Hey, welcome to the you ask the pros answer podcast your questions answered by the

pros you trust presented by pro exteriors My name is Cole and I am your host today

You know, I think we've all been there You know, you've just finished a deep clean

of your house inside and out you've pressure washed the siding You've stained the

deck the lawn is mowed Maybe you just had your roof or siding replaced and

everything looks great. Then on the way to your car in the morning, you walk past

your trash cans and you are hit with that all too familiar smell. I think it's

probably a question we've all asked ourselves at some point, but seldom do much

about it. Where we say, you know, the outside of my house is immaculate, but my

trash cans stink. How can I fix this? To answer that question and to talk about

the problem that a lot of us face. We've brought on the ultimate pro. Shane is the

owner of Bin Busters and he is here today. Shane, welcome. This is the You Ask the

Pros Answer podcast. Do you have questions about an upcoming exterior contracting

project? We've got answers. Welcome to the You Ask the Pros Answer podcast.

All right, Shane, so What initially got you into the business of cleaning up

people's bins? I want to ask it another way too. What is your bin busting origin

story? - It's kind of funny actually. So a local trash company came by,

they were dumping our trash. They busted a hole in the top of our trash bin lid.

And I procrastinated, you know, it was peak summer, it rained, I had maggots

everywhere. You know, the trash smelled horrible even after they dumped it. So

finally my wife had gotten on me enough and I called the company was like, hey,

you know, I got a big hole busted in my bin smells horrendous. Is there anything

you guys can do? So they're like, yeah, sure. We'll come out and replace your bin

and I was like, oh crap, we have bought bought our house six years prior. So I

was like, man, I wish I called six years ago because we inherited these bins that

we're already ready for out. So they came out, I was expecting a full brand new

bin. They replaced just the lid. So I get home, I pop it open, I'm like,

oh no. You know, I still have all the gunk down in it. So I call them back and

said, you know, I was expecting a new bin and the lady who I spoke with said,

no, we busted the lid. If we would have busted the bottom of the bin, we would to

replace it, but it was just to live. But we know one company you can call. And I

was like, there's only one. And she was like, yeah, just one. So that's what got

my, you know, my brain going. So I did some research, looked up that company,

of course, made sure that it was the only one, 'cause I thought maybe they had,

you know, inside job there almost trying to just push me to that company, but in

fact, it was just one. So I did about six months to research, found some equipment

down in Florida. And ironically, I ended up buying that guy out six months later as

well after I got my business started. So kind of one of those dumb luck type of

things, but capitalized, you know, on the opportunity and here I am. Yeah.

So the, the waste management company that you called actually referred you to a

company that does what you do now? Yes, exactly. Because I'm they get tons, well,

actually, I'm not sure if I know they do because now they actually send everyone to

me. But yeah, so they get tons of calls of people wanting their bins replaced, not

just for being busted, just for smelling bad, maggots, bacteria, all that stuff. So

it eliminates calls over and over again to them, they just forwarded the customers

to me. Man, so I'm glad for your sake, but what a missed opportunity by that that

waste management company to just create like a branch of their business that just

does The cleaning, you know, it's funny. You say that I'm trying to not say their

business name because I don't know Yeah, they want that. Yeah, so the company I

bought out who they had told me to go to actually They were affiliated a smidge

But they were Got to. Things happen though. And I'm sure you guys know you have

different divisions. It's tough to run one division, let alone two, three, four, you

know, so I think it was just, you know, right time, right opportunity for myself.

And yeah, you know, I capitalize and here I am. Yeah, when did that all take place

that initial conversation with the company and then you doing the research? It was

the end of 2020. And I actually started the business, like I said, about six months

later, which was 2021. Wow. So was it the truck that really just allowed you to,

to actually launch it? Cause it's a, we're going to show the audience here in a

little bit, what it looks like, but it is a pretty impressive piece of equipment.

Was that what allowed you to start? Yeah. I actually didn't start with that truck.

I started with a trailer, a pull behind trailer. Um, cause it was, it was the more

affordable option because you know anybody who starts a business from the ground up

you got to put a lot of equity into that or you know a lot of money that to

build your equity of course and I I essentially got my wife on board to use my

personal line of credit I'll say yeah I can get get the business started so I

didn't start with that truck I had to build up to obtain that truck okay but What

I found out quickly is at the beach here, very tight roads, a lot of cars. So

backing a trailer in downtown Lewis is, you know, nearly impossible.

