Art Of Decluttering Podcast
When it comes to organizing your space, decluttering can definitely be an art. Get inspiration from the Brisbane Franchise Partner, Charlotte Try, as she discusses how to find a solution for recycling and reusing challenging items.
The history of The St. Vincent de Paul Society
The St. Vincent de Paul Society formed in Paris around the time of the revolution. This was a massive upheaval for the majority of the citizens in Paris. Many of them found themselves struggling in this newly forming society.
A local university student became frustrated with the situation and desperately wanted to help his fellow countrymen. He started by donating his personal winter stockpile of heating wood to a widowed neighbour and encouraging his friends and colleagues to help out where they could too.
Almost two centuries later, the charity is still going strong and has spread throughout the world. Donations of time, money and saleable items is how they fund this great work. It’s a privilege to be affiliated with Vinnie's!
The St. Vincent de Paul Society is a long-standing charity that’s well-known for the good work they do around the world. 1800-GOT-JUNK? Sydney has been donating saleable items to Vinnie’s for a few years now.
We fill our storage facility with items that would have ordinarily ended up in the landfill. When we have enough inventory that we think would interest the charity, we give them a call and they come over and choose what they want. They say they’re always happy to come to 1800-GOT-JUNK?, as we always have great pieces and the items are in a tidy pile next to the loading area, ready to go. They’ve told us that while some people leave them with unusable items to get around landfill fees, they appreciate that we take the time to select and prepare items for their choosing.
We often pick up furniture that will either be donated to someone less fortunate or sold with the funds going towards providing one of the many services St. Vincent de Paul offers in our local community.
PODS Sydney
Moving house is one the few life events that forces you to make hard decisions about what to keep and what to throw away. As we move through life, we inevitably accumulate stuff that we no longer have a use for. At 1800-GOT-JUNK? we recognise that moving house and de-cluttering go hand-in-hand - that’s why we partnered with PODS.
Together, 1800-GOT-JUNK? and PODS will provide a one-stop moving shop. This is how it works:
You call PODS and they will deliver a container, available in three convenient sizes, right to your door.
You work out what you want to keep and what you want to get rid of.
For the stuff you want to keep, you either pack the container yourself, or you let one of PODS professional packing partners do all the work.
For the stuff that you want to get rid of, you call 1800-GOT-JUNK? (1800 468 586) and we will provide you with an obligation-free quote.
When your container is packed, PODS will collect it or store it for you.
The best thing is, when you do finally open your container, you will have peace of mind that everything in it was worth keeping!
Electronic Recycling in Sydney
Electronic waste (e-waste) is accumulating around the world at an ever-increasing pace. But how quickly, and why?
- Computing power doubles every two years, according to Moore’s Law (co-founder of Intel)
- Purchase prices for electronics are dropping just as fast
This leads to a situation where we, as consumers of these products, are upgrading our devices at an increasingly quick rate. This is good news for manufacturers and consumers, who regularly upgrade their electronics, but it’s bad news for the planet.
Greenpeace has published studies suggesting that only 25% of Europe’s e-waste is recycled properly, and that figure is down to 20% in the USA. It’s just 1% in developing countries.
In some countries, the vast majority of e-waste is taken straight to landfill. When these landfills get too big, the pile is simply burned. This releases chemicals into the air, the earth and eventually the food chain.
There is a better way:
- Don’t upgrade to the latest technology if it’s not necessary. If your current setup is serving you well and continues to allow you to function day-to-day or compete in your market, then there is no need to upgrade.
- If you must upgrade but the equipment still works, then sell or donate it. If you don’t have the time or means to do this, 1800-GOT-JUNK? Sydney can help.
- If you have broken equipment that has no market value, then dispose of it in an environmentally friendly way. 1800-GOT-JUNK? Sydney recycles nearly all of the e-waste we pick up.
How 1800-GOT-JUNK? Sydney keeps e-waste out of the landfill
In Sydney, there is a large Nigerian community that is doing what it can to alleviate some of the e-waste (as well as social and health) issues in Nigeria. One of the Sydney-based Nigerian community leaders approached 1800-GOT-JUNK? to see if we could help by supplying reusable/repairable computer hardware.
