Hi..looking for advice, specifically in MN if possible (metro, west metro) we are just now getting orders to do trash outs..what advice can anyone give me on most cost effective way to dispose of paints/ tv's/ appliances etc....and currently we are ordering roll off dumpsters for the bigger trash outs..best idea's?? HELP..getting swamped, and need to maximize the profits..Thanks!! OH, and any advice on working for local investors, guys flipping houses etc..How does my company market to them? Thanks again!!
Midwest Property Restoration LLC
Mound, MN.

bag everything in 50 gal trash bags and tip the guy on the dozer 5 bucks and you can dump anything.

Wow, Scallock. I hope you're not serious.

Linda

well, sometimes ya have too. By the time we get paid by some of these people we are lucky to pay the help prices have gotten so cheap. If we did everything by the book when it comes to recycling things like this all the time then we for sure couldnt come out. I was just trying to give a real world answer. I know alot of other people in the business and i learned from them.

No, you don't have to do it that way. If you're hiding hazards in with trash and taking it all to the dump, then paying someone to look the other way, you're contributing to a much bigger problem than you realize.

Paint is NOT always easy to dispose of. I get that. Sometimes it takes awhile to locate places that will take it and there are a lot of EPA rules and regulations to follow. But you still need to dispose of it properly when you do!

If you're not getting enough to cover your costs, then you need to find other companies to work for. And if this is something you learned from other businesses then, wow. If they all jumped off a cliff, would you follow?

You need to find disposal methods that are above reproach because your current method could very easily come back to haunt you. No insurance policy in the world will cover the fines that are imposed for improper disposal of hazardous waste. I know a couple of people who recently got their butts kicked for the same thing you're doing now and they are no longer in business.

Linda

I was having a real problem with paint disposal. Then I found a company that I now use to dispose of it. They provided me a 55 gal drum and when it is full I call and they pick it up. It comes out to about $5.00 per gallon disposal and I know it is done properly.

Here, the city has a hazardous disposal day. You drive up to the warehouse, they roll out the cart - stack all the paint on the cart and off you go, its free. Another idea is to call painting companies and see what they do. Our habit for humanity takes old paint, sometimes they sell it straight out but other times they send it to a company that mixes it into a huge mix of colors to come out with one color - put it in 5 gallon buckets and then sell it. Hope that helps.

See, this is the problem. I charge according to the materials removed. But when you have guys out there dumping anything and everything at the landfill, it justifies these skimpy rates the nationals and banks pay. If you don't know where to dispose of every type of material on a property, you are in the wrong business. Go sell shoes or something! Each trashout is carefully separated into different piles. Clothes are donated, metal is taken to the recycler as well as all glass, plastic and paper. All large items are placed at the curb for muckers for 24 hours then hauled away to goodwill or local donations. The only thing that ends up at the landfill is garbage. Get out the phone book and look for local businesses that dispose of oil, tires, batteries, paint etc....then CHARGE accordingly! Otherwise, you will continue to drive down prices, run yourself out of work and pollute the ground. And that makes you no better than the greedy nationals that cheat the vendor out of their hard earned money.

Could NOT agree more, larryjoex. People that dump anywhere they like are giving the rest of us a bad reputation to boot, especially when they say they know a lot of other companies who do it.

We are NOT all alike and that's THAT.

Linda