So I found myself, you know, having to put the bins in the back of the truck

sometimes and go into, you know, big park and lots of things like that. And that's

not, you know, not the correct way to do it, not the efficient way to do it. So

that's when I, again, had to get my life on board to give this truck. Yeah,

because your guys process, I was when I came out to watch you guys one day, I was

amazed at how quickly you guys work and how effective that quick work is.

Yeah. The idea of having to like load up nasty bins, move them to another location,

clean them, bring them back. Yeah. Obviously that wouldn't have been sustainable for

too long. Yeah. Not efficient at all. And not only that, it was also with the

truck, it was, you know, I told myself, if I invested in the absolute best

equipment, I would get the best results. So that was the flip side of that. It

was, you know, I would have been fine with the trailer and I would have made it

work. But if I really wanted to grow this business and expand and, you know, be

the top guy in the market, you know, I really want to, you know, I'm a billboard.

So anyone who sees my trailer that I had or my truck, I wanted everyone to look

at it and go, you know, this guy doesn't just have a silly idea of clean trash

bins, he's a legitimate business and he's providing a great service to the community.

And I think my truck really represents that. Yeah. Yeah, I would, I would have to

agree with that. I'm guessing was it just you at the start of this? I mean, I

know you, your wife, and behind any business owner, man, woman is a spouse who

Either passively supports or is actively involved in the business operations,

but was it just you essentially going out into the field? Yes, it was. Yeah. And

like you said, my wife was in, you know, behind the scenes doing all the

scheduling, calling customers, you know, doing all that, but it was, it was just me,

you know, boots on the ground, elbows deep and trash bins, you know,

building this thing. But That was the absolute best thing I could have done for

myself because it sounds silly just being a trash man, but there's a lot more to

clean in a trash can than just picking it up on the back of the truck. I learned

a ton that I would never be able to have any employee do without knowing how to

do it myself. Sure. And I would assume there's also the customer service aspect of

it too. I mean, sometimes I imagine you're pulling up to a residents while

somebody's at work or out and about, but there's probably customer interactions that

take place too, right? Tom, I mean, I have customers, you know, I show up now, my,

my children now are two and six. Um, obviously I didn't have one when I started

and my son, when we do, when I started, I have customers now that, you know, ask

to see photos, ask how my son's doing in school. So, um, it's actually the cool

thing about this business is, you know, my business isn't required. People seek out

my business. So, you know, they're excited to see me. They're excited to see their

trash bins, but we also, we gain that relationship because my business isn't forced

on them, you know, by the town or by the county. It's something that they truly

want. So that is one good thing about my business is, you know,

like you have to pay your electric, right? Like you just have to do in order to

survive. You don't have to have your trash bins clean. So everyone, not everyone, 99

% of the people I deal with are always in a great mood to see me. So I really

appreciate that because it does make the days better. Yeah, I'm sure. Yeah, I'm

assuming, you know, this summer has been hot and then you've got those cold times

of years too. So I'm assuming any of it, any of the positive interactions, just

like you said, make the days better. I'm wondering if you could tell me what your

team looks like now. So I know this has been, what about four years since you

launched? Yeah, what does your team look like? Yeah, so we've expanded by hard work

and dedication. I do have two guys who work for me now. I don't like to say work

for me, work with me now. And they're actually, one is my brother, so family,

and the other is my next -door or who I also consider family. So I still like to

believe, you know, family owned and operated just because that's how I feel about

both of them. Yeah. Not sure where it's going to go. We keep showing up doing a

good job. The intention is to have 10 trucks on the road. But as of now, I got

two guys working side by side with me. What do you love about your job? I mean,

you've shared a little bit about the customer interactions, but yeah, what, what are

some of the things that you love about it? You pretty much just said that it's

it's the customer the customer interaction But also providing a service that like I

said earlier isn't isn't forced down your throat It's something that you truly seek

out and want and it's unique. So I've really enjoyed when people were you know They

email or they call and they say I'm so excited to see my bins after you do the

first clean And then we do it, you know, and they leave the the Google five star

review or they send email back. You know, it makes me feel good knowing that we're

doing the right thing and providing an outstanding service to the community. Community

