Green initiatives. That’s what Load of Rubbish was built on. When Chris Rouse envisioned a junk removal company, he took it one step further than just collecting people’s old junk. He wanted to make a difference, without adding to the garbage. Those green initiatives are the backbone of all we do, and we are proud of those efforts.

Green Iniatitives at Load of Rubbish

“We made an appointment online Tuesday for Wednesday morning. They arrived on time and were very friendly and efficient.
I like the fact that everything they take they attempt to repurpose. If not repurpose, it’s recycled as much as possible.”

~ Christopher Z.

Trucks

Our eco-mandates start with our trucks. We have some of the biggest in the industry for good reason. The larger the truck, the less trips we have to make. With gas prices soaring over the last little while, that also makes for good business sense. We maximize the space we have and pack strategically—that strategy involves thinking about where every item we pick up is going to end up by the end of the day. Mindfully loading the truck saves time and effort when it comes to unloading and the stops that involves along the way. Knowing what kinds of items we plan to collect over the course of the trip also helps, as we can schedule the trips to correspond with packing the truck. For larger loads, we also have a covered trailer to protect items before further sorting too.

Donations

That leads to our next green initiative—donating.

At Load of Rubbish, we have always made a point of donating as many of the items that we collect as we can. Just because you no longer have use for something, doesn’t mean that no one else might. Upwards of 90% of what we collect gets donated. Some items go straight to thrift stores at the end of the day, while other items we save to donate to organizations once we have a sufficient load.

For example, we regularly drop off clothing, books, small household goods, and other accepted materials at places like Goodwill, but also donate needed materials to organizations like The Grace Cafe in St Thomas and have donated mobility devices to the London Consistory Club. It’s about keeping usable items out of landfills.

Recycling

Another way we keep things out of landfills is by recycling. Not everything we collect is still in working condition, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it is ready for the landfill. After the truck is emptied of donatable materials, there is still more sorting to be done. We have many piles that we sort things into back at our warehouse, for items such as tires, batteries, electronics, fridges and other items containing freon, copper, and more. Once we have a sufficient sized load, they are either picked up or delivered to appropriate recyclers, where precious metals and materials are extracted from them to keep in the circular economy. Good for the environment and economy.

Choosing Green Partners

We do our best, but the reality is that not everything we collect can be donated or recycled. That means that choosing where we drop off the last of our materials is important too. While area landfills will take most anything, at Load of Rubbish, we stop at Green Valley Recycling for a good reason. After we do our own sorting, they take it one step further. They have designated areas at their facility to drop off items based on what they are—Renovation Waste,  Concrete & Asphalt, Brick & Block, Roofing Materials, Yard Waste, Brush & Tree Stumps, Electronics, Metals, Wood, Rubber Tires, Drywall, Old Furniture. These items are all further processed and recycled into goods like wood chips, recycled asphalt, chips and dust, recycled A gravel, and more. They even have a recycling wall, where used items that have been recovered are put up for sale to the general public.

It is all about reducing waste every step of the way and Load of Rubbish is proud of our efforts.