One of the questions we get asked most often is what happens to the junk after we haul it away? It's a great question! That's why we're giving you a peek behind the curtain of our professional junk removal service to see how we give items a new life.
A closer look at where all the junk goes
If you have used our service before, you probably already know how it works. You go to our website or give us a call, enter your location, and book a job by choosing the time that works best for your availability. Our team of friendly, professional junk removers will arrive in a clean, shiny truck and do all the heavy lifting for you. We mean it when we say all you have to do is point!
Once all the items you want gone from your home are loaded into the truck, the real work begins. We call it the Repurposing Journey, but that's really just another way of saying we recycle the recyclables and donate the donatables.
The Repurposing Journey
As the world’s largest junk removal service, we have locations all over North America and even Australia! Every location has its own process for sorting items, however we are all committed to responsibly managing your unwanted items, keeping as much as possible out of the landfill.
Step 1: The Local Warehouse
Once we leave your home, our first step (and the most common across our +150 locations) is separating each load at our local warehouse to identify the recyclables. This means separating the plastics, wood, metals and paper. This step helps us increase the amount of junk that we're able to put to good use somewhere else. Check out the full list of what we take here.
Step 2: The Transfer Station
The materials are then taken to a Transfer Station. Think of it as a meticulously organized pit stop on the recycling journey. There are so many different facilities and options around the country, and we're familiar with all of them! At the Transfer Station the materials get sorted, cleaned, and prepared for their next adventure.
A lot of what we collect gets recycled. Wood from furniture, metal from appliances, and even cardboard packing– these can be made into new things, and we love being part of that process!
Step 3: The Materials Recovery Facility
From the Transfer Station, many materials move on to the Materials Recovery Facility, or MRF. An MRF separates, processes, and consolidates recyclables so they can be shipped to places that make them into new things. In some places, there are also waste-to-energy facilities. These facilities use junk to heat boilers that can help generate electricity!
Did you know that some of the junk we collect isn't actually junk? So many items we see still have plenty of life left in them. Things like furniture, clothes, books and even toys get donated to people who can put them to good use. As you declutter and free up space in your home, enjoy peace of mind in knowing that the landfill is our last choice. We take more than junk!
And that's what happens to the junk. As you can see, we put a lot of care into making sure the junk ends up in the right place so you can get your space back and feel good about it too!
