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Upper Valley
Disposal & Recycling Services

About us


Upper Valley Disposal & Recycling and Clover Flat Resource Recovery Park have been in operation for nearly 60 years. The companies are environmental leaders recognized for their innovation and ingenuity by National Geographic, California Department of Food & Agriculture, CalRecycle, OMRI, among others.

Our History

In 1959, Bob Pestoni returned home from his military service to help with the family farm. He added hogs to the farm on Whitehall Lane and to feed the hogs, Pestoni began picking up food and dairy discards from local and Bay Area sources.He would recycle the glass, cardboard, crates and pallets that the goods came in. The food and dairy went to the hogs and in return, Pestoni would sell the hogs to the markets.

Bob and his brother, Marvin Pestoni, were awarded the first franchise agreement to pick up garbage in the Upper Valley unincorporated area of Napa County in 1963. In 1966, the Pestoni Family farm received its first load of wine grape pomace (stems, skins and seeds removed from the winemaking process) for compost thereby pioneering a new method of restoring soil and reducing emissions.

Inspired by the first Earth Day, on Feb. 21, 1971 the first recycling event was held in St. Helena, sponsored by Upper Valley Disposal Services. From its origin to the present day, Upper Valley Disposal Services remains a leader in sustainability, recycling, and renewable energy.

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What we do

Our sustainable methods include pomace collection for over 50 years, which keeps waste out of our watersheds and river, and certified organic compost production for 30 years which reduces our community’s carbon footprint and helps our soil remain healthy. It is important to us to be considerate neighbors as we have invested several million dollars in operational systems to improve compliance, protect our local streams and river, reduce odors and air pollution. With SB1383 and changing CA Air Resources Board regulations for composting facilities will require more technological investment which will further reduce emissions.

Upper Valley Disposal Services has diverted nearly 30,000 tons and Clover Flat has diverted over 75,000 tons of waste, just in the last two years, into recyclable, reuse products. The total avoided emissions by our operations removes over 30,000 MTCO2e each year. This is the equivalent of removing 46,000 passenger vehicles from the roadway and avoiding 12,000 household energy consumed. We are addressing climate change by providing programs and services that create avoided greenhouse gas emissions (GHG).

In early 2020, at Clover Flat, we installed a new Landfill Cover: Posi-Shield. Though its intended use is for soil cover and erosion control, we discovered that it does not burn and helped to stop spread of the Glass Fire. In addition, we have performed the following:

  • Established a 24-hour fire watch during fire season by creating a staging area for Illumination Technologies of California, LLC to use its IQ 24-Hour Fire Watch detection system.
  • Developed a robust Fire Management Plan. 
  • Substantially increased the dedicated onsite fire water storage capacity and hydrant system at Clover Flat.
  • For our customers and Napa Valley residents, we are here to provide environmentally sound disposal of fire debris.

The Company welcomes all inquiries and will be happy to provide additional information, or trainings to anyone who is interested. We will continue to assist Napa County and its residents with providing programs and services to combat climate change.

Partnering with Local Non-Profits

UVDS co-hosts an annual fundraiser called “Dinner at the Dump” with the Boys & Girls club which has raised over $200,000 over the last 20 years. We are active members of the Yountville, St. Helena, and Calistoga Chambers of Commerce where we play a role in supporting our local businesses and strengthening our local economy.

We are an active partner in the Napa Green program supporting local wineries and businesses to become a Green-certified business. It is part of our mission to educate our community on sustainability practices along with using sustainable practices to protect our local environment. We co-host annual Earth Day events and hold household waste events along with providing environmentally safe disposal kits, to our community, after the recent wildfires.

UVDS donates compost to local schools for their vegetable gardens and landscaping. We also provide educational tours and materials to all schools to learn about waste processing, recycling, composting, landfill operations, and renewable energy.

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