is everything, as you know, here in Sussex County. It's so small. Everybody knows

everybody. And it really makes me feel good when I hear people talking about

binbusters or they say, "Hey, I heard about your business. My neighbor uses you and

they absolutely love your service." So for me, you know, that makes it worthwhile

because there is long nights and There's challenging times and there's breakdowns and

equipment malfunctions and, you know, if you didn't have those and business was super

easy, everybody would do it, right? Everyone would have to do it, but for me, it's,

you know, getting through those challenges and then on the backside of that having,

you know, the rewarding experiences. So that's just it. All right. Let's get down

and Dury a little bit. Why do trash cans get so gross. I mean,

I think most of us listening or watching, we bag up our trash. Maybe we throw away

the occasional Starbucks or McDonald's cup, you know, on our way in from the car.

But why do these cans and bins get so nasty? Yeah. So,

like you just said, you can bag everything, but you could also have a leak in that

bag. You know, it's the smallest thing, household items like tissues, napkins,

diapers, any of that good stuff goes into the bin right. And then you've got the

heat and humidity on top of that, which obviously organically stuff is going to grow

on that. So you get these harmful bacteria that are growing. And then you add in,

like I said, that heat and humidity and you get flies, flies get in there and then

they're laying larvae, you know, they're laying their eggs. And next saying, you

know, your entire trash bin, you have bag trash, but you have maggots all over,

right? And you're like, how is that possible when I did everything the exact right

way? And that's just it. You can do that. But with heat, humidity, trash,

leakages, it's bound to happen. There's absolutely nothing you can do about it. - So,

and I'm going to speak for myself. I can't speak for anybody else, but I mow my

grass every week or as needed. We try to power wash our siding once a year.

We'll stain our decks. We'll take care of like a roof that's not looking great or

whatever. Why are the trash, like you can drive by these beautiful multi -million

dollar homes and they look amazing and then you've got these two giant bins sitting

out front That are just gross. Why do you think people just leave that?

To be when they are so meticulous about everything else. I think it's simply because

it's Yeah, yeah, we shake trash with being gross But if people really knew that you

have more Touchpoints with bacteria on your trash bin then you do your toilet in

your home that you clean once a week They will probably get them clean, right? But

that's the truth. I mean, you have more touch points on a trash bin with bacteria

than you do on your own toilet. So just as a weird aside, so we moved into this

neighborhood that we live in now about a year ago, and the HOA, you know, everybody

loves homeowners associations, and they do, they do a lot of good. Yeah. But we are

required to keep our trash bins in our garage Unless we have a screen outside and

I got to tell you I knew our trash bins were bad But I didn't realize just how

bad until we had to start leaving them in our closed garage all the time That's

not a question. That's just me venting

There's a lot more just like you that have to do the exact same thing Yeah, and I

guess it's partly because the HOA's just don't want these beautiful homes to be

marred by, yeah, 30 bins. Yeah. Some folks think trash bins are an eyesore.

We can't live without them, though. But for some reason, yeah, people think they're

an eyesore. All right. So to this point, people listening might be thinking,

all right, so Shane and his crew just go out and hose down these trash cans and

they put them back and they move on. The process is a little bit more involved in

that. Could you share with me just kind of what the step -by -step process looks

like? Sure. So first and foremost, you would sign up through our website. You go

online, sign up for service, we have three different options. Once you do that, we

receive your sign up. Everything's fully automated with our service. So you would

sign up online. We'll get you on the schedule You'd receive a text in an email

with your cleaning date which we clean on the next day So if your pickups on a

Monday, we will be out on Tuesday to ensure that your bins are empty Then the day

before your service We also send a reminder text saying bin busters coming to your

curbside Please make sure your trash bins are empty and then when we get there, you

know We clean out your trash bins clean sanitize deodorize your trash bins and pull

pulling back up to your house when the job's complete. And then you'll receive

another message when the job's complete, saying that the job was complete. And not

long after that is normally when I'm getting all the phone calls and texts that

thank you, thank you messages. And like I said earlier, that's the part that I love

the most. - How do you guys handle weeks that have holidays in the middle that kind

of shifts the pickup schedule? - We do just that, you just nailed it. We follow a

local trash bin company here. Like I said earlier, I'm not, I don't want to mention

any names, but we do follow the schedule. I see you guys are already made aware of

that. Yeah, exactly. So we delay one day. So like we just had Labor Day,

it was a Monday, of course, we delayed. So we delayed the service one day. Cool.

