The King of Trash Documentary Tells David Duong’s Journey from Refugee to Environmental Leader

The King of Trash traces David Duong’s journey from Vietnamese refugee to environmental leader and is expected to release to mainstream audiences soon.

OAKLAND, CA, UNITED STATES, March 9, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The King of Trash, a feature documentary directed by Oscar-winning cinematographer Errol Webber, is being introduced through private pre-screenings in California and Texas as momentum builds toward a broader mainstream release. Filmed across California and Vietnam, the documentary tells the true story of David Duong, founder of California Waste Solutions in the United States and Vietnam Waste Solutions in Ho Chi Minh City, whose life reflects survival, sacrifice, hard work, and the power of rebuilding after loss. More than a business portrait, the film offers a deeply human story about family, displacement, resilience, and the search for purpose after war.

The story begins in 1975, when the fall of Saigon brought fear, upheaval, and heartbreak to millions of South Vietnamese families. Among them was the Duong family. Before the war’s end changed everything, David’s father, Duong Tai Thu, had built one of South Vietnam’s largest paper and recycling businesses. Then, almost overnight, the family’s factory was seized, the trucks were taken, and their home was lost. The life they had built through years of labor and discipline disappeared in a matter of days. Like many Vietnamese boat people, they were forced to flee by sea, leaving behind everything familiar for an uncertain future.

That crossing would become one of the defining chapters of David Duong’s life. The ocean offered no safety, only danger, fear, and the constant question of whether the family would survive. Hunger, storms, exhaustion, and uncertainty followed them across open water. Many who fled during that period never made it. David Duong and his family did. Their survival was not the end of hardship, only the beginning of another struggle.

After months in a refugee camp, the family arrived in San Francisco with no money, no English, and no clear path forward. They lived crowded together with relatives and survived by collecting bottles, cardboard, and recyclables from city streets at night. It was difficult, humbling work, but it also shaped the values that would guide David Duong for the rest of his life. From his father came a lesson that became central to everything that followed: there is honor in every kind of honest work.

That belief became the foundation for a new beginning. In 1983, the Duong family formed Cogido Paper Corporation, a small recycling and export company that marked their first step toward stability in America. In 1989, they sold the business, gaining both capital and confidence. Then, in 1992, David Duong founded California Waste Solutions. What began with a small fleet and a clear vision grew into one of the most respected family-owned environmental service companies in California, serving communities across Oakland and San Jose. Through that work, David Duong built more than a company. He built a legacy in an industry that many overlook, yet one that is essential to every city and every community.

That is what gives The King of Trash its deeper meaning. The title is not simply bold or memorable. It reflects a life built on transformation, on seeing value where others see none, and on finding dignity in difficult work. The documentary shows how David Duong turned hardship into purpose and built something lasting from circumstances that might have broken others. It also follows the next chapter of his journey, when he returned to Vietnam through Vietnam Waste Solutions and helped bring modern environmental infrastructure and sustainability thinking back to the country his family had once been forced to flee.

The King of Trash reflects a broader story of refugee resilience, hard work, and the determination to rebuild from nothing. As interest in the film grows, private pre-screenings have been held or planned in San Jose, Oakland, Sacramento, Irvine, Dallas, and Houston ahead of its wider release. David Duong may be known as The King of Trash, but the documentary shows that his legacy reaches far beyond the title. It is a story of survival, renewal, and the strength to begin again.

Henry Vo
The King Of Trash
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The Life Story of David Duong The Man Behind The King of Trash

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