Adventures of Garbage Guy

History of automated garbage trucks in Arizona

Driving around in the Junk Removal Truck in Mesa, AZ this week, we saw this shrub sprouting up right at the end of this driveway – seemingly right up from the pavement.  No source of water was visible and yet the shrub seemed quite vibrant and healthy.   I don’t know all of the specifics of the City of Mesa Green Waste Disposal guidelines, but they may consider this ‘overfill.’

If the city won't take it, we will!

- often the pile of stuff we need to get rid of, exceeds the limits of our can…  If that happens to you, at least you know the truck will be around again next week, and the week after, and the week after that….

If you don’t want to wait for weeks, or have more than your can will hold, Call Garbage Guy!  He will take dumpster shrubs, cardboard mountains, newspaper collections, and all that stuff piled in your garage.

We are excited for an event we are attending this week – The Journey Maps Business Expo  Lots of local businesses will be represented and Journey Maps has applied for a record in Guinness World Record for a HUGE area map that will be hanging at the Barney Family Sports Complex for the event – check it out and maybe we will see you there!

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  We take all this and more

• Got Junk in the garage?
• Got Junk in the side yard?
• Got Junk on the patio?
• Got Junk in the shed?
• Got Junk  in the closet?
• Got Junk in the house?
• Got Junk under the bed?
• Got Junk in the attic?
• Got Junk in the carport?

If you’ve Got JUNK – that’s a problem.   Garbage Guy is the solution!

No matter where you keep it, we can help you get rid of it!

We service Mesa, Tempe, Chandler, Gilbert, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Gold Canyon, Apache Junction, Queen Creek, and other valley cities.

We haul away appliances, furniture, trash, yard debris, tree trimmings, construction material, garbage, and JUNK.

We don’t just take everything to the landfill either!  We donate or recycle all usable items; often up to 50% or more of our loads.   We are Junk Removal Professionals.  We carefully load your stuff and clean-up your space.

We are on time, professional, and clean.  Our bright orange truck and uniforms will let you know we have arrived.

You tell us what needs to be removed or hauled away and we will do all of the lifting, loading, and hauling for you.  Our mascot is a superhero – when you see how fast you get your clean space back, you’ll know why.

Here’s to a JUNK Free tomorrow!

20% bigger than most

Refrigerators are amazing!  I cannot imagine what it was like to store food before they were invented.  They come in all shapes and sizes and generally last a long time.  Eventually, however, they die.

A dead refrigerator will not fit in your garbage can.  It will not fit in the back of your car or SUV.  It cannot be put out with bulk trash in most cities unless the Freon has been removed.

Some landfills and transfer stations will not accept a refrigerator or freezer for disposal.   Those who do, will often charge an additional $20-$30 for freon removal in addition to the weight charges assessed at the scale house.

The Salt River Landfill will accept refrigerators, freezers, and other major appliances for recycling.   The San Tan Transfer station will also accept non-working refrigerators and freezers for disposal.  Both locations charge between $38 and $45 per ton for disposal in addition to fuel and environmental surcharges and a fee for freon removal.

You can haul it to either location between 7 a.m and 4 or 5 p.m. Monday-Friday and 7-noon on Saturday.   Be sure to secure the refrigerator well in the transport vehicle.  To dispose of a refrigerator, it is best to lay it on its side to transport it because it creates a lot of wind resistance and can blow out of the vehicle easily if not well secured.  (transporting a new refrigerator on its side is not a good idea)

If the freezer or refrigerator you need to remove will not fit in your vehicle, you can rent a truck from home depot or u-haul – sometimes for as little as $20/hour.

If you don’t want to remember or bother with any of the above, just call Garbage Guy – he takes it out so YOU don’t have to.   You can also schedule a pick-up online for refrigerator removal, freezer removal, appliance removal or other junk removal by clicking here: http://garbageguy.com/schedule-service.php 

A single car battery contains as much as 21 pounds of lead, three pounds of plastic and one gallon of sulfuric acid, all of which can be reprocessed into new batteries.

However, you cannot put a battery in your curbside recycling bin or take it to the Library drop-off location.  It is also considered a hazardous item and should not be put with regular trash.

We can pick up your battery for you anywhere in Queen Creek and deliver it to a recycling center in Chandler, Mesa, or Phoenix.  The recycling centers stack hundreds of batteries onto pallets and ship them off to be safely re-processed into new batteries.

We are a fee-based hauling service and cannot take most hazardous items, but we are able to safely take batteries for you.  We usually charge a minimum rate for up to 1/8 of our large truck but will gladly give you a super discount if all you have is a battery and you are near us in Queen Creek.  (or another phoenix-area city if we are in the area).

The city of chandler operates a household hazardous waste collection facility  and will accept hazardous items from residents.  The Gilbert, AZ household hazardous waste collection facility accepts batteries, automotive fluids, paints, chemicals, and other items that we cannot haul.