Alright, so let's say I'm a new customer, I've signed up through your guys website.

And my first cleaning is scheduled when, let's say I was hanging out,

'cause I'm, well, you might actually enjoy it. We've had customers that'll like set

up lawn chairs as we're replacing the roof and they'll sit there and watch our

every move all day long. But let's say I'm one of those people, what would I see

take place? Like what is your, the actual cleaning process? Could you walk me

through that a little bit? - Yeah, absolutely. So first we would get there we would

inspect your trash bin you know we'd open them make sure there's not a bunch of

loose trash because we you know we can't take that with us it's not a trash truck

it's trash cleaning truck um so we would inspect the bins um make sure there's

there's nothing in there that we can't clean so we do dump our water at the county

wastewater facility so we have rules and regulations we have to abide by in order

to dump the water that we self -contain um once we do all that and everything's

good to go. We put the bins, we have grab our arms on the back of our truck that

grab a hold of the bins just as if they were dumping your trash cans. We do the

same thing because we're all picking them up. We clean off the outside and the

outside of your lid. From there, we flip open the lids, clean the outside or the

inside of the lid, I'm sorry, then we pick your bins up. 200 degree hot water, 360

degree spinning heads, high pressure hot water, and we clean your trash bins.

We pull them down and inspect them. Sometimes we have to scrub them. So we have a

scrub brush, things like that. Pick them back up and we repeat that cycle as many

times as needed until they're clean. And after that, we give them a good wipe down

with a towel on the inside, spray our deodorizer in them and pull them back up to

your house. So you did a really good job of explaining it. But I was on your

website earlier and saw, you know, the video that shows the step by step process.

And I thought, man, I want our audience to see this because out of it, the kid in

me is like, man, this is a really cool, like even just the mechanism of how it

all works. I was like, that's cool that somebody engineered a vehicle to do this

exact thing. So I want our audience to see this, we're going to take a second,

we're going to watch this together.

Are your trash bins in need of a serious makeover? Introducing Bin Busters, your go

-to solution for pristine, eco -friendly bin cleaning. At Bin Busters, we're more than

just a cleaning service. We're eco -warriors on a mission to keep your bin spotless

and your environment safe. With our state -of -the -art trucks and specially formulated

cleaning agents, we can zap away dirt, grime, and 99 % of germs in seconds.

And as a veteran -owned business, we understand the importance of a clean and healthy

home. That's why we go the extra mile to ensure your bins aren't just clean.

They're practically germ -free. Say goodbye to bacteria, food residue, and unpleasant

odors. Binbusters leaves your bins sparkling clean every time. And because we're

committed to protecting the planet, we use only the best EPA -approved cleaning agents

and products. Clean bins, clean conscience. That's the binbusters guarantee. So why

wait give your bins the TLC they deserve with bin busters

Yeah, I just think that's a cool It's a cool process I've cleaned thousands of bins

cold and I'm telling you every time I watch it I'm like I'm super proud of course

But I'm I'm just like this is a service that if people only knew about it You

know that they get it done one time and You'll never not get it done that I truly

need that and I just I love watching that video I wonder so I was listening to

you and I talked off Mike that we both like listening to podcasts I was listening

to one last week. It's a comedy podcast of all things But one of the hosts on

there was like man, I play this Power washing simulation game on on my phone.

I was like they have somebody developed an app In a game for power washing. I was

like, man, I'd play this like if you develop the bin buster game. I'm there man

I'll download it That might be next All right, so what is the real benefit of

hiring a professional to do this as opposed to Tackling it myself sure And let me

start by saying You know to each their own so if you if you you So if you're a

guy, I know I'm a guy, or gal who likes to be hands -on. Some people are,

you know, I'm not gonna pay anybody to do that when I can do it myself. Good on

you. Reach out to us, I'll give you tips and tricks to help you out that way to

make it a little easier for you and help keep that smell down. But if you want

the convenience, haven't been busters do it, you know, like I said earlier, we're

using 200 hot water. That's going to kill a ton of germs and bacteria where the

garden hose just isn't going to do. Second, I was saying earlier, we dump our water

at the county wastewater facility. We self -contain that dirty water. So when you're

cleaning out in your driveway, you're probably dumping in your grass. So it's soaking

in your soil. It's going down from there into the, you know, stormwater catch pond,

more than likely, not always, but more than likely. And third, it's the convenience,

right? We're showing up to your curbside day after your trash pickup, cleaning your

bins, relieving them, smelling like mints, take your breath away when we open it

'cause it smells so many. So you're saving that time. And that's the biggest thing.

