Junk Removal Blog

Did you know that the average American creates almost 5 pounds of trash every day? That adds up to almost 1,800 pounds of garbage a year, a large amount of which goes straight to the landfill. Overall, the U.S. creates around 300 million tons of garbage in a year. That’s a significant amount, and much of it comes from packaging and other goods that we only use briefly before throwing them away.

Instead of using these disposable products, there are other options. Sustainable living means incorporating various practices that help you reduce your impact on the environment. This includes recycling, reducing the number of disposal products you use, and reusing what you can. Individuals and businesses can both implement sustainable living practices. Junk King does our part, too—we recycle whatever we can, plus we work with local transfer stations where garbage is used as fuel for energy-producing plants.

What can you do to be sustainable? Let’s look at some of the ways you can reduce your overall carbon footprint and how Junk King can help.

Who Should Look into Reducing Waste Via Sustainable Practices?

Sustainable living is for everyone. While there can be some barriers to sustainability, almost everyone can make at least a few changes to their lifestyle to incorporate some sustainable practices. In some cases, money does play a part—you may not be able to choose to work with companies that use sustainable manufacturing due to limited finances. In other cases, availability may be an issue.

However, just by making a few small changes, you can help reduce the amount of waste you create. For example, the city of Minneapolis offers residential recycling. All you have to do is put your recycling container out on the correct day. This is a very simple way of recycling, although you do want to make certain you’re only putting the correct materials in the recycling bin.

Businesses and manufacturers can also implement sustainable practices. For some businesses, this simply means recycling what they can and reducing the amount of waste that goes into landfills. For others, it may mean changing how they manufacture products or what packaging they use. In some cases, it may cost a little bit more to use green practices. In other cases, however, it may actually save you money. Even if you spend more, you often come out ahead because you’ll attract customers who want to work with companies that protect the environment.

How can you reduce your waste and protect the environment? Here are a few of the easiest ways.

Recycling

As we just mentioned, recycling is incredibly easy. Just toss the right items into your city recycling bin and put it out for collection. For businesses, it may not be quite so simple. However, there are recycling companies you can work with to reduce how much trash you create. Many businesses end up with a huge amount of cardboard from boxes, for example, that can easily be recycled. Many other materials, including plastics, glass, and wood, can potentially be recycled.

Junk King helps reduce waste through recycling, too. We recycle as much as we possibly can, which is why we sort out materials once we pick them up. Anything that we can pass on to one of our recycling partners gets pulled out. Whatever we have left is taken to a transfer station, where it’s used as fuel.

Reuse Items

What about those items that can’t easily be recycled? In some cases, you may be able to reuse them. This also helps reduce the amount of waste created because you’re not buying new products. You’re not taking more natural resources out of circulation.

While you can’t reuse everything, there are a good number of products that can be reused. Empty bottles can be filled with other items or even used as planters by cutting the tops off. You can use them to start seeds or for growing herbs indoors. Plastic bags from the store can be used to line small trashcans. Old shirts can be cut apart to make rags or, if you’re crafty, used in a number of projects.

Some of these items can, of course, eventually be recycled. What about things that can’t be? If you have treated wood from old furniture, it can’t easily be recycled. However, you may be able to use it to build something new. Mirrors typically can’t be recycled, either, but you may find some artists who are willing to take them off your hands. In fact, artists are often willing to take items that can’t be recycled because they can upcycle them into their art. Check with local artists, art teachers, and local college art departments to see if they want any broken items that aren’t recyclable.

Buy Sustainable Products

While recycling and reusing items are great, the ideal goal is to stop buying as many new things as possible. Sustainable products that can be used over and over reduce the number of new products you use. This not only reduces your carbon footprint, but it also reduces the amount of money you spend. Investing in a reusable water bottle, for example, means you no longer purchase bottled water. This will save you a good amount of money over the years, plus you’re not putting that plastic in the landfill or through the recycling process, which does use fuel. There are many other sustainable products you can purchase, including fabric shopping bags, metal straws, and even reusable food bags that replace plastic baggies.

Businesses can buy sustainable products, too. You can do what you can to reduce the amount of plastic used in your products or repair wooden pallets instead of throwing them away. If you manufacture products, look at how much packaging is used and reduce it if possible. Look for vendors or suppliers that use reduced packaging or green production methods to further decrease your carbon footprint.

