HOLLAND — Looking for unique and cost-effective ways to be environment-friendly? A recently launched franchise in Holland and Muskegon — Smash My Trash — aims to be exactly that.

The local Smash branch is owned by Eric VanderVeen.

"It's really a simple business model," he said. "It's a mobile waste compaction company, so we have trucks with a compaction machine mounted on the back and we compress the material inside roll-off dumpsters."

Compaction can reduce dumpster fill by 50 to 70 percent. For businesses that empty dumpsters often, the money saved by fewer removals adds up fast.

"You can usually fit more than twice the amount of material into a single dumpster before it's hauled," VanderVeen said.

"The advantage is creating less haul and generating savings for companies paying for those waste removal services — but it also makes bulky waste items into smaller, broken-up pieces that allow the materials to take up less space in landfills."

That's where sustainability comes in, VanderVeen said.

"It's good for helping companies save money, but it also makes landfills last twice as long," he said.

"The way our services are routed, we can stop at 20 customers in one route, but when dumpsters are being hauled more often than necessary, they have to bring an empty dumpster, drop it off, take the other dumpster to the landfill, then go back to where they came from. That's a lot more emissions."

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For waste removal businesses, Smash is a direct competitor — but for companies with rapid filling dumpsters, VanderVeen said, the investment is a no-brainer.

"You can save money and help the environment," he said. "It's a win-win."

When the franchise launched 10 months ago, business started strong. But after a long winter, VanderVeen is looking for more opportunities to grow.

"We've had a lot of success with the customers we have," he said. "There's usually an investment required for sustainable practices, but in this case, you save right away."

Smash offers free demonstrations and two-week free trials. Learn more at smashmytrash.com.

— Contact reporter Cassandra Lybrink at cassandra.lybrink@hollandsentinel.com. Follow her on Instagram @BizHolland.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Smash My Trash offers sustainability, cost-savings to local businesses