As a multi-generational refuse company, J&M Sanitation鈥檚 primary goals are to stay ahead of the game by focusing on hands-on leadership, creating training opportunities, forecasting industry trends, and transitioning to an all-electric fleet.
Tim and Belinda Gordon bought J&M Sanitation in idaho in 1986. At the time, Tim was working in retail, and Belinda was working as a part-time office manager. However, they both wanted an opportunity to spend more time with family and decided to take the jump into the waste industry. When they purchased the business, it came with two trucks that were single-axle rear loaders and serviced approximately 450 customers. Tim ran routes three days per week and did the bookkeeping the other two days. Today, the company has grown to 18 employees running 34 pieces of equipment, including rear loaders, side loaders, front loaders, roll-off trucks, transfer trailers, yard dumpsters, and more. They also have at least one backup truck for each of the ones they run.
J&M Sanitation provides all the residential refuse and recycling services as well as all commercial front load and roll-off services for the City of Kuna, and City of Melba, and part of unincorporated Canyon County through franchise agreements, which totals about 15,000 customers. They also operate a vehicle-to-vehicle transfer station for their collection vehicles, where waste is unloaded onto their semis for transport to the landfill. Currently run by Tim and Belinda鈥檚 oldest son Chad Gordon, General Manager, and their middle son Todd Gordon, Office Manager, both boys have grown up working in the family company for more than 35 years.
Chad now has three sons of his own and his middle son drives trucks for J&M Sanitation, his oldest son works for the in-laws, and his youngest son works for one of the waste industry trailer manufacturers. While Chad says his dad is semi-retired, he still likes to be involved in the business, especially in financial matters and any major decisions. 鈥淲hen he comes in, we always discuss how things are running and make sure that we鈥檙e all on board with daily operations. Todd is in charge of our office and I handle the rest of the operations. Dad likes to be here and see what鈥檚 going on. He is passionate about the businesses, our employees, and equipment. He is always trying to think of the next investment.鈥�
Staying Ahead
Over the last few years, Chad points out that labor and supply shortages have had major impacts on the business. 鈥淔inding quality employees that have the skill set needed to perform the job is getting more difficult. Parts have become more expensive and take longer to get.鈥� He explains that the good thing about the way they are set up in their area is that all their contracts are franchised, which means nobody else can come in and service their area. 鈥淩ather than trying to add contracts for thousands of additional customers, our goal has really been to maintain the ones we have to the highest level possible since we are competing against larger haulers. That said, our growth has been at a manageable pace, and I can forecast pretty well when we鈥檙e going to need to hire or invest in equipment, so I can stay ahead of that curve.鈥�
Although, employee turnover is a challenge, Chad points out that they treat their employees really well and that helps with retention鈥攖hey have employees that have worked at the company for 13+ years. Not only do they focus on paying a good wage, but they also cover 100 percent medical benefits for employees and their family members. The company also provides up to three weeks paid vacation and corporate bonuses. 鈥淲e try to make it feel like a family here. We have a great crew who understands our goal and vision. I have daily contact with our employees, and they know they can come straight to me with any issues or concerns, and we鈥檒l work through it. We also treat our customers with the utmost respect and provide them with quality service. The key is that our guys take a lot of pride in what they do. They know their customers and who they need to give a hand to occasionally. In fact, my son just recently had a customer who is an older lady, and her trash cans are out every single week. However, this particular week, they were not out, so he got concerned and knocked on her door to check on her. When you have a driver that takes pride in his route, he makes those connections with customers and, in turn, it results in a higher quality service.鈥�
Chad finds that when they are on a search for new hires that word of mouth is most effective. Especially now with the advent of social media, they use their Facebook page and website to their advantage. They have had many people recommend J&M Sanitation as a great place to work. In addition, they post job openings on Indeed. 鈥淭here is a lot of competition to find quality employees and we make it a point to explain during the interview process about our benefits packages鈥攖he health care aspect is huge.鈥� He stresses that as a country we really need to understand that not everybody is college bound, so we should focus on skilled labor trades as well. 鈥淵ou can take some guys out of industries skilled in a particular labor and get them interested in different fields whether it is construction workers, mechanics, or drivers. Unfortunately, the federal requirements for getting a CDL license were changed a few years ago. Now it costs individuals between $5,000 and $8,000. Before I could hire a guy that didn鈥檛 have CDL and have one of my senior drivers walking him through the training, study the literature, and pay for the driving test. I could train him the way I wanted him trained and he would make a great employee. Now, it is a long process and much more expensive. In addition, once they get the CDL, there is no guarantee they are going to stay with the company. It makes things a little more difficult, but we need truck drivers out there. At the end of the day, we want to get these guys in and trained.鈥�
Going Electric
Chad says that several years ago they started actively looking at switching their fleet to electric vehicles and what the industry had to offer, which meant spending a lot of time going through major truck manufacturers at Waste Expo and other big events. They ended up meeting a salesman from BYD, a truck manufacturer that has been in the electric vehicle market for some time and was actively producing Class 8 fully electric chassis. While Chad was interested in starting the transition process, he was concerned about the cost. However, it was brought to his attention that the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) began the process of awarding the Volkswagen funds. 鈥淚n 2016, Volkswagen was sued by the federal government for deceiving consumers about the emissions of its diesel vehicles. After the lawsuit was settled the funds were distributed amongst the states. The states were instructed to figure out how they wanted to distribute the monies. DEQ did a study and figured out that class 8 diesel trucks were some of the highest polluters within the state of Idaho and opened an application process for vehicles that would use alternative fuels. They were only covering 25 percent of funding in the beginning and that was to take an older diesel technology truck off the road and scrap it in exchange for a new technology vehicle. Then, they would give you 25 percent of funding towards your new vehicle.鈥� Chad knew that was going to be hard for anyone to apply at only a 25 coverage of price, so he wrote a letter to DEQ and explained that electric technology is extremely expensive, and that they might want to think about increasing funding for these types of projects. The DEQ answered back positively and changed the funding to 45 percent coverage if you are going from older diesel technology to electric vehicles, specifically. That also included the infrastructure.
