📪 HH #83: The day my dump shut down
- Justin Hubbard
- Jun 3
- 5 min read
TL;DR – When the dump shuts down, don't panic—pivot.
A hauler I’m helping called in a panic after disposal rates spiked overnight. I told him I’d been there—our dump shut down with zero notice, and it nearly crushed us.
But instead of freezing, I got in the car, showed up in person to a new site, explained the situation, and walked out with a better deal than before.
That move ended up saving us tens of thousands and helped us grow.
The lesson?
✔️ Don’t freeze—move fast
✔️ Show up in person
✔️ Ask respectfully
✔️ Stay humble
✔️ Look for the upside
Stress creates clarity—if you’re willing to lean into it.
I got a call recently from a hauler I’ve been helping out. Solid guy in his late-20s, runs a growing operation. But this time, he wasn’t his usual self—he was rattled.
His local transfer station hiked their rates overnight. No warning, no heads-up. Just a massive increase in disposal costs out of nowhere.
He was freaking out. “What the hell am I supposed to do now?”.
I let him vent for a bit, then told him I knew exactly how he felt—because I’d been there.
A few years back, our main dumping site in Stamford, CT shut down with zero notice.
One day it was business as usual, the next it was “closed until further notice - renovations.”
No backup plan, no alternative lined up. And we were slammed—peak season, truck routes packed, nowhere to go.
I remember that sinking feeling like it was yesterday.
When you run a small operation, stuff like that hits hard. There’s no corporate safety net.
You’ve got employees depending on you, customers expecting service, and money going out whether you’re moving or not.
That night, I barely slept. I kept picturing the worst case scenario of tipping out elsewhere and paying through the nose.
The next morning, I decided to stop panicking and start solving.
I got in my car and drove to a private transfer station a couple towns over. No calls, no emails—I wanted to talk to someone face-to-face. I went in to the office and I found the manager and explained the situation:
“I’m a small business, my city just shut down the dump, and I’ve got nowhere to go. Can you help me out?”
I didn’t go in demanding anything. I just laid it out honestly. I told him what kind of volume we had and asked if there was any way we could work something out.
He listened. We talked numbers.
Their standard tipping fee was higher than what I was paying in Stamford, especially with the extra drive time. But I asked anyway—“If I route my trucks here consistently, can we work out a better rate?”
To my surprise, he said yes. Not only did he agree to a better rate—he beat Stamford’s rate.
Just like that, we had a new dumping site, a better price, and a partner that actually wanted our business.
We shifted all our routes to the new spot. Crisis averted. But it didn’t stop there.
That new deal saved us tens of thousands over the next year.
We used the extra cash to buy more dumpsters, hire better drivers, and reinvest into marketing the business.
What started as a nightmare ended up being one of the best things that happened to us.
I told all of this to the young hauler on the phone. By the end of the call, he wasn’t panicked anymore—he was fired up. He realized that this curveball could be the exact thing that pushes him to level up. He ended up calling around with this same strategy and found a suitable alternative.
Here’s what I learned—and what I passed on to him:
Don’t freeze. When things go sideways, take a breath and get moving. Fast.
Go in person. Emails and calls get ignored. Show up and explain your situation.
Ask. Most people don’t. But if you do it respectfully, you might get exactly what you need. Worst case, they say no. Big deal.
Stay humble. Honesty and humility go further than people realize.
Look for the upside. The thing that screws up your day might just fix your entire year.
No one’s coming to save you. But you can save yourself—if you’re willing to get uncomfortable and go ask for what you need.
Work towards the stress and anxiety, build a plan, and take action!
That’s the hauler’s edge. ✌️
Justin Hubbard
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