How a P.E.I. man is cleaning grimy waste bins — one cart at a time

Shaun Laybolt from Morell, P.E.I., is back home from the slumping Alberta oil patch right where he wants to be — washing waste bins for a living.

The Island's Waste Watch program began in 2002 and many of the 150,000 compost and waste carts across the Island are filthy.

"Never, ever had them cleaned before," said Laybolt, as he sprays soapy water into a client's grimy green compost bin in a Charlottetown suburb.

For 15 years, Laybolt drove a vacuum truck in Fort McMurray, Alta., doing site maintenance and cleaning up spills.

While he said the pay was great, he was away from his girlfriend and their two daughters for 20 days at a stretch, with 10 days at home.

'Missed the summers'

Laybolt missed many birthdays and schools concerts.

"I missed Christmas for seven years in a row," Laybolt said. "Missed the summers. You'd come home and wouldn't want to leave."

He finally made the decision to leave Alberta in May — his industry never really recovered after the economic slump that hit the province in 2015 and '16 .

But he still loved to clean, so decided to pursue an idea that had been in the back of his mind for a while.

"It was just bugging me so much to want to do this," he said.

'Change the way P.E.I. is with their dirty bins'

Laybolt got the idea to clean carts after dragging his own bin to the curb one day.

"It was just filthy and it smelled bad and I thought we'll give it a try, and change the way P.E.I. is with their dirty bins," he said.

After finding few companies on P.E.I. that offered cart-cleaning services, Laybolt decided to act.

He looked at how mobile cart-cleaning companies in the U.S. built their systems, then designed and built his own.

"I used equipment I found as local as I could," said Laybolt. "The pressure washer is from Sussex, N.B., the tanks from Souris, P.E.I., and the metal from Cardigan."

He even built equipment that lifts the bins, from scratch.

"I knew what it had to do and made it out of wood at first, to get the final design that actually worked."

He received $25,000 from ACOA, and invested about $5,000 of his own money — Top Notch Bin Cleaning was ready to roll.

'Maggots are pretty bad'

Laybolt has been in business only five or six weeks, but he's already smelled a lot of green bins and seen a lot of crawling things he'd rather forget.

"The maggots are pretty bad," he said. "When I'm finished with them, there's no more maggots, no more smell."

Those words were exactly what homeowner Robert Mitchell wanted to hear as Laybolt buffed up his bin.

"We, like every other Islander, experience all the problems of the summer when you're out in the backyard," Mitchell said.

"The bugs are around and the hornets are around, so today we're here giving it the inaugural test."

First Laybolt sprays detergent in the bin, then it's lifted onto the truck and placed upside down on a spinning nozzle that shoots out steaming-hot water.

"It helps out with the germs and everything that's in it," he said of the 90 C water.

'Cut down on the water'

The process uses about 40 litres of water to clean a crusty cart for the first time. It takes about half that amount for a bin is cleaned regularly.

"I am getting better at cleaning the bins and finding ways to cut down on the water," Laybolt said.

Laybolt did consider a system the reuses water, but the manufacturer advised him not to use it in his operation.

"They said there is too much bacteria in the waste water, that you will just end up contaminating other bins."

'Extra care to our world'

The dirty water is held in a big tank on the truck and then driven to the waste treatment plant in Charlottetown, ensuring dirty residue doesn't end up on a customer's driveway.

"I'd be making a mess of everybody's yard," he said. "You'd still probably get maggots or animals coming down beside your bin."

The attention to prevent dirty water and garbage from ending up on the ground is a great thing, according to Island Waste Management Corporation, which oversees P.E.I.'s Waste Watch program.

'"The fact that he's taking care to prevent anything like that from happening is just extra care to our world," said Marie Surkan, manager of public relations with IWMC. "Like little pieces of plastic or glass that an animal might come in contact with."

The final step for Laybolt is to scrub any stubborn spots on the bottom of the bin with a bristled mop.

'Looks brand new'

The entire job takes about 15 minutes. A curious Mitchell pokes his head in to inspect his clean cart.

"Looks brand new to me," Mitchell said. "That'll take care of the smell and the bugs."

Laybolt charges $25 to clean a compost bin once, while monthly customers are charged $15 because the bins aren't as dirty when cleaned regularly. He charges $8 per black waste bin.

Mitchell said he is happy to pay.

"I like this 'go the extra mile' stuff. Scrubbing, brushing on the bottom. It shows solid workmanship."

"It feels good to see it clean again for them," Laybolt said.

Laybolt is hoping that thanks to his cart cleaning business, Islanders will no longer have to hide their carts.

"Everybody can just take their bins back instead of having them a mile away."

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