An Interview With Wanda Malhotra
Food waste: Everyone eats and almost everyone is complaining about the high cost of food. Wasted food contributes 11% of the world’s total greenhouse gas. 80% of Americans throw away perfectly good food because they are confused about expiration dates. Homes contribute 43% of wasted food; 40% comes from restaurants and grocery stores. Plan your meals, take what you can eat and eat what you take. Store food carefully and use leftovers wherever possible.
As we face an unprecedented environmental crisis, the need for sustainable solutions has never been more urgent. This series seeks to spotlight the innovative minds and passionate advocates who are leading the charge in environmental conservation and sustainable practices. We aim to explore the most effective strategies, breakthrough technologies, and transformative policies that are shaping a more sustainable future for our planet. As a part of this series, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Jack Brendamour.
Jack Brendamour is the CEO and co-owner of Junk King Cincinnati, Dayton, Louisville and Northern Kentucky providing professional junk removal services to households and businesses. Jack deeply cares about the environment as well as being able to support local nonprofits by donating the items they remove. His ultimate goal with his locations is to be as sustainable as possible as well as recycle or donate up to 100% of items that are removed from junk removal jobs.
Thank you so much for joining us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’?
Junk King Cincinnati was originally owned by Pete McCreary. Pete had a dream of owning a junk removal company with a purpose of donating as much as possible back to people in need of the items collected. His second goal was to recycle or repurpose as many of the remaining items as possible. As the company grew, he moved to larger facilities to accommodate this mission and created more relationships within the local non-profit organizations and recyclers.
Pete was tragically killed in an accident 5–1/2 years ago. He left his wife and children as well as approximately 30 employees in the young company. His dream is carried on by the nearly 70 employees and 5 locations owned by his widow and the management team of Junk King Cincinnati. His legacy lives on with our culture of family based on the foundations of faith, honesty, respect, and integrity.
Can you share with us the most interesting story from your career? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘takeaways’ you learned from that?
There’s not a day that goes by that the Junk King Cincinnati family of employees do not make a difference in someone’s life. Just by the nature of our business, we help people do things they could not do for themselves. By taking the next step of donating usable items, we change other people’s lives with accessibility to the items they need.
One of my favorite stories is about a gentleman who stopped by our facilities to see what this was all about. He works around the corner and drove by for many years. He has a nonprofit called “Ramp it Up”. They install ramps for veterans and others with an immediate need. Many people suffering from certain illnesses will suddenly be unable to navigate the stairs and find themselves trapped in their own home. Approval for such equipment can take months.
While touring our warehouse, we came upon a ramp, neatly wrapped with all the hardware taped to the rails. To Junk King, it was a couple hundred dollars’ worth of aluminum. To him, it was a $6,000 ramp. To the elderly veteran who received it installed without cost, it was freedom.
What can we take away from this story? People are generous. One person’s junk is usually another person’s treasure. You just have to make the connection.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
- First is humility. It’s been said that if a person has a great deal of pride, they are unable to be taught. In the 5+ years that I have been the CEO, we have experienced the aftermath of losing our leader in the middle of a planned expansion; COVID 19 and the challenges of a young workforce where “working from home” was not possible; the lack of employable people and shortage of materials that followed the pandemic; and now, inflation. A leader must always be willing to learn from peers and qualified advisors to adapt to these challenges.
- Second is empathy. In our industry, we help. We help people in countless ways every day. The leadership must have empathy for our customers, their clients; our non-profit partners, their clients; and most of all, for our workforce that meets these people where they are every day. We are proud of our employees, their professionalism and kindness.
- Third is maximizer. This is the ability to see the future and strive toward the next step in a goal. It’s the ability to have the right people in the right places to make a team that will achieve the reality of the goal. It focuses on strengths to move to excellence in all things.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that might help people?
- The management team and key personnel are currently working toward defining our purpose and our brand. This is both an internal and external project. Growth can cause chaos as everyone strives to take care of the issue at hand. Time needs to be dedicated to stepping back, re-evaluating processes and relationships to be certain everyone is on the same page before moving to the next growth spurt.
- In this process, we looked internally at our own employees and staff. We developed programs that will enhance their personal and professional growth as well as give them opportunities to enhance their earnings.
- At the end of the day, we have 20 trucks and 28 mini dumpsters. None of them are anything without our most valuable asset, our employees.
Ok, thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of our interview. What pivotal moment led you to dedicate your career to sustainability, and how has that shaped your approach to environmental challenges?
- Donating usable items, reusing, repurposing, and recycling responsibly is the right thing. I was taught this by my family growing up. Like most things, it started out small and then took on a life of its own. The more we learned about who could use a particular item, the more effort was made to get the item back to the community. Constantly, we ask “What If”. We work with our non-profit and recycling partners to find new and creative outlets for the items we collect. It’s a learning process.
- Sustainability is the means by which we can dedicate our efforts to repurposing and recycling. Manpower, equipment, warehousing / sorting is very expensive. To sustain these efforts, we look for income from our recycling partners wherever possible. We also sell a few items at remarkably reasonable prices to offset the costs.
Could you describe a groundbreaking project or initiative you’ve been involved in that significantly contributed to sustainability?
- While the donation and recycling programs continued to grow side by side, it was the pursuit of Hamilton County’s 513 Green Certification that brought our attention to the many ways we could expand our efforts. It was through this process we learned about how long it took for common materials to decay in a landfill. The numbers are astounding. This brought us to Styrofoam. It never decomposes. It is the most littered material worldwide and makes up 30% of the landfills globally. Although the material is toxic in its production and when heated for use (such as a coffee cup), the use of Styrofoam skyrocketed during the pandemic as people had food delivered.
