Springfield junk hauling company sees shift in business during coronavirus pandemic

With many people taking advantage of staying at home to clean out their house, and it has created lots of business for local junk haulers.

J&T Services Junk Removal, Manager of Operations Joe Myer said they're the largest in the region. While his crews typically work closely with both commercial and residential property, they've seen a shift since the stay-at-home orders.

Myer said because not as many businesses are open, calls to pick up at those places have trickled off. However, J&T Services is getting a lot more calls to pick up things from people's homes. He believes it's because more people are in the house, and noticing all their junk. Along with the shift in clients, J&T saw a change in the things crews are handling.

"People are doing spring cleaning more than cleaning out basements and other nasty stuff in their homes," explained J&T Foreman, Matthew Jordan. "People are getting rid of couches and more of household type stuff."

With people cleaning and tossing out junk, they don't usually worry about how clean it is. However, crews that pick it up certainly have to take more precautions during the coronavirus pandemic.

That's why, regardless of a pandemic wearing proper personal protection equipment (PPE) is so important. Myer said sanitation and debris removal is essential for the community, especially now. He said for a decade now, J&T Services, Junk removal has been in many situations where wearing their PPE was a MUST. He explained that if people have an issue with a contaminated item, they're going to need a plan to dispose of it safely without putting them or others in harm's way.

"Our staff has the training and the ability to provide these services and remove items that could have contamination and avoid members of our community having to expose themselves trying to perform such a task," explained Myer.

Myer said crews could handle just about any item because they're trained to clear without fear. However, J&T services are making sure safety and precaution are at the forefront.

In doing so, in addition to wearing PPE when necessary, J&T added pay-by-phone and adjusted some of the services to help limit exposure during this pandemic. Staff added that they'd appreciate knowing of any possible exposure or contamination in advance so they can be prepared to keep everyone safe.