Our Story

THE JUNKLUGGERS OF VANCOUVER AND SE PORTLAND – OUR STORY

The Junkluggers of Vancouver and SE Portland started operations in May 2021 after months of research to find what would be the right path for my wife and me after ending a 28-year career in the Sporting Goods industry. We researched several franchises and The Junkluggers appealed to our core values; a franchise that focuses on reuse and recycling instead of just sending items to the landfill.

This was not an easy decision; the level of investment and the number of competitors in the Portland area (Oregon) are big however, we saw this as an opportunity to give back to the community and the planet.

As I mentioned before, there are several junk removal companies in the area, some of them are small and operates with a pick-up truck and a trailer and others like us operates two or more dump-style trucks. We offer the same: furniture and junk removal so how can we differentiate ourselves from the others? Well, we decided to go the extra mile and work hard to ensure most of the items are reused or recycled, minimizing the volume we send to the landfill.

That is easier to say than do it because you must commit to investing time and money to make that happen. We built that commitment by first renting a 3,600 sqf warehouse that we use to sort and repair the items we receive. All home décor is inspected, as well as the lamps and small household items like coffee makers, toasters, clocks, etc. The kitchenware and glassware are cleaned and packed for donation, and furniture with scratches is refinished and then donated.

The second is our commitment to donating: not all items are received in one donation center, so we visit two different donation centers before offering the items for free (we advertise them for 10 days before sending them to recycle).

We receive small items we know donation centers don’t take, we offer most of them for free so other people can benefit from them (open Christmas ornaments, beauty, and cleaning products, used toys, etc). Metal items that cannot be donated are recycled and we compost the expired food. The time and money behind this operation are significant however we know this is the right thing to do.

We are fortunate to have a team that shares our vision and values and they work hard to bring our mission to life: Enhance Lives, Our Community, and the Environment by Donating, Recycling, and Supporting Local Charities.

This story is to be continued….