by Jacob Weigel

Junk Runners

When people see our junk truck full of stuff leaving a home, they assume everything is headed straight to the dump. We’ve even been approached numerous times by well-intentioned neighbors wondering what we will be doing with all of the things we are removing. Our team always provides the same answer -- The dump is usually the last place we visit after leaving your home. What really happens to your stuff is a multi-stop journey to our charity partners, recycling facilities, and then finally the landfill.

Before We Leave Your Home

The first step of the journey begins before our team even leaves your home. We organize and pack your stuff in a way that allows us to unload items efficiently at each stop. We set aside items that our charity partners may be interested in, so that they can be placed at the end of the truck. We also look out for metal, glass, and cardboard that is eligible for recycling, which we pack separately as well. Once we’ve packed the truck efficiently, we are then ready to get on the road to our charity partners.

Donation

Over time, we have built a vast charity network that we work closely with to maximize the amount of items that find a second home. We’ve come across every item imaginable, which led us to partner with a wide range of organizations that are each looking for specific items. Organizations such as Prevention of Blindness Society and The Clocktower Thrift Shop specialize in antique items. We will often make these organizations our first stop if we helped clear an estate sale or similar. We also make regular stops at Habitat for Humanity, The Purple Heart Foundation, and A Wider Circle to drop off larger furniture pieces and household items. These donation stops can add extra time and effort to our logistical process, but we continue to make them integral to our process because of the value it provides to our clients and our community.

Recycling

After the donations have been unloaded, our team heads to recycle any eligible materials at nearby facilities. We work with facilities such as Potomac Metals and Georgetown Paper Stock of Rockville to responsibly handle the materials. Metals that we pick up on the job can be cut and melted down by Potomac Metals to be remade into new building materials, chips, and electronics. Georgetown Paper Stock of Rockville shreds old cardboard and paper that we drop off and uses it for new boxes and recycled paper products. These stops minimize our footprint even further and help to give additional life to items that would have otherwise been tossed into the landfill.

Disposal

Our final stop on the junk removal journey is the landfill. Even though the landfill is our final stop, it still serves an important purpose. We dispose of items here that are soiled, broken, unsafe, or contaminated. The items disposed of here are either buried in a county-approved landfill or burned in their complex to provide energy to the county.

Closing

At the end of the day, most items aren't “trash”-- they’re just misplaced in someone’s life. Junk Runners has such an extensive process because we believe that proper junk removal is about stewardship rather than just making an item disappear. Our clients are often people who are experiencing transition in their lives, which can make it very difficult to properly deal with their stuff without help. Our team is grateful to work alongside Professional Organizers that share the same passion for sustainability and stewardship that we have.

For more information, contact Jacob Weigel.