Saving the Planet With Eco-Friendly Junk Removal

With a global climate crisis, many homeowners are looking to reduce their carbon footprint. Aside from consuming fewer products and materials, ethically throwing away old, unwanted items is another priority. Our landfills and incinerators can't keep up with demand. Plus, they also create hazardous air pollution and release greenhouse gases - this forces us to think of new ways to get rid of junk. But there's no reason to worry - your local Junkluggers has the solution: sustainable junk removal.

The Junkluggers founder, Josh Cohen, has always had a passion for the environment. A direct result of his parents kicking him outside as a kid! He developed an early love for hiking and an affinity for protecting all the nature that brought him joy. When he founded The Junkluggers in 2004, he incorporated these passions into his business model. Now he had an opportunity to focus on sustainability at scale while helping people with their junk removal needs. Sustainability remains at the core of our business. Here are some ways we "bleed green" and do our part to save the environment, one lug at a time.

Josh Cohen, founder of the eco-friendly junk removal franchise, The Junkluggers

Junk removal & donation pick-up

One way to reduce landfill waste is through the junk hauling and donation pick-up services from The Junkluggers.

Being a force for good in our communities and the environment runs deep at The Junkluggers. That is why we work tirelessly to donate wherever possible when providing junk removal services. Our junk haulers even maintain close working relationships with many local charities that accept clothing, furniture, building supplies, and more.

Our mission is to help you get rid of junk while supporting the community and cleaning up the environment. When Josh started The Junkluggers, his vision was to donate or recycle everything - it was even on the first flier he stuffed in mailboxes (until he received a cease-and-desist letter). By donating through our charity partners, we impact our local communities. People are one of the three pillars of sustainability - and it's something we consider with every junk pick-up we take on.

Ethical & convenient junk removal

After we complete your junk removal, our junk haulers sort through the items for you, separating anything we can donate, recycle, or repurpose. And while many charities offer to pick up donations directly, it is at their convenience, not yours. Plus, most charities have limitations to what they will accept. Your local junk haulers do all the work on your schedule and provide other options for unwanted items that cannot be donated, like recycling or repurposing.

Rewarding you for giving back

What could make effortlessly helping your community and saving the community even better? Additional savings! Every time we donate anything on your behalf, we collect a tax-deductible receipt and send it to you within 14 business days.

Get rid of junk & recycle unwanted items

Do you need to get rid of junk - but you aren't sure what is recyclable? The Junkluggers will do all the heavy lifting and sort through the items for you!

Throwing junk in the trash leads to unwanted items ending up in landfills. And, simply put, our dumps are over capacity with hazardous, non-disposable materials that contribute to the climate crisis and air pollution from incinerators - this includes toxic contaminants like:

• Nitrogen oxides
• Sulfur dioxides
• Particulate matter
• Lead

• Mercury
• Dioxins
• Furans

But the good news is that there are plenty of sustainable ways to get rid of junk - and your local Junkluggers can help! We care about the environment, so we do our absolute best to recycle everything that we can. The biggest issue is that most people don't know what they can and can't recycle. But our junk pick-up services make that chore a piece of cake. We take the guesswork out of the process and recycle the following materials on your behalf:

• Glass
• Paper
• Plastic
• E-waste recycling

• Appliance recycling
• Metals
• Textiles
• Furans

One of our short-term goals is to keep all of the cardboard and metals we collect out of landfills - and we are almost 80 percent there! We also go beyond standard recyclables, providing junk hauling solutions for more complex items, including e-waste recycling and appliance removal services, bringing them to specialty recycling centers.

As technology advances, electronic waste is becoming a growing problem. Discarded cell phones, computers, and other electronics may only represent 2 percent of the garbage in American landfills, but they account for over 70 percent of all toxic waste. That's definitely a good reason to find ways to recycle or carefully dispose of it!

Reuse & repurpose old items to limit landfill waste

A fresh coat of paint, new upholstery, and updated finishings are just some of the ways The Junkluggers can revitalize unwanted items and keep them out of landfills.

When we give back to the community, we walk away feeling good. But we wanted to extend these good vibes further, so we created the Remix Market. The Remix Market is a new extension of The Junkluggers. It's our way of giving items we pick up a second chance at a useful life. After the junk removal process, we separate lightly used furniture and other unwanted things that could benefit from a little tender loving care.

We take these to our warehouse and clean them up to make them as good as new by updating upholstery, painting, or refinishing. Then we sell them in the Remix Market store at affordable prices, giving people access to quality furniture for cheap. It's also in direct alignment with our vision of keeping junk out of landfills!

Junk removal franchising to spread awareness

Franchising The Junkluggers wasn't initially part of the plan. It happened because a customer spoke to Josh and said, "Hey, why don't you franchise this thing?" Josh slept on it and realized that professional, sustainable junk removal wasn't unique to the Tri-state area. It was something everyone around the country could benefit from. So he opened up franchising to entrepreneurs who shared his vision of a greener future.

Franchising is often associated with retail chains and fast food establishments. But franchising applies to many more industries and types of businesses. It also has a multitude of benefits:

• Franchising promotes entrepreneurship Not everyone has the money or the tools to start their own junk removal business from scratch. But franchises are a close second to starting on your own. We provide the foundation to our franchisees and let them run their operations. These new franchises also offer green-collar jobs for junk haulers around the country.
• Franchising grows the business in new markets The Junkluggers started in Fairfield County, CT and slowly expanded our junk removal operations to the surrounding Tri-state area. But we also have a presence in Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, and many other states.
• Franchising creates new ideas New people bring in new perspectives. We have seen established entrepreneurs, former business owners, and families express interest in junk removal franchising.
• Franchising spreads the vision Our vetting process makes sure that our franchisees support the company's mission, core values, and vision for the future. We want our junk removal franchisees who are thrilled to be part of something much bigger: a commitment to a greater social purpose.

The franchise options weren't something we made available until nearly 10-years after we started. Even though franchising creates different challenges and new requirements for winning, it's worth it. We wonder why we waited so long!

The Junkluggers provides friendly, eco-friendly junk removal throughout the country. Contact your local junk haulers to learn more!

Creating a positive impact nationally with junk removal

We have a vision to keep all the junk out of landfills. It's definitely ambitious, but we know we can achieve it. One of the best ways to do this is with three kinds of people: our junk removal franchisees, employees, and customers.

It's important to educate our franchisees because they're the ones who help spread our message. We ensure that all our franchisees share our core values and mission statement through a careful vetting process. We also provide them with everything they need to build their business locally:

• Training We train each of our employees right from day one. We educate them about which items we donate and which we recycle. It makes the process of junk pick-up that much faster and more effective.
• A positive workplace It might sound silly, but hiring nice people, training them well, and keeping them happy by creating a good work environment leads to a better impact. Nice employees will always embody the company's message in all they do. And nice employees always want to get better. That is why we also recognize their achievements and coach them through their weaknesses.
• On-time, clean, & professional junk haulers When we arrive at a job, we are timely, neat, and professional. These attributes are at the core of being a mensch - one of our core values.
• Respectful junk removal It can be uncomfortable for customers to allow strangers into their homes. To ease these concerns, we treat their sentimental objects with care. We also educate them on what will happen with their items after. A stress-free junk removal experience: We sort everything we pick up in our truck or back at our warehouse. First, we determine what to donate. Then what we can recycle or repurpose.

Junk haulers saving the planet one lug at a time

Our dedication to providing eco-friendly junk removal services is one way we're doing our part. With sustainability guiding everything we do, we can positively affect our communities, environment, and planet. As more people get on board with our vision, we have a better chance of preserving the planet for future generations.