If you choose to take a battery to the drop-off facility yourself, place it in a sturdy plastic tub or at least a cardboard box lined with plastic to keep any acid leaks from causing damage to the carpet or upholstery in your vehicle.

We recycle every week and sometimes every day.  We do all we can to donate or recycle all usable items and keep them out of the landfill.  Call if we can help you get rid of anything in your garage!

We will also haul away and recycle a variety of appliances including refrigerators.

*Refrigerator recycling in Queen Creek and other cities requires an additional fee for proper removal of Freon.

I see a lot of JUNK.  I see a lot of interesting stuff as well.  We recycle or donate a LOT every week.

I also see a lot of cool things in my travels that I want to share with someone.

This is a flat wall

I love this paint job.  This building is near 40th street in Phoenix. I love the way the landscape stones match and blend into the painting.  Even standing 10 feet away, it is hard to tell that the wall is flat.  It is fun to look at.  Whenever I have been driving down this street, I can’t resist the urge to pull over and just look at it.  I went 40 miles out of my way on a date with my wife one night just so I could show it to her.  I have now taken 2 or 3 of my children to see it at different times as well.  I first saw it a couple of years ago and am always glad to find that it is still there and in good shape.

Creative use of utensils

We took one of our children to the airport for a trip this week.  In an airport gift shop, we saw a lot of cool creations.  One of my favorite displays was mostly made of cans, pans, and silverware.  I thought it a very creative re-use of everyday items in an artistic way.

Community Special – This week only! SAVE $200

- Offer only valid in North Mesa zip codes

As a special service to the community, and a much needed summer gift to anyone who hates getting into a boiling hot car or cleaning out their garage in 110 degree weather, we have decided to offer our “2-car Garage Cleanout” normally priced at $479 for just $279! There is only one catch – we only have 8 open spots in our schedule and when they are gone, they are gone…

YOUR Garage Clean – Out Special

• We load your stuff into our truck (no chiropractor bill)
• We haul your stuff away (No fuel surcharge)
• We sweep up afterward (No maid service charge)
• We recycle or donate whatever we can (No ‘feel-good’ fee)
• We dump the trash (No additional landfill fee)

Our truck is HUGE and we do all the loading for you!

Call 480-241-0110 now to reserve one of the 8 available spots or click here http://garbageguy.com/schedule-service.php and mention ‘Garage Cleanout Special’ in the description field to qualify.

*Your garage does not have to be as bad as the photo above to qualify – we will take trash, furniture, appliances, recycling, or donation items and do the hauling for you

*We cannot accept liquids or hazardous material – but ask – we can tell you how to get rid of them.

*Sorry this is only available in North Mesa zip codes  this week – Let us know if you would like to be informed of similar offers in your area

Learn more about us at www.GarbageGuy.com

I love Sears Diehard boots.  They always fit comfortably right out of the box.  I have tried a number of other boots but they often rub in the wrong spots or take too long to break in.

Sears has a great sale a couple of times a year so I tend to buy more than one pair when they do.  Here are 2 pair of boots that I purchased at the same time last year.

How many miles does it take?

Take a look at the difference in the soles – I wish I knew how many miles I walked in the pair on the left… they no longer resemble the sole pattern of the new ones at all…

before-and-after many miles of Junk Hauling

As you can see, I tend to wear the boots till they have nothing left to give.  I am also quite stubborn about saving new things until I absolutely need them.   I pulled the new pair out of the box at least 2 weeks before I finally traded them out this week.  I keep thinking that I can get a little more wear out of the old pair.  And then the sole splits.. but it is still holding together, and then the edge wears through, but the feel fine… then the sole catches on something and peels back a bit too far… (Though with a bit of duct tape or some gorilla glue, I could probably get a few more miles out of these hmmm…..

Time to retire this pair

What are your favorite shoes?

A creative use of old farm silos

I recycle things almost every day.  I make stops at Goodwill, Deseret Industries, Savers, St. Vincent De Paul, Salvation Army, and others.  I take cardboard to be recycled, and steel to the scrap yard.

However, today, I saw some great examples of recycling that opened my eyes to new potential for good.

This photo is of a home made out of 3 old farm silos.  They have connected them, added windows, and even a garage.  I can only guess at what was required to modify the interior into livable space.

I came home to find my 8-year-old daughter had re-purposed 2 step-stools into living spaces for tiny dolls.

I look at a stool and see something to step on, amazingly, she saw much much more.  Isn’t it great?

Another great example of re-using things to help others came through a nearby church service project.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Queen Creek organized a clothing exchange.  The idea was that people from the church would bring items they no longer needed to the church on one day and families could come the next day to select things that they needed.  I took a bunch of clothes and household items that we had sorted out for charity donations to the event but I was not prepared for what I saw.  In one morning, church members had filled the entire gymnasium and classroom areas with clothing, toys, books, and household decor.  They gathered enough to fill an entire thrift store and gave it all away to families the next day.

Mountains of clothes for Queen Creek community

You could clothe and furnish a neighborhood

These examples have changed the way I think about recycling.   What have you seen today?