Gallegos Sanitation

ABOUT US

We are a local, trusted and innovative business that has been servicing Northern Colorado for nearly 50 years. Since 1959, we have focused on providing economical, quality waste and recycling collection services.

Whether you need disposal service for your home, business, construction project or special event, we can tailor the service to fit your needs.

We strive to meet the changing needs of our customers by looking forward in our industry and technology. We are constantly searching for the best tools to ensure our employees can serve our customers’ needs most efficiently. For this reason, customers find a high level of reliability and variety of services from which to choose.

We are concerned with current environmental issues and believe in doing our part for the community. We are constantly seeking ways to reduce emissions through improved routing and the use of bio-diesel fuel (coming soon). We offer experimental services such as curbside yardwaste collection, construction and demolition recycling, and electronic waste disposal alternatives.

While our company continues to grow, our customers find that we do not lack the resources to serve their changing needs, nor are we so large they get lost in the shuffle. For three generations, customer service has come first! We have not forgotten what is most important and endeavor to continue our search for excellence through customer satisfaction.

From a humble beginning, our business has grown to serve a very large part of Northern Colorado with a primary service area spanning across the Tri-City area, from north of the Wyoming state line all the way south through Berthoud to the Boulder County line, including the areas listed to the right and more!

We are willing to use our company resources to give back to our community and are happy to support area small businesses, Northern Colorado school districts, and local non-profit organizations such as the Boys & Girls Club of Larimer County, the American Cancer Society, and many more.

OUR STORY

Edward Gallegos was born in San Luis, CO in 1925 as a 4th generation descendant of Spanish settlers. At a very young age, he worked side by side with his parents and siblings making adobes, providing them with just enough to survive. This experience taught him that hard work was the only means to succeed for his family. From his service in the Army, to his years working for Larimer County, he continued to push past a 5th grade education and learn whatever he could. It wasn’t long before he could operate almost every piece of heavy equipment available to him.

His desire to improve his position in life and strong work ethic carried him past discrimination and became reflected in the training of his sons. In 1959, together Edward, Art, Jerry, and Rudy began to shape a part-time lawn-mowing and hauling business into the 70-truck fleet of waste and recycling trucks serving Northern Colorado and Southern Wyoming in our trash removal business today.

Philosophy of Service

We started our business at a time when business owners wanted customers to feel good about doing business with them. A time when full service gas stations were on every corner, and everyone’s motto was “service with a smile.” Businesses took pride in the service they provided to their customers, and Edward was no different. His perfectionist attitude became a strong root in our approach to business then and is still the largest part of our approach to how we service customers today.

We recognize that customers are the reason our company is here today, and we are committed to customer service excellence and continuous service improvement.

Industry trend setters

In 1961, Gallegos changed the way waste was collected in the area forever when they introduced the first automated garbage collection truck to the streets of Fort Collins. In 1967, Ed applied some of his mechanical skills and designed his own cardboard baling mechanism that included many of the design features we still see in modern day baling systems. Today, Gallegos continues to lead in applying innovative technologies. From GPS and onboard computer systems to new engine and fuel technologies that reduce carbon emissions, GSI is staying ahead of the competition by providing the most up-to-date tools to their employees servicing the community. As a new era in environmental urgency and technology evolves, you can bet we will be there.

Environmental issues

We are already taking steps to move recycling and our environmental responsibility forward. For almost a decade, Gallegos has provided area residents with both curbside recycling of standard materials like plastic, glass, metal, and newsprint, but also green-waste collection. We are constantly seeking route improvements and experimenting with alternative fuels that will greatly reduce our carbon footprint. Our shop facilities recycle and reuse vehicle lubricants and use alternative heating technologies and we will soon be converting to wind power for all electrical needs.

Commitment to the Community

Over the decades, this community has grown by leaps and bounds, and three generations of the Gallegos family have been there. We are not only serving the community, we are a part of it. Our children and now our children’s children are attending the same schools, athletic events, charity events and more. GSI has been proud to be able to support many local non-profit organizations and fund-raising events, including Relay-for-Life, the MS Walk, Colorado State University, Poudre School District, Boys and Girls Club of Larimer County, and many more. We are here to support our community!

OUR MISSION

To be the most innovative, trusted, and comprehensive Waste Diversion Company in Northern Colorado.

We want our customers to receive exceptional service that supports moral and ethical practices, while our employees operate in a healthy supportive work environment.

We continue to support local business and want to give back to our community by striving to Care for Our Earth by providing safety, service, and sustainability.

GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND

Here are just a few ways we try to go Above and Beyond:

For our NEW Residential Customers

• Mailed to every new customer – Residential new start letter-brief information about GSI, holiday guide calendar, recycling guide and most current copy of the GSI Newsletter
• Courtesy call back to verify satisfaction of service
• Customers requesting GSI equipment have a delivery order passed onto the delivery department, delivery is made and subsequent delivery ticket is returned to dispatch to confirm transaction has been completed
• Thorough auditing program to verify all new starts are in the new accounts database, service ticket of GSI equipment (if requested) and routing procedure have been completed

For our EXISTING Residential Customers

• Name changes, Request for increase/decrease of services, transfer of services, closing of accounts, vacation stops
• Carry-out service for seniors or physically challenged citizens
• Continual Correspondence – voice messages, USPS, email, notes w/payments, quarterly newsletter

To Go ABOVE AND BEYOND

• Find the Right Employees. Commitment to quality customer services starts with finding the “right person” to work at GSI – people with values, ethics and character.
• Keep GSI Values Dynamic. Training and retaining exemplary employees who have high customer service values.
• Leadership by Example. Members of the GSI Management and staff will personally see a job to its completion whether it be delivery/vacate of a cart on their way home from work or picking up trash in their personal vehicle.
• Attitude makes a BIG difference. Having “the customer is always right attitude,” we will return for pick-up service.
• Examples from the GSI team going Above & Beyond after hours:
  • Employees take customer requests, explain our programs when asked, next day follow through with proper procedures to assure job completion
  • See lids open on dumpsters when out and about, we close them
  • PT blown over, we call it in so it can be serviced immediately
  • Call in when we see dumpsters overflowing
  • If we witness and/or observe misuse (theft of service) and/or graffiti on our equipment, we contact the proper authorities.
  • Good Samaritan values – if we see your trash cart tipped over or an issue with service, we set it back up and talk to you so we can better serve “our neighbor”
  • Account Specialists with communication skills and a clear customer focus that will allow them to be reassuring, empathic and responsive.
  • All new Customer Service Account Specialists go through a thorough training program that takes approximately 90 days to complete, which even includes ride-a-longs with our Operations Staff.