David Duong’s journey represents a modern American Dream defined by resilience, integrity, and family unity. From losing everything in 1975 to rebuilding a multigenerational environmental enterprise across two nations, his story reflects the Vietnamese American experience and highlights how perseverance, innovation, and values-based leadership can transform hardship into long-term community impact.
The King of Trash documentary preserves this history while reinforcing David and the Duong Family’s legacy of service, sustainability, and contribution in both the U.S. and Vietnam.
From One Used Truck to Long-Term Municipal Service in the Bay Area
Before founding California Waste Solutions (CWS), the Duong family built their first recycling venture, CoGiDo Paper Corporation, in 1983 with $700 and a used truck. After selling the company to a major corporation in 1989, they applied that experience to launch CWS in 1992 with eight used trucks and a disciplined, family-led work ethic.
Through long-term municipal partnerships, CWS has grown into a trusted service provider for the cities of Oakland and San Jose, supporting complex urban recycling needs with consistency, compliance, and accountability. Today, CWS processes approximately 1,000 tons of material per week in Oakland and 1,300 tons per week in San Jose, operating one of the largest family-owned recycling enterprises in the United States.
Driven by gratitude for his roots, David and the Duong family later expanded their mission to Vietnam through Vietnam Waste Solutions (VWS), introducing modern solid waste management and engineered environmental facilities to Ho Chi Minh City. VWS operates the Da Phuoc Integrated Waste Management Facility and is developing the Long An Green Environmental Technology Park, serving millions of residents through modern, community-focused environmental services.
The King of Trash documentary highlights this cross-continental work as part of a larger story about family, service, and the belief that nothing, and no one, should ever be wasted.
A Film About Family, Not Just Business
The documentary brings to life the extraordinary, real-world story behind a refugee family who rebuilt their lives and helped shape modern recycling systems across two nations. The film is a storytelling project that highlights resilience, environmental responsibility, and the human journey from survival to leadership.
Through cinematic storytelling, the film follows David and the Duong Family’s path from collecting recyclables to establishing CWS. It also highlights Vietnam Waste Solutions (VWS) and the Da Phuoc Integrated Waste Management Facility, the first and largest integrated recycling and sanitary landfill complex of its kind in Southeast Asia, supporting waste management services for millions of residents in Ho Chi Minh City. While these companies are not the central focus, they offer a real-world context that shows how one family transformed their experiences into impactful ventures.
What sets The King of Trash apart is that it is not merely a documentary film; it is a human story. It narrates a business journey through emotions, personal experiences, and core values like hard work, family, and giving back. CWS and VWS are just segments of that journey, illustrating how David’s family mission evolved into systems that foster cleaner, healthier communities in the U.S., Vietnam, and beyond.
Documenting a Family’s Legacy
What truly sets the companies apart is their international expertise; the ability to understand and operate across both U.S. and Southeast Asian regulatory environments, supply chains, and cultural contexts. This cross-border capability provides CWS and VWS with a distinct advantage that most competitors cannot replicate.
David and the Duong Family’s leadership further solidifies their position: a family-owned business with corporate-level capabilities, decades of credibility, and a history of serving rapidly growing cities. Their story, now highlighted through The King of Trash, emphasizes their values of integrity, reliability, and long-term commitment, making them trusted partners for municipalities, communities, and international clients and stakeholders.
In an industry often dominated by large corporations, David’s CWS and VWS stand out for combining big-company capacity with family-driven accountability, strong community ties, and a mission focused on sustainability, performance, and public-interest service.
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