- Our response to this problem was to obtain a Styrofoam densifier. Styrofoam is a petroleum product, so it is recyclable. However, recyclers’ unit of measurement is tonnage. Styrofoam is undesirable due to its light weight. Our densifier compacts the material 60–1 producing a solid brick that is now usable for items like park benches, clothes hangers, and insulation board. We accept clean Styrofoam from the residences in the areas we serve for free.
How do you navigate the balance between economic growth and environmental preservation in your sustainability strategies?
It’s tough and the reason our competitors are not pursuing this activity, particularly on this scale. It is also what sets us apart from our competitors that we promise rapid, responsible reclamation of the customer’s space and that we will make every effort to return usable items to the community through donation, repurpose/reuse and/or recycling.
What emerging technologies or innovations do you believe hold the most promise for advancing sustainability and why?
Media of all types has the power to reach a broad audience with information. When people of all walks tour our facility, they all say, “I had no idea”. Local trash collection companies post how to prepare recyclable items for collection on the bins they provide. Most people have never read the sticker on the tub they carry to the curb each week. Recyclers do not have the manpower to wipe every jar clean or remove lids, labels, etc. so that materials are not mixed. This is why people get discouraging news that the items separated are not actually recycled. If everyone takes a few minutes to learn to prepare the items for recycling, the efforts will produce great differences.
Recycling is a science and will soon find ways to use garbage as fuel, plastics as handbags and clothing and so much more. Every day, there are advances in the field and one more thing has been added to the list of recyclables.
Media has the power to make recycling desirable and popular.
Based on your research or experience, can you please share your “5 Top Strategies for a Cleaner Planet”?
1 . Food waste: Everyone eats and almost everyone is complaining about the high cost of food. Wasted food contributes 11% of the world’s total greenhouse gas. 80% of Americans throw away perfectly good food because they are confused about expiration dates. Homes contribute 43% of wasted food; 40% comes from restaurants and grocery stores. Plan your meals, take what you can eat and eat what you take. Store food carefully and use leftovers wherever possible.
Recently, we retrieved 65,000 lbs. of cat food. Everyone reached out to animal shelters, rescuers, and people with pets until every box was claimed.
2 . Never litter. Littering is irresponsible and wrong on so many levels. The least amount of time it takes for common litter to decompose is 2 weeks (that’s an orange peel). Other common litter such as snack bags and cigarette butts are 10 years. Diapers and wet wipes are 100 years, plastics range from 10–1,000 and Styrofoam is NEVER.
3 . Recycle the Recyclables: Wipe the food from the jars and rinse the bottles. Separate the lids, even if they are the same material. Be aware and look for ways to recycle, reuse and repurpose items. Buy the best you can afford and then take care of it. Teach the value of caring for our Earth to the children. They inherit what we leave.
4 . Look at the big picture. Electric cars don’t produce emissions, but the production of electricity does. E-waste such as batteries and computers are very difficult to recycle. Ask yourself, do you need a computer to tell you whether there’s milk in the refrigerator? This added technology could be the reason the refrigerator ends up in the landfill sooner than its real-life expectancy.
5 . Look to our parents and grandparents. They are the original recyclers. They did not use paper napkins or plastic utensils. They washed dishes, utensils, and drinkware. They used and reused items until they were worn out. Be mindful when making purchases about the containers they come in. Are they recyclable? Are they made from recycled materials. Support the recyclers by buying their products.
In your view, what are the key steps individuals, communities, and governments need to take to achieve a more sustainable future?
- As with all issues, if you see something, say something. If litter has been gathered at a bus stop (for example), call the bus company or the city and point out the issue. If the situation continues, continue to call.
- It’s important to reward good behavior by applauding it on all levels. In most cases, it’s individuals who have decided to either act responsibly or not. It’s the community that suffers when they are irresponsible. The community benefits when things are clean. Others are less likely to litter if there’s no other litter or the area is landscaped.
- Government and authorities get involved when clean-up is required. This makes the act expensive for everyone. Governments can provide resources to communities who are looking to clean up.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
For the most part, that’s what we do every day at Junk King Cincinnati. Partnered with our employees, our customers, our non-profit organizations, and recyclers, we are doing our best to be responsible with the items we collect from a home, business, or property. Through media, trade shows, community events and our everyday lives, we share our story and make more people aware of the impact we all have. If everyone does their part, the effect will be monumental.
What is the best way for our readers to continue to follow your work online?
- On our social media below and website www.junk-king.com/cincinnati
- X/Twitter: cincinnatijunk
- Facebook: Junk King Cincinnati
- Instagram: cincinnati_junkking
- Linkedin: Junk King Cincinnati
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent on this. We wish you only continued success.
About the Interviewer: Wanda Malhotra is a wellness entrepreneur, lifestyle journalist, and the CEO of Crunchy Mama Box, a mission-driven platform promoting conscious living. CMB empowers individuals with educational resources and vetted products to help them make informed choices. Passionate about social causes like environmental preservation and animal welfare, Wanda writes about clean beauty, wellness, nutrition, social impact and sustainability, simplifying wellness with curated resources. Join Wanda and the Crunchy Mama Box community in embracing a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle at CrunchyMamaBox.com.
The Future Is Green: Jack Brendamour Of Junk King On Their Top Strategies for a Cleaner Planet was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.