In today's world, convenience is everything. And I feel like Binbusters really

provides that. - Yeah, I mean, time is one of those things that you cannot buy. You

and I are both husbands and fathers and I could go out and clean my trash bin,

but I would rather spend it with one of my kids or go to the movie with my wife

or do both. Yeah. And not to mention the good back spray that gets in your mouth

if you're trying to do it yourself. Yeah, very true. Very true. Or the ghillie seat

you I don't want to get it, get stuff all the way in. - All right,

so earlier on, you mentioned that there's three different options when somebody visits

your website. What are those frequency, I'm assuming they're different frequencies that

people can choose. What are those three different options? - Exactly, it's one

cleaning every four weeks, one cleaning every 12 weeks for a one -time cleaning.

- Okay. - Now you're going to hear that and go, oh, so probably monthly, quarterly

and one time. That's actually not correct. It is four weeks, 12 weeks because here

in Sussex County, there's bi -weekly recycling, so we can't do it once a month

because some months have five weeks. So it's four weeks, 12 weeks, or one time.

And then I don't want you to necessarily give me like a dollar amount because here

we are in 2025. This episode will live on as long as the internet does.

Is it an affordable? I know affordability is a relative thing, but is it an

affordable service? Yeah, absolutely. So I'll just compare it to another service.

Okay. As in, if you skip two morning coffees every four weeks and have it at home,

our service would be the same price as that. So I'll leave it at that. If you can

manage to have the two cups of coffee at home instead of buying it out two times

every four weeks, you'll be able to pay for our service. Yeah. And so, audience,

you can, and we're going to have the Binbusters website in the show notes. So, you

can visit their site and you can see the cost in real time. Like I said, if the

way things are changing these days, you never know what the cost is going to be

for anything. All right. I was going to ask, are the cleaning products

environmentally friendly? But that video mentioned that they are and so what you're

spraying is is truly just good old -fashioned really hot water Yeah,

yeah, we're not using any cleaning agents at all. It's hot water and elbow grease,

which is completely free

But yeah, no cleaning agents and that deodorizer that we spraying at the end is

actually you can buy it right at your local Lose some we have a little mixture

that I'm not going to say what it is, but it's all, you know, eco -friendly, you

know, 100%. Like I said earlier, everything we do is, you know, gets tested. So I

can't dump anything, you know, at the wastewater facility that's not approved. So

yeah, 100 % eco -friendly. Cool. Well, if people,

so our primary listening audience is, you know, Southern Delaware, Maryland's Eastern

Shore. But we have people that listen all across the country, other countries.

Obviously, you guys have a specified service area right now. So people that live

within your service area, how can they get in touch with you guys? So two ways.

Like I said earlier, all of our signups are done through our website, and that's

www .thebinbusters .com. Again, www .thebinbusters .com.

You'll know that you're at the right place if you see a turtle slipping, sliding

out a trash bin, you know, as soon as you hop on there and then you can reach us

by by phone or text

3024994600. Cool. And then lastly, so the last time I saw you,

you were wearing a Ben Buster's t -shirt. I commented on the polo. Do you want to

give any special shout out? Yeah,

my lovely wife. if she didn't buy me clothes I would have the same clothes from 15

years ago because that's just you know who I am but she outfitted me nicely and if

it's nice I feel good. Cool. Well Shane, I appreciate so much.

I know you know running a small business, you've got to be running in a million

different directions. I'm so glad to hear that you've expanded and brought on some

new team members but I know that your time is valuable. I appreciate so much you

spending it with us today. Absolutely, Cole. Thank you so much. I had a blast. I

really appreciate you. Thank you. Shane, thank you again for being on the show

today. Audience, one more time. If you would like to learn more about Bin Busters,

you can visit their website at thebinbusters .com and check things out on there.

Well, that is all we have for you today on the You Ask the Pros Answer Podcast.

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