Big Bear is a very special place. People come for a weekend and end up building a life here, drawn in by the pines, the lake, and a mountain community that looks out for its own. Big Bear Disposal, Inc. has been part of that community for nearly thirty years.

In 1996, Gino Scopesi and his partners bought a small hauling business with just eight trucks. Gino believed that a local company, run by people who live here and care about the mountain, could serve the valley better than any outside operator. For him, looking after this place and its people was always the same job.

That belief still guides us every day. Today, we have about 20 vehicles, including 3-axle trucks, front loaders, bin trucks, and port-a-let trucks, serving homes and businesses throughout the valley.

When we started, residential pickup meant a driver and a helper walking both sides of the street, carrying cans by hand to the truck’s front bucket. As the town grew but the roads stayed just as narrow and winding, we realized a standard fleet wouldn’t work. Switching to 3-axle trucks helped our crews handle tight streets and sharp turns more safely than larger, less flexible trucks. This small equipment choice shows our ongoing habit of working with the mountain’s terrain, not against it.

For years, our business customers have used our front-loader service, available in both standard and pull-out options. We later added cart-based recycling for businesses that don’t have space for a full-size bin, making it easier for even small operators to recycle instead of sending everything to the landfill.

In 1998, when we officially incorporated, we started offering port-a-let service, expanding our coverage from Crestline to just past Onyx Summit. In a place with steep terrain and limited access to municipal infrastructure, this service gave the valley a responsible way to manage sanitation beyond just construction sites and event grounds.

As more people moved to, worked in, and visited Big Bear, we grew to keep up, always paying attention to the land beneath all that growth.

While we’ve grown, we’ve tried to stay a good steward of this place. Our company is still run by locals who drink the water, breathe the air, and hike the same trails we work to keep clean. Big Bear sits on some of the rarest habitats in the country, and that’s not something we take lightly.

It’s why we still run a Buy-Back Recycling Center. While many redemption centers have closed across California, we kept ours open because we believe recycling should always be accessible. It’s also why we run our own hazardous materials education and disposal programs, keeping things like motor oil, batteries, and household chemicals out of the soil and water everyone relies on.

Taking care of this mountain has always meant looking after the people who live here too. For decades, we’ve stayed connected to this community and looked for ways to give back, supporting organizations like Meals on Wheels, Bear Valley Community Hospital, Doves, Bear Valley Unified School District, and the Lighthouse Project, among many others throughout the valley.

In 2024, we helped bring 4-H back to Big Bear Valley, working with the community to build the Big Bear Foresters 4-H Club from scratch. In its first year, the club grew to 25 members, 10 leaders, and five active programs, earning an Honorable Distinction Award from San Bernardino County 4-H, a rare achievement for a new chapter. Programs like this help inspire the next generation to care for this land, just like Gino did in 1996.

Gino wanted to build a company that truly belonged to this mountain, run by neighbors who cared about keeping it beautiful and looking out for each other. Eight trucks were enough to get started. Thirty years later, that mission hasn’t changed. Our team of 30 full-time employees still lives here, works here, and looks after the same mountain we always have, one street at a time.