Junk Removal Crew Job Day Checklist

Junk removal is a business where the crew makes the margin. The price is set by volume before the truck arrives, and everything after that, how fast the load goes in, whether the property gets damaged, and how efficiently the disposal run is handled, decides whether the job was profitable.

It is also a business with real physical risk. Crews lift heavy, awkward objects down stairs all day, and they encounter materials nobody warned them about: paint, chemicals, sharps, and occasionally things that require a different phone call entirely.

Before the Route

• Confirm the day's jobs, addresses, and time windows
• Review the scope and estimated volume for each job
• Review any notes about stairs, elevators, and access
• Confirm crew assignments and truck assignments
• Confirm the disposal facility hours and accepted materials
• Confirm the donation partner's hours and accepted items
• Confirm the recycling facility for metals and electronics
• Plan the route to include disposal runs before capacity is reached

Planning the disposal stop into the route is what prevents the third job of the day being performed with a full truck.

Truck Preparation

• Complete the pre-trip inspection
• Confirm the truck bed is empty and clean
• Confirm the lift gate operates through full range
• Confirm ramps, dollies, and hand trucks are on board
• Confirm straps, moving blankets, and floor protection
• Confirm tools: pry bars, sledge, cordless tools for disassembly
• Confirm PPE: gloves, eye protection, steel-toe boots, dust masks
• Confirm brooms, shovels, and cleanup supplies
• Confirm the tablet or phone for photos and invoicing
• Confirm the payment system works

Arrival and Estimate

• Arrive within the window and call ahead
• Introduce the crew and confirm the customer's name
• Walk the entire job with the customer
• Confirm exactly what is going and what is staying
• Confirm anything that looks valuable is genuinely being discarded
• Identify any item requiring special handling
• Identify access constraints: stairs, narrow doors, elevators, parking
• Photograph the pre-existing condition of walls, floors, and doorways
• Estimate the volume and present the price
• Obtain agreement on the price before starting
• Confirm the payment method

Confirming what stays is the item that saves the most grief. Crews have removed the wrong item from a garage more than once, and the item is gone by the time anyone notices.

Hazardous and Restricted Materials

Some items cannot go in the truck, and the crew has to know which before they lift them.

• Identify paint, solvents, and chemicals
• Identify propane tanks, fuel containers, and pressurized cylinders
• Identify batteries, including vehicle and lithium batteries
• Identify electronics requiring specific recycling
• Identify appliances containing refrigerant
• Identify anything containing asbestos or suspected of it
• Identify medical waste, sharps, and biohazards
• Identify tires, which most landfills restrict
• Explain to the customer what cannot be taken and why
• Provide disposal options for the excluded items

Suspected asbestos stops the job for that item. Old floor tile, pipe insulation, and popcorn ceiling material are not for a junk crew to disturb.

Site Protection

• Lay floor protection on the removal path
• Protect door frames and corners at tight turns
• Protect banisters and stair edges
• Protect the driveway where equipment will be staged
• Confirm the truck is positioned without blocking neighbors
• Confirm the path is clear of trip hazards
• Confirm pets and children are away from the work path

Door frames and stair corners are where damage happens. Ten dollars of corner protection prevents a drywall repair.

Safe Lifting

• Assess every item before lifting it
• Use two people for anything heavy or awkward
• Use a dolly or appliance hand truck rather than carrying
• Disassemble large items where it makes them manageable
• Never carry an item down stairs backward without a spotter
• Communicate clearly on every lift
• Take breaks and rotate on heavy jobs
• Stay hydrated, especially in heat

Back injuries end careers in this trade. The dolly is faster than the injury and slower than the shortcut, and the shortcut is what costs the business.

Loading

• Load heaviest items first and lowest
• Distribute weight evenly across the bed
• Break down and compact where possible to maximize volume
• Separate metals and electronics for recycling as you load
• Separate donatable items and keep them undamaged
• Secure the load before any movement of the truck
• Confirm nothing can shift or fall during transport
• Confirm the tailgate and any restraints are secured

Separating at the point of loading is what makes recycling and donation practical. Sorting a mixed load at the facility never happens.

Sorting for Diversion

• Set aside furniture and household goods in usable condition
• Set aside appliances for metal recycling or refurbishment
• Set aside electronics for certified e-waste recycling
• Set aside metal for scrap
• Set aside cardboard and clean recyclables
• Record diverted volume for reporting and marketing

Diversion rate is a genuine selling point and it also lowers disposal cost. Scrap metal often pays for the fuel on the route.

Cleanup

• Sweep the entire work area
• Remove any debris created during removal
• Remove floor and corner protection
• Confirm nothing was damaged during the job
• Confirm no item that was meant to stay was taken
• Photograph the cleared space
• Walk the completed area with the customer

The photograph of the cleared space is the before-and-after that sells the next job. Ask permission to use it.

Closing the Job

• Confirm the final price against the actual volume
• Explain any change from the estimate before invoicing
• Present the invoice and collect payment
• Provide a receipt
• Explain where the items are going, including donation and recycling
• Ask for a review and provide the link
• Complete the job record with photos and notes

Disposal Run

• Confirm the facility accepts everything in the load
• Weigh in and record the ticket
• Sort at the facility per its requirements
• Deliver donations to the partner and obtain the receipt
• Deliver recyclables to the correct facility
• Record all tipping fees and scrap proceeds against the job
• Retain all disposal documentation

Tipping fees recorded against the job are what tell you whether your pricing model works. A job that was priced well and disposed of expensively was not profitable, and only the ticket shows it.

End of Day

• Empty and sweep the truck
• Complete the post-trip inspection
• Refuel
• Report any equipment or vehicle issue
• Complete all job records and invoices
• Reconcile payments
• Confirm tomorrow's route and any special requirements

How MyTeamTasks Helps

An owner running three trucks cannot confirm from the office that the customer walkthrough happened before loading started or that the disposal ticket was recorded against the right job. A shared task system runs the job checklist on each crew lead's phone, requires the before-and-after photos and the customer's price agreement before loading begins, and captures the disposal ticket at the facility. The owner sees actual disposal cost per job against the price quoted, which is the number that decides whether the pricing is right.