Monthly Archives: June 2013

Staying Green

Sometimes staying green can be a very difficult task. It is more expensive to recycle an old cellphone than it is to chuck it and just be rid of it. The sad truth is, that being green can all add up in the end and sometimes be even more expensive. It shouldn’t matter as long as you are doing right by the environment and doing good for all of us involved in this planet.

Electronics such as cell phones contain lead and cadmium and mercury. All of these are harmful to the environment because they can leak and dissolve into the groundwater or even worse into the air if they were to catch fire.

When contacting a Junk removal Company to hire for services, always make sure that they recycle all E-Waste that can be harmful to the environment. Companies should usually state this as a badge of honor so you won’t have to look too much but in the case that it’s not stated it’s always a good idea to ask.

To save you the trouble, we have found one of the best Junk Removal Companies that deals with E-Waste and the recycling of most of the material that they will haul off. Contact them and be sure that your junk removal services will go smooth as planned.

Clean Out an Apartment

I manage several apartments in the Northridge area. Northridge is a great section of the San Fernando Valley. It has a nice mix of families, middle class professionals and students. I rent mostly to students who go to Cal State Northridge. So I end up turning over units pretty frequently. About half my apartment units are vacant at some point during the year. So I spend a lot of time cleaning out apartments and getting them to rent again. 

If you manage or rent apartment units I’d highly recommend using a junk removal company in Northridge to reduce time spent turning over units.

I am pretty careful about who I rent to and most of my tenants are good, hardworking kids, but when they move out they always leave something behind. Without fail. And typically its big and heavy and impossible to put into my normal dumpster. This is the right moment to call a junk removal company. They’ll come in, remove all the junk and any trash from the unit, and after that its just a matter of sending in my super to clean and make any small repairs that need to be made.

I would estimate that junk removal companies in Northridge have saved me hours and hours of labor. And cut down my turn around time by days.

Junk Removal Questions

junk removal service pops up every day in Los Angeles. It is a business with a fairly low bar for entry. Really all you need is a truck and a strong back. But how do you know you are getting your money’s worth when you hire a junk removal service? Here are some questions to ask your junk removal service before hiring them.

1. How Do You Price Your Junk Removal Service?

Junk removal services in Los Angeles will generally charge based on volume (i.e. how much you fill the truck with) or a flat rate per load. You also want to find out whether their quote includes labor or whether they charge a separate fees for labor. Also you want to find out if a junk removal service charges more for electronics, like computer monitors, and large bulky items like appliances and televisions

2. Will Your Junk Removal Service Remove All My Junk?

When you call a junk removal service make sure you describe all the junk you want removed. Some junk removal services in Los Angeles will not dispose of certain types of junk. Some junk removal service may not handle certain small jobs, or large jobs.

3. How Will You Get Rid of My Junk? You can your junk recycled or disposed of properly at a local landfill. You don’t want your junk to be dumped illegally.

4. Are You a Licensed and Bonded Junk Removal Service? License and bonding is a requirement for most businesses operating in Los Angeles. Also a company that has a license shows a commitment to responsible business practices.

5. How Long Have You Been in Business? Junk removal services come and go in Los Angeles at a rapid rate. Finding a junk removal service that has been in business for a while ensures you are doing business with a junk removal service that has a long standing reputation.

Tips to Help Our Environemnt

With all the landfills getting dumped on a daily basis you have to wonder how long we can last with all this trash. If you think about all the trash that gets dumped on a daily basis you might get depressed and think that there is no hope for humanity. That is one way of looking at things but have you ever looked in the mirror and decided that you want to make a change and help in preserving our future? There are many personal steps we can all take in order to help out our environment and ensure that our loved ones and their children have a planet to call home. Here are some easy steps you can make in order to reduce the amount of junk you dispose of everyday.

1.The first one is an oldie but a goodie. Recycle your cans and bottles! Nothing can be easier and in the long run pays off because you can get cash for all those bottles and containers.

2. Re-use those scraps of paper for various uses! Remember that not your loved one left you this morning? Well you can keep it and re-use by leaving another note on the back!

3. If you change your own oil, make sure you save it and take it to a location that can dispose of it properly. That one will really help our environment.

4. Turn off all your lights and appliances when not in use. This one is also a no brain-er as it saves you money when you aren’t wasting electricity.

As you can see there are many things you can do to save money and also help our environment and protect our planet.

Construction Debris Recycling

Back in the old days most, if not all, construction debris was sent to the landfill. And the old days aren’t that old. Sending construction debris directly to the landfill was a pretty regular practice fifteen years ago. Now things are different.

General contractors use hauling services that recycle construction debris on a regular basis. What do these hauling services recycle? Wood can be recycle quite easily into other wood products. Recycled concrete is highly sought after by contractors who turn that concrete into aggregate. Even things like bathroom fixtures are frequently recycled. Items like faucets and fixtures recovered from older homes are often resold to people seeking an antique look in their bathroom or those seeking to restore a home to an original style.

How do you make sure your general contractor recycles? First and foremost ask if your general contractor uses a hauling service that recycles. You can also ask your general contractor to provide recycling receipts from the recycling centers they use to dispose of construction debris. 

Recycling construction debris isn’t just the smart thing to do, it can also save you time and money. Many larger cities are expediting permits and reducing the cost of permits for those who choose to recycle construction debris.