Keeping Myrtle Beach Clean Goes Commercial
by Melissa LaScaleia
The existing clients of GermBustMyBins, the Myrtle Beach based trash and recycle bin-sanitizing company, have often inquired about that company’s capability to clean commercial dumpsters; they were unable to say yes…. Until now!
“We’ve had a lot of requests to clean dumpsters,” says the owner John in an interview with the Insider. “Because of the demand, we’ve added a custom-built system that will clean dumpsters in the same way that we clean residential trash bins.”
For those who haven’t seen the previous Insider articles (March 2017 & June 2018), GermBustMyBins has been servicing the greater Myrtle Beach area since 2016, relieving Grand Strand residents of the noxious odors and disease-causing grime that lurks in the depths of their garbage cans. In our hot climate, it’s an essential sanitation practice, as well as a great way to stay on good terms with your neighbor. They currently provide monthly residential service to over 1200 clients.
Here’s how it works. A truck arrives curbside on the same day that garbage bins are emptied by your trash collection service. The bin is lifted into the truck which acts like a giant dishwasher— spraying your bin with 200 degree pressurized water inside and out, power-cleaning it with three extreme rotating sprayers, and leaving it clean, deodorized, and 99% germ free. The rinse water is retained inside the truck which is properly disposed of utilizing the local water treatment system— unlike the contaminated run-off water of do-it-yourself garbage bin cleaners which works its way down the sewers and pollutes our oceans.
“Dirty bins and receptacles are not only issues for residences,” John says. “It’s arguably a much bigger issue on the commercial side when you consider the private dumpsters that serve the tourist industry at restaurants, hotels, golf courses, and day care centers. This is a huge tourist area. And typically when tourists are here, it’s the hottest part of the year, and these dumpsters are very dirty.
“If you’re on your own with a hose, first of all, who are you going to send to climb into the dumpster and clean that, and secondly, what do you do with all the left-over detergent water and grossness, the accumulated debris at the bottom? For the people who are in charge of these bins, there’s no sustainable option to get them cleaned. There’s an obvious need for this service that we can fill.”
The current protocol is that a business gets to the point where the dumpster is in a desperate state before placing a
call to their trash collector, who eventually replaces it, free of charge. Businesses will receive one new dumpster per year; after that, it can be over $150 per replacement.
“This is an ongoing issue,” says John. “You need to maintain that sanitary state to prevent the accumulation of bacteria, disease, odors, and the wildlife, roaches, and pests that dirty dumpsters attract. But because there’s not a good solution, no one is doing it. It’s not good for the tourist industry. People are going out to eat, and everywhere they go they’re exposed to unsanitary trash receptacles.”
The new GermBustMyBins truck has the capability to lift commercial dumpsters up to 10 cubic yards into it and clean them inside and out.
The company offers options for customers to have monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, or seasonal dumpster cleaning, because the continuity of the service is what holds all the bacteria and night crawlers at bay.
“It’s not just the dumpster,” he says, “it’s the outside, and the dumpster pad around the dumpster. You have critters crawling around there all night long.”
Technicians will clean up any way- ward trash around the dumpster pad that didn’t quite make it into the dumpster. Then they use 200 degree water to kill all the bacteria in that area, and rinse it using the same method.
In addition to their dumpster service, GermBustMyBins also cleans restaurant and hotel compost and trash bins used in food prep areas.
“I think back to my college days when I used to work in the restaurant industry,” says John, “and there aren’t lots of options for a consistent, easy, and sanitary way to get the restaurant trash bin, compost, or recycle bin cleaned. At the end of the night, they typically drag the bins out to the dumpster, hoist it up, and lean it against the side of the dirty dumpster to empty it, then bring it back inside to the food prep area. We service these bins just like any other. And in essence we can provide a more consistent and healthy process for hotels and restaurants and return the bin to a sanitary state.”
GermBustMyBins
Be on the lookout! The new GermBustMyBins truck is green and wrapped in their logo. Flag it down to enroll in commercial or residential service on the spot, or visit our site, call or email info@germbustmybins.com.
Monthly commercial dumpster cleaning from $30-$70/month depending on dumpster size and location. Bi-monthly, quarterly and seasonal programs as well as bulk discounts available. Trash, recycle, and compost bins from $7-8 per service. Call to receive your personalized quote.
Residential service: $8.30 a month to have your bin germ-busted; half price for each successive bin that has trash pick up on the same day; no long-term contract necessary. *GermBustMyBins respectfully requests that solicitors for advertising do not contact them.