We were only too pleased to help. We offered to take the time to separate out the items that they would like and store them in our warehouse. Once a week, they come by and select the items they think they can use. Good-condition hardware and other items are then repaired and sold to fund larger humanitarian projects or donated to schools in Nigeria.
Any unusable items are taken to a reputable recycler who will break down and recycle as much of the material as possible, greatly reducing the amount that was originally headed for the landfill.
The most sought-after items, in no particular order, are:
- Pentium 4 or higher
- Hard drives
- Batteries
- Keyboards/mice
- Cameras
- Projectors
- Science equipment
- Hospital equipment
If you have any of the above items and would like to see them kept out of landfill, then call 1800-GOT-JUNK? Sydney - we’d be happy to provide our service! If you’re worried about your hard drive containing personal information, please clear it before calling us (or we can provide proof of destruction).
If your e-waste isn’t on this list, we’ll still recycle any other electronics you may have.
Mattress recycling Sydney
Landfills across Australia are inundated with old mattresses. Each year, around 1.25 million mattresses are headed for the landfill. Most rubbish that goes into a landfill is crushed to reduce the size, which saves valuable space, but mattresses are inherently difficult to crush due to their springs.
A typical mattress takes up 0.75 cubic metres and cannot be easily crushed, whereas most other rubbish can. Around 1.25 million mattresses are tossed every year, which means mattresses take up 937,500 cubic metres of landfill space. Could you imagine a pile that big?
At 1800-GOT-JUNK?, we take the time to separate, store and process all the mattresses we pick up from clients. Those that are in good condition are donated to charity, and the rest are separated into their constituent parts by us or a dedicated recycler.
We work hard to look after the environment. Currently, over half of all rubbish collected is diverted from landfill and reused/recycled in some way.
If you’re in need of mattress removal in Sydney, call us today, or book your mattress disposal online. We’re happy to come by to pick up your mattress, and ensure that it gets recycled responsibly to keep it out of the landfill.
We will recycle over 40% of all rubbish
At 1800-GOT-JUNK? Sydney, we are serious about our recycling efforts and keep rubbish away from landfill. Over 40% of all the rubbish we collect (by volume) is recycled, salvaged and/or donated to charity. The table above shows the common types of rubbish we collect and how we prevent it from filling our landfills.
- Access Recycling
- St. Vincent De Paul
- Visy
- Concrete Recyclers
- Holy Family
- Ecyclecorp
- PIC Plastics
- D&R Henderson
- SITA Ryde
- Landsavers
- Kimbriki Resource Recovery Centre
- Mobile Muster
- Regyp
- Planet Ark
- SITA
Have a bike to donate in Sydney? We can help!
Want to donate your old bike, but don’t have any way of getting your bike to where it needs to be?
Bicycles for Humanity (B4H) have partnered with 1800-GOT-JUNK?, a full-service rubbish removal company in Sydney, to remove your old bicycles and make sure they are given to the people who need them most.
For a $60 surcharge, 1800-GOT-JUNK? will call around to your home, pick up your bike and transfer it to the local B4H depot. The best thing about the service is you don’t even have to be with the bike. Simply leave the bike in a place where it can be easily accessed and let the 1800-GOT-JUNK? truck team do the rest.
Bike pick-up and donation in four simple steps:
- Start by calling the toll-free number 1800-468-586 to organise your bike pick-up.
- Mention the promotional code “B4H” so that you get the special Bikes for Humanity rate of $60 for 1-3 bikes.*
- Let us know your postcode and we will tell you what day of the week we will be in your area. Choose an arrival window and we will call you when we are on our way. If you can’t be there – simply leave instructions as to where we can find the bikes.
- Relax in the knowledge that you old bike will be going to a really good cause.
*Pricing surcharge applies for 1-3 bicycles and/or bike frames irrespective of size. Standard 1800-GOT-JUNK? pricing will apply for 4 bikes or more. All other rubbish will also be quoted as per 1800-GOT-JUNK’s? standard pricing policy.
One man's trash...is authentic Simpson's artwork?
One of our rubbish removal experts found a fully authenticated piece of Simpson’s artwork: a portrait of Lisa Simpson!
While we usually get used furniture, old mattresses and outdated electronics, we get the occasional rare gem that we need to tell the world about. We’re truly amazed at some of the things our truck team members bring back.
