About East-West Disposal Services

Our father was born and raised on the east coast of Cape Breton Island in a small coastal town called Alder Point, which was home to coal miners and fisherman. In 1956, at the age of 17 he came to Toronto with 35.00 in his pocket. He worked hard and saved his pennies and within 2 years bought a 1 ton 1948 International for $100.00 and started hauling scrap cars.

During the early years he served as Firemen for the City of Toronto while receiving his pilot and mechanic's licenses.

In 1958, he officially set up shop under the East-West name at a White Rose gas station on Queen Street in the Beaches. At this location he bought his first snow plow (a 1958 Landrover) to clear local area businesses. Not long after he purchased his first truck to haul waste - a 1956 International single-axle dump truck.

During the mid- 60's, his instincts told him hydraulics was the way to the future in hauling waste. He drove to Kentucky to the Dempster dumpster factory. By this time, less then 10 years after leaving home, he had managed to save $100,000.00. In classic entrepreneurial fashion, he put it all on the line and bought a new front-end truck and 100 bins.

As I recall, to a man, he worked harder then anyone I've ever known. 20 hr days were the norm. Early years were spent in his side saddle and if I remember one thing it was his perseverance. These memories would serve as a bonding agent of impetus for the family business moving forward.

For the next 25 years, we set up shop in the Portlands on Polson Street, where the present day docks entertainment complex sits. The company grew a strong reputation for professional service - and if you saw the blue and white coming down the road, you knew it was us.

During this period we would start working for many customers that we still service today.

20 plus years had passed and 100's of Toronto's waste hauling and snow plowing companies had come and gone. East-west stayed the course. Through prudence and self-financing, we would not fall prey to the 80's recession. Today his wisdom rings loud: "sometimes the best deal is the one you don't make", "watch your pennies" or "overhead is a killer". Such old-school business fundamentals are some of the primary reasons today East-West Disposal Services is over 50 years old.