispose of these items, please call:
Ventura: 652-4525 / Ojai: 658-4323