How to get rid of household rubbish in Vancouver?

20150129_101825In this article you will find out how to get rid of household junk from your property. This information found here is applicable not just to Vancouver, but also North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, and Coquitlam. The particulars will cover the different types of items that can be hauled away to the landfill, service rates, steps to be taken, and how to hire a professional company for your needs.

Junk removal as a services

Defining the service of rubbish removal is quite simple. If you have unwanted items, hauling companies can take those items to the landfill for you.

Items that junk disposal companies remove:

  • Couch
  • Mattress and Boxspring
  • Other furniture
  • Large appliances (stove, fridge…)
  • Electronics
  • Green waste (leaves, firewood, branches…)

The list is pretty much endless. There are certain materials that this service will not be able to take care of it for you, but these items are few and you are always welcome to ask what those are, once you establish contact with the company.

Cost of junk removal?

Service rates are determined based on how much garbage you have. If you have one or two items, then the total cost is about $80 for the first item, and $40 for the 2nd. If more items are added, then it is better for hauling services to be priced based on volume.

Large removals are rated around $50 per cubic yard. Most pickup trucks that you see on the streets of British Columbia can fit around 3 cubic yards. Most professional waste management companies operate 10 cubic yards trucks, but we are mentioning the pickup truck in order for you to picture volume as a measuring unit better. If you fill up the big truck about half way, then you will be paying 5 cubic yard x $50, which comes up to $250. Intuitively, if you fill up less than that, you will be paying less. Most vendors will have a minimum of 3 cubic yards charge per visit, or sending a big truck to your property will not make much economical sense to them.

Recycling fees

Nowadays, Vancouver imposes strict rules on treating recycling material the proper way. Certain materials and items must be recycled, and some of them carry extra fees, on top of the dumping fees. However, there are only two items that you need to know about. Mattress and Box spring.

Each mattress or boxspring, if added to an existing load, will cost you $30. For example, if you already have 5 cubic yards and you need to add a mattress to it, then it will be $250 + $30. Mattress removal just by itself is treated as any other single item pickup. This means that if you only have one mattress and you need it recycled, the company will charge you around $90, because they are coming only for that item.

Labour cost

There are some jobs that require extra labour. Depending on how much garbage you have, you have certain free labour measured in time. For example, for full load (10 cubic yards), you get 1 free hour of labour. Any additional time spend on the job, will cost you around $60 per hour. Therefore, it is a good idea to have your items in places at your property that are easy to access with the truck.

How to hire a professional junk removal company in Vancouver?

This is the tricky part, but after you finish reading the next few paragraphs you will have all the information you need in order to hire a company that will provide you with a pleasant experience.

Nowadays, it is almost effortless to get a good-looking website, and list all sorts of promises of low rates and smooth services. Every industry in Canada suffers from this phenomena. Most waste disposal companies in Lower Mainland will take this road and will create a trail of dissatisfied customers. However, they have one weakness. If you speak to them on the phone, there are few red flags you can look for, that will allow you to make the right decision.

Throw some questions in the area of extra fees and recycling fees, and see if they will admit that, under some circumstances, you may have to pay more than what they are claiming the total cost is. They are so focused on tricking you into scheduling an appointment, that they would say anything that pleases you. Claiming unrealistic promises on the phone is one red flag you should look for. We have made a good case as to why certain extra fees are hard to avoid, if your garbage is of a particular composition, and if they claim that they don’t fall into this reality, then you need to be realistic and decide if you will face reality or become a victim.

How are they able to pull this off? They know that most clients will take the day off work, or will use their weekend to get rid of their junk. So, they will promise you a low rate, only to arrive and start adding extra charges, after they have loaded everything. When protest, they will have the upper hand since they know that you are not willing to take another day off, and repeat the whole process.

Some clients, based on principles will refuse, and this is when the company guys will get verbally aggressive. Most people do not want to have such experience, so they just pay.

The other way to tell when you should call another company, is when they are rude with you on the phone. This is an obvious one, but we should mentioned it, for there is a correlation between rude customer service and bad service.

With this we complete our guide on how to get rid of your unwanted junk if you live in Vancouver. Naturally, there is more to lean about the hauling industry in Vancouver, but as a consumer, what we have provided on this page would be more than enough to make you a happy client.