1 800 Got Junk?

Couple Get Help With Dumped Junk

By NICOLA M. WHITE The Tampa Tribune Published: Nov 30, 2006

Susan Sweeney knows the front of her periwinkle-colored, double-wide home could use a good blast of the pressure washer. She knows her overgrown garden hasn't seen a rose blossom in years. But she wasn't prepared when, in the night, someone mistook her half-acre property on Angus Valley Road as a dumping ground for a dirty queen-size mattress, an old barbecue grill and two faded wingback chairs. She made the discovery Thanksgiving afternoon, the first time since Easter that her bedridden husband, Jim, had left the house for an outing that wasn't medical-related.They were angry and humiliated. They wondered: Who would do this? And then: How would they move this stuff? "I truly am disabled. I can't even walk to the mailbox sometimes," Sweeney, 55, said. Her husband, Jim, 58, has diabetes and had open-heart surgery in 2000. Since then, his left leg is so swollen that it must remain elevated. Susan Sweeney suffers from fibromyalgia, a chronic musculoskeletal illness that sometimes cripples her with pain and fatigue. Neither works. Hard physical labor is out of the question for them, and they live on a fixed income. A Canadian company with a new office in Lutz came to the rescue.

Matthew Eckman, the local franchise owner of 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, decided that since the Sweeneys were victims of a crime and had extenuating circumstances, his company would remove the trash at no cost. While on the job Monday afternoon, he and workers Bill Peterson and David Stuart also took a large branch off the Sweeneys' roof and cleared other branches in front of the mobile home. The job would have cost about $135, a sum the Sweeneys could not have afforded. Unfortunately, Eckman said, this isn't the first time he has seen bulk trash thrown on other peoples' property. Property owners "have to use their own money to clean it up," he said. "We've cleaned up three or four yards. A lot of times it's mattresses, which are probably the lightest things to throw away." Skip directly to the full story.

The crew from 1 800 Got Junk, Matthew Eckman, Rayce Eckman, Sydney Eckman, Juli Eckman, Brayden Eckman, Paul Stuart and Robin Miller picked up loads in several locations including Land O’Lakes, Wesley Chapel, Zephyrhills and Dade City. Photos of this events by Anthony V. Masella Jr
1-800-GOT-JUNK? Lightens the load for Pasco County residents and businesses!
Matthew & Juli Eckman are Lutz residents who are trading in a career in Pharmaceutical Research and Development for a different industry – junk removal. In August 2006, Matthew & Juli opened 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, a fast-growing junk removal service looking to turn one person's trash into another person's treasure. Matthew & Juli’s business services most of Pasco county, New Tampa, and Springhill, so far they’ve found some pretty weird junk in the New Port Richey area! 1-800-GOT-JUNK? is a full service junk removal company that hauls away anything two people can lift, that is not environmentally hazardous. Bulk items, such as old furniture, renovation debris, and backyard mess are typical examples. Up to 75-percent of the junk removed is either recycled or donated to local charities, effectively reducing the amount of junk dumped in landfills. The concept for service is simple – friendly, uniformed drivers offer a high level of service, calling ahead and arriving on schedule. They ensure satisfaction by removing junk from where it’s located (not the curb) and cleaning up the entire site afterward. Then they call to thank you for your business afterward! In an era where ‘less is more’ and ‘simplifying lives’ is so popular, dependable junk removal is a valuable service residents and businesses can’t do without. 1-800-GOT-JUNK? has also thrashed the image of junk removal as ‘low tech.’ One central call centre handles all calls and efficiently sends scheduled jobs and estimates directly to the driver’s truck cell phones. “We’re excited to get going and start making people’s lives a little easier in this area. It sounds like a strange industry, but it’s amazing what a difference we can make in someone’s peace of mind,” says Matthew. 1-800-GOT-JUNK? is the World’s largest junk removal service. 1-800-GOT-JUNK? was started in 1989 by CEO Brian Scudamore. After dropping out of high school, Brian invested his $700 of savings on a beat-up truck and started hauling junk. Since that time 1-800-GOT-JUNK? has hauled over 75,000 tons of junk, including a lot of weird junk. The company has picked up things such as 18,000 cans of expired sardines, a stuffed polar bear head, half a truck load of yo-yo strings without the yo-yos, elephant tusks, half a human skeleton, sunken boats, and antique rifles. The question remains….What other strange junk can be found in Pasco county?
Couple Get Help With Dumped Junk By NICOLA M. WHITE The Tampa Tribune Published: Nov 30, 2006 Susan Sweeney knows the front of her periwinkle-colored, double-wide home could use a good blast of the pressure washer. She knows her overgrown garden hasn't seen a rose blossom in years. But she wasn't prepared when, in the night, someone mistook her half-acre property on Angus Valley Road as a dumping ground for a dirty queen-size mattress, an old barbecue grill and two faded wingback chairs. She made the discovery Thanksgiving afternoon, the first time since Easter that her bedridden husband, Jim, had left the house for an outing that wasn't medical-related.They were angry and humiliated. They wondered: Who would do this? And then: How would they move this stuff? "I truly am disabled. I can't even walk to the mailbox sometimes," Sweeney, 55, said. Her husband, Jim, 58, has diabetes and had open-heart surgery in 2000. Since then, his left leg is so swollen that it must remain elevated. Susan Sweeney suffers from fibromyalgia, a chronic musculoskeletal illness that sometimes cripples her with pain and fatigue. Neither works. Hard physical labor is out of the question for them, and they live on a fixed income. A Canadian company with a new office in Lutz came to the rescue. Matthew Eckman, the local franchise owner of 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, decided that since the Sweeneys were victims of a crime and had extenuating circumstances, his company would remove the trash at no cost. While on the job Monday afternoon, he and workers Bill Peterson and David Stuart also took a large branch off the Sweeneys' roof and cleared other branches in front of the mobile home. The job would have cost about $135, a sum the Sweeneys could not have afforded. Unfortunately, Eckman said, this isn't the first time he has seen bulk trash thrown on other peoples' property. Property owners "have to use their own money to clean it up," he said. "We've cleaned up three or four yards. A lot of times it's mattresses, which are probably the lightest things to throw away." Skip directly to the full story.

Matthew Eckman			Juli, Rayce and Sydney Eckman
For More Information Please Contact: Matthew & Juli Eckman, Owners (813) 435-3412 or newtampa@1800gotjunk.com www.1800gotjunk.com Watch this TV news piece to learn about what we do.