You can also encourage your customers to use more sustainable products by stocking them. You can offer a small discount for those who bring their own shopping bags or purchase one of your branded reusable bags. Many customers are now actively seeking out businesses that use sustainable practices and avoiding those that do not, so you may even see your customer base grow.

How Junk King Promotes Sustainability

Junk King does everything possible to keep things out of the landfill. We’ve already discussed how we recycle as much as we possibly can. We’re able to recycle many items that the city recycling won’t take. For example, we’ll take large appliances and other items that contain recyclable materials. We also pull aside furniture, appliances, and other items that are in good condition and pass them on to local organizations that help those in need. If you have old furniture that’s still in good condition, don’t worry—we will do our best to ensure that it doesn’t go to the dump.

In addition to taking furniture and appliances, we also handle electronics. Many recycling facilities won’t take e-waste because it requires a specific process. Phones, computers, and even televisions have a variety of different metals in them, all of which need to be carefully removed and recycled using the correct process for that material. Many also contain lithium batteries and other things that could be hazardous, so they have to be handled carefully. Junk King Minnesota will take electronics and pass them along to the proper recycling partners.

What Will Junk King Haul Away?

Junk King takes a wide variety of different items. We will haul away just about anything that will fit in our trucks, including furniture, appliances, trash, storm debris, mattresses, and old hot tubs. The only thing we’re not able to take is hazardous waste. It presents a danger to our crews, so we have to leave that to the experts. If you aren’t certain if something is hazardous, please ask. We may be able to refer you to a hazardous waste expert or tell you what you need to do to make the item safe for disposal. Paint, for example, is considered hazardous, but if you mix it with cat litter or other solidifying material, we can haul it away.

How Does the Process Work?

The first step in working with Junk King is to contact us. You can call, send us a text, or book online. Provide us with as much detail as possible about what you need us to haul away so we can give you an accurate quote. In some cases, such as with big jobs or with unique items, we may need to do an in-person quote. Regardless, we will always do a final evaluation of the job before we start so you know exactly what the cost will be. All of our quotes are provided for free, include all charges and fees, and carry no obligation.

Whether it’s a single old chair or an entire house, Junk King is here for you. Give us a call today at 1-888-888-JUNK or send us a text to 1-737-888-5865 and say goodbye to the junk that’s taking up space in your home or office.

If you’re like a typical business owner, you have a cabinet or even an entire space devoted to old stuff. This may be inventory to sell if you’re in retail, or it could be extra supplies if you offer a service. Whatever it may be, there are a few reasons you may have kept all of these items. However, there does come a time when you have to ask yourself if keeping old inventory is really worth it. What are you getting from these things that justifies the amount of space they’re taking up?

At some point, you’re going to need to purge this old inventory. When that time comes, Junk King is here to help. We work with many business owners in Minneapolis to get rid of junk, including old inventory, office furniture, and remodeling debris. Let’s take a look at how old inventory builds up, why you might want to keep some of it for a short period of time, and how Junk King Minneapolis can help you reclaim this space.

Why Do You Have Leftover Inventory?

There can be a number of reasons why you have leftover inventory. The biggest reason is that it just didn’t sell. You may have had items on the shelves for years that haven’t moved. At some point, you have to decide whether to leave them there in the hope that someone will buy them or pull them. Often, stores put these items on clearance to try to get them out the door, but even then, you may find that they just don’t match what your audience needs or wants.

Another reason to have leftover inventory is over-ordering or producing. You may have over-anticipated the demand for a product, or maybe a product sold out and you restocked only to find that the second wave doesn’t move. This can happen if the product is something people typically only need one of.

Following trends can lead to leftover product, especially if you’re late to the trend. Products that flew off the shelves for others may not move for you at all if you come in at the end of the trend. It’s unfortunate, but it does happen fairly often. Trends can be very costly.

Retailers also often have inventory left after the holidays. You may have stocked up on specific holiday products and, while they may have sold well, you may have some left over. Some of these products might be stored for next year, but some may not be marketable again. For example, Christmas tree ornaments that have the year on them are not likely to sell in the future.

Should You Keep Old Products?

