Greg Westfall and Marco Casarin might just be the two unlikeliest garbage men in Lowcountry history. That’s not to speak ill of our hardworking sanitation engineers in any way, it’s just that one generally doesn’t transition into the job following multiple decades working for multinational corporations and traveling the globe. “It’s a much-needed business and one we can grow and expand on, plus we get to sleep in our own beds at night,” Westfall said.
The two entrepreneurs are the principals behind the island’s local VaVia franchise. Taking its name from the Italian for “it goes away,” the company is a rapidly growing force in the waste disposal business with a business model that aims to disrupt trash the way Uber did taxis.
The elevator pitch is deceptively simple: When a homeowner or contractor rents a traditional dumpster, it typically arrives via a huge CDL big rig. These massively bulky trucks, many carrying old and rusty containers, not only serve as an eyesore, but in addition are notorious for annihilating landscaping.
VaVia is different. While they offer a variety of sizing options, their dumpsters are delivered by a modified pickup truck. This not only spares your landscaping and driveways, it allows them access to homes, condos and villas on smaller lots that the traditional mammoth dumpster couldn’t get near. This makes VaVia the perfect solution for a home remodel/renovation or the long-needed home or yard cleanout.
But it’s not just the nimbler solution that makes VaVia such a breath of fresh air in the garbage industry. Like any disruptor, they rely on a technological edge. “We use a specialized app that will text a customer to remind them when service is planned so they can prepare the area for us to place the dumpster,” Casarin said. “Once that’s activated, they’ll also receive a text that the driver is on the way, and they can see where the driver is and his ETA.”
For anyone who has ever rented a dumpster, just to spend the better part of a day wondering when (or if) it might arrive, this simple technological solution is a real game changer. Backing up that solution is a dedication to getting it right. “We provide customer service at an incredibly high level,” Casarin said. “When they ask, ‘Can we have it by 7 tomorrow morning?’ It’s there at 7 tomorrow morning. That same day, next morning service is something many of our competitors cannot offer. It’s a big differentiating factor for us.”
That customer service is nothing new to Casarin. In his previous corporate life, he spent 32 years in the medical industry, traveling the world with stints in his native South Africa, Germany, Japan, Korea and Thailand. With his move to the U.S., he oversaw a customer service team of 1,200 people.
Westfall has a similar corporate background, having spent 30 years in the steel industry, moving from place to place as a major player in a Japanese firm. “They moved us around to so many different places. But when COVID-19 hit and I could work from home, after a few months I didn’t want to go back. I wanted to make a full-time home in the Lowcountry, as it’s an amazing place to live.”
The two met while walking their dogs on the beach and, finding themselves at similar crossroads in their careers, decided to join forces on their next adventure. “We went from corporate careers to being garbage men,” Westfall said.
They started out in October of last year with 20 dumpsters and a truck and haven’t looked back, now operating with three trucks and 70 dumpsters. “This area is booming right now, with a lot of new construction, renovations/remodels, and home cleanouts,” Westfall said. “So far, things are looking good. Each day and each month we are making new relationships and expanding our network.”
For more information, visit govavia.com/dumpster-rental/hilton-head-island or follow on Facebook at vavialowcountry.
