Are you thinking of throwing out or donating your old household items and furniture? Do you want a service that prioritizes reuse and recycling over trash? If so, you may be interested in Junkluggers, an eco-friendly junk removal service in the Boston area.
The following is an interview with Frank Theodat, Business Development Associate at Junkluggers, in which he explains how Junkluggers works with Newton residents and others in the greater Boston area.
How do Junkluggers’ services help people in Newton live more sustainably and protect the environment?
Junkluggers provides an eco-friendly junk removal service. While used and broken items usually get thrown in landfills, at Junkluggers it is sorted into recycling and donation piles. 60% of the items we pick up are recycled and go to charity partners such as Habitat for Humanity, Goodwill, and Savers. Older clients also appreciate that their household items can be reused and have a second life at charities.
What is the most important thing you want people to know about Junkluggers’ services?
I want people to know that Junkluggers wants to do their best to maintain a greener planet through sustainable recycling and leave a positive impact on the world. We also treat every customer with respect and sort through items like china sets or mattresses that can be recycled or donated.
The least recycled item in households tends to be furniture. People will usually try to sell or give it to friends, but if they’re in a bind they can call Junkluggers to recycle or donate it to charity.
What are some things that people can do to recycle or donate household items on their own?
For residential homeowners in particular, I recommend that the best time to do household clean ups is right now in the fall, since the other months are usually filled with traveling, transitional periods for jobs or housing, or holidays. Junkluggers is also happy to send out a crew to do an estimate of how much a clean up will cost.
What are the benefits of Junkluggers’ services compared to more conventional ones?
I don’t know many other junk removal companies in the area, but people can call Junkluggers up on short notice. We have accurate estimates and are hands-on with most of our services.
Junkluggers has the benefit of not having to deal with large corporations and can provide a more personalized experience based on the individual’s circumstances. Customers can also save on taxes by getting tax receipts if they donate to charity through Junkluggers.
For realtors in particular, we can do a same day service. We can also address any questions about how to best manage donations or clean ups.
What do you hope to gain from participating with Green Newton at GreenEXPO?
I want Junkluggers to not just be a faceless company, and I hope to get to know Newton residents and understand what they really value in their junk removal services. I want to be part of a junk company that can solve its communities’ storage and downsizing problems with a sustainable model.
Having met people in Green Newton, I can also tell that people here really care about keeping a clean and sustainable community.
What do you like best about working with Junkluggers?
I like solving problems, talking with customers, and being a helpful resource to them. I often give customers my personal phone number so they can call me for a clean up consultation. Having worked in sales before, I also like getting to know people in a less transactional way at Junkluggers, as well as helping seniors downsize or move into senior facilities.
What are some examples of the projects you’ve done?
I have done several house cleanouts and a couple of apartments during the move in period at the end of summer. Since a lot of people will just leave furniture in the apartment for the owner to deal with themselves, just being a support person in this process was very memorable to me.
If you want to learn more about Junkluggers and other sustainable companies, make sure to visit them at GreenEXPO at Newton Center on Tuesday, October 20 from 11 am – 4 pm, or visit junkluggers.com.
Author Cecilia Buckley is a Northeastern University junior and Green Newton intern. Headline image by Junkluggers.
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