Now that you know why you might have old inventory laying around, the biggest question is should you keep it? Is there any reason to keep these old items, or should you call a junk removal service to get rid of them? In some cases, you may want to keep the products. If you have seasonal items that you can likely sell next year, it might be worth keeping them. Holiday wrapping paper, for example, is something people will need to buy again.

On the other hand, there’s no point in keeping anything that cannot be used again. This includes any product that has an expiration date on it, especially if you know the product won’t be in demand until after that date has passed. Food, over-the-counter medication, and anything else that could expire should be thrown away once they expire.

Products that are no longer trendy could be hit or miss. In some cases, that trend could come back. The biggest downside here is that you don’t know if it will be back in a few years or a few decades. You may not have space to keep items that long, especially if the items in question take up a lot of space.

When Should You Get Rid of Old Inventory?

Every business keeps old inventory for a little while. You don’t always know when something is going to sell, especially if it’s a product that you know has done well in the past. You hold on to it, hoping that it will eventually fly off the shelves. You might also keep inventory that you feel strongly in. Maybe you invested a good amount of money in it, or maybe you really think it will sell eventually. You want to make sure it has enough time for customers to see the product and become interested in it.

However, there comes a time when you have to make some hard decisions about the amount of old inventory you keep. The first step would be to get rid of anything that has expired. There may not be any point in even waiting until the expiration date passes if it’s something that you know customers won’t use right away. For example, few people go through a full can of baking spray. They’re likely to use the same can off and on for a few months, depending on how much they bake. Customers aren’t going to want to buy a can that expires in a week unless they’re about to bake a lot of cakes.

Some products may slowly start to degrade over time. Again, these have an expiration date built in, so you won’t want to keep them for too long. Take a look at the state of the products. Would a customer see the product and feel like it was a good purchase, or does it look so worn that they wouldn’t even buy it on sale? These items need to be tossed. The same is true for anything damaged. There’s no reason to keep broken inventory.

Other kinds of inventory require more, though. Is it something fairly large and bulky? You may not want it taking up all that space. Is it dated or something that is no longer trendy? It might not become popular again for years, if ever. VHS tapes, for example, are never going to be popular again. Some may be highly sought after by collectors, but that’s likely not your target audience. Even DVDs no longer sell that well. There’s no point in keeping outdated products.

For inventory that you’ve had for a while, the biggest question is how much space it takes up and how much space you have. If you’ve got a small backstock room, you likely can’t afford to keep too much. You’ll need space for incoming inventory, so older products will need to be removed often.

What Do You Do with Old Inventory?

Once you decide some old products need to be purged, there are a few things you can do. First, you may have the option to return them to the manufacturer. There may be a number of terms and conditions on this, though, so be sure you understand the return policy. Second, if you made the product yourself, you may be able to dismantle some or all of it and reuse the components. This can be a good way of at least regaining some of your investment. Third, you could donate the products. This is a good option for food that is nearing its expiration date. As long as it’s still edible, you could donate it to a local food pantry or soup kitchen.

However, if none of those is an option, you can call a junk hauling company like Junk King Minneapolis. We take a wide variety of junk, including old products and other inventory. We’ll haul away large items such as furniture and appliances as well as trash and other types of debris. Our one rule is that we can’t take anything that’s classified as hazardous materials.

Why Use Junk King?

What sets Junk King apart from other junk hauling companies? There are a few things. First, we do all of the work. You show us the old inventory you want us to haul away, and we will take it from your store out to the truck. You don’t need to move any of it, even if it’s really heavy or bulky. Our crew is trained to safely remove large appliances and awkwardly shaped furniture, so you don’t have to worry about that. We’ll also haul away debris from a business remodel.

Second, we don’t just haul everything to the dump. We do sort out items that can be recycled or donated. If you have inventory that’s still usable, we will see to it that those items are passed on to a local organization that can use them or get them to those in need. If the products you have are made from recyclable materials, we will look for a local recycling company that can recycle them. Our end goal is to keep as much out of landfills as possible, and we’re proud to say that between recycling, donating, and transferring junk to transfer stations, we’re able to redirect a large amount away from the dump.

Whether you have a large amount of old inventory you need to get rid of or are a homeowner with a few old pieces of furniture you want out of your garage, Junk King Minneapolis is here to help. Call us today at 1-888-888-JUNK or send us a text to 1-737-888-5865.