Teenagers Made Millions by Removing Waste: Why This Market Continues to Grow

While some teenagers dream of becoming bloggers or launching AI startups, others are building multimillion-dollar companies by doing what most people consider ordinary rubbish. Several stories from the United States show that waste removal and even washing garbage bins can become the starting point for a genuine business empire.

The most striking example is Massachusetts brothers Kirk and Jacob McKinney. It all began in 2021, when Kirk, riding his bicycle, found working speakers at a landfill. He started looking for and repairing discarded equipment, selling it through Facebook Marketplace. Later, the teenager met people who were involved in junk removal and realized that he could make money doing it independently. Together with his younger brother, they bought an old Ford F-150 for $4,000 and began taking their first orders to remove unwanted items.

The first orders brought in only about $100, but the brothers reinvested virtually all of their profits into the business. Within a year, they had purchased their first dump truck, worth about $80,000, which enabled them to take on larger projects. Then came a second dump truck, a warehouse, new employees and their own waste-sorting system. Today, Junk Teens operates in several regions of the United States, has a fleet of several trucks, completes thousands of orders every year and employs around 25 people. In 2025, its revenue exceeded $3 million, while net profit amounted to more than $686,000. For 2026, the entrepreneurs expect to surpass $5 million in revenue.

Equally unusual is the story of an 11-year-old American schoolboy who spotted another untapped niche. He began offering his neighbors professional garbage-bin cleaning for just $10. It turned out that many people were willing to pay to have their bins rid of dirt, unpleasant odors and bacteria. Videos of the cleaning process quickly went viral, collecting hundreds of thousands of views, while the young entrepreneur’s accounts gained more than 100,000 followers. Thanks to his popularity on social media, a small side job turned into a full-fledged business.

Projects like these are becoming increasingly sought after. According to industry experts, the waste removal and recycling market grows every year, and demand is rising along with it for related services — sorting, recycling, cleaning waste-collection areas and sanitizing garbage bins. At the same time, the barrier to entry in this business remains relatively low: a vehicle, basic equipment and a willingness to work are enough.

Interestingly, successful junk-removal companies earn money from more than just the service itself. Many items are given a second life: furniture, household appliances, tools and electronics are repaired and resold or donated to charitable organizations. This approach both generates additional income and reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills.

This topic is also becoming relevant in Northern Cyprus, where active construction, population growth and an increasing tourist flow generate thousands of tons of construction and household waste every year. Services for removing bulky junk after renovations, clearing plots and cleaning properties are particularly in demand. So far, this market is significantly less developed here than in the United States, leaving the niche relatively open. Against the backdrop of growing attention to environmental issues and waste recycling, such projects could become a promising area for local entrepreneurs as well.

The stories of these American teenagers prove one simple thing: big money is not always hidden in high technology. Sometimes all it takes is seeing an opportunity where everyone else sees nothing but rubbish.