Chad says that the first two trucks that were purchased had 295 kilowatts of battery capacity, and the two newest trucks will have 405 kilowatts of battery capacity. The big jump in power is what has allowed them to use the trucks for their larger residential trash and curbside recycling routes since they can travel a greater distance. 鈥淲e applied for funding to cover the purchase of three fully electric side load trucks. We were awarded the funding for our project and began the process of ordering two of the four trucks. We received the first two trucks four years ago and have had them in service this whole time. As of August 2024 we received our third and fourth fully electric trucks and put them into service,鈥� he proudly explains. 鈥淲e are the first city in the U.S. to have all our residential trash and recycling picked up by 100 percent electric vehicles. Our trucks are collecting approximately 800 homes a day, traveling between 35 and 50 miles per day, with between 1,000 to 1,400 lifts of the arm, two to three loads a day and returning to the yard with between 20 to 40 percent state of charge at the end of the day. Our local power provider, Idaho Power, helped to design the charging infrastructure and at the time, they had a rebate program, so I upgraded our transformer to 750 kW and while it cost about $40,000, they gave me a rebate for $35,000. Since then, Idaho Power has also done a great job of keeping our power rates low and produces close to 85 percent of their power from renewable resources, either hydro-electric, wind, or solar with a goal to be 100 percent renewable by 2045.鈥�
This allows us to charge each electric truck for about $25 a day in comparison to their diesel trucks that cost about $190 a day to fuel. In addition, the trucks came with an excellent warranty. 鈥淲ith eight years on the batteries, five years on the chassis, and two years on everything else, this has helped to keep our maintenance costs extremely low. In addition to the warranty, our techs do not have to do the same maintenance that we would on a traditional diesel truck (oil changes, fluids and filters). In the four years that we have been running the first two trucks, we have never had to change the brakes on the trucks due to the regenerative braking and newer brake technology. Our drivers love the fact that they are not having to deal with the noise, vibration, and fumes that are associated with a traditional diesel truck. Our only complaint has been that the customers cannot hear the truck coming down the road to pull their trash out at the last minute for collection!鈥� laughs Chad. Overall, J&M Sanitation has seen a lot of success with the implementation of these trucks into their fleet as well as the positive environmental impacts to their community. 鈥淔rom day one we鈥檝e had a lot of success with them. The fact that we operate within a six-mile radius of our yard and that it is a relatively flat area, we are seeing eight to 10 hours鈥� worth of work time. The trucks charge overnight, the guys get in about 6:30 in the morning and fire the trucks up. They are usually done by between 1:00 and 3:00. It鈥檚 just been great.鈥�
Safety and Community Outreach
With regards to safety, Chad says that they have quarterly meetings with their employees. Since he worked in other industries before coming back to waste, he had other perspectives from different jobs, and he learned what type of manager he would like to be. He likes to spend time observing and making sure things are being handled safely. 鈥淢y focus is to have one-on-one conversations with people about any concerns. If I see something that doesn鈥檛 look right, I鈥檒l pull the guy aside and just say hey, let me explain to you why I feel like this is a concern and here鈥檚 what we need to do to change it. All the guys really are receptive because they鈥檙e not constantly looking over their shoulders thinking they鈥檙e going to be let go.鈥� Another tool to help follow safety protocol is the implementation of 3rd Eye Camera Systems on all of J&M Sanitation鈥檚 frontline trucks, so Chad can see where the drivers are throughout the day. They also provide a thorough report and send alerts when something of concern is seen. He says 3rd Eye has a team of people that go through everything daily and send him videos to review. 鈥淲e use that as a tool to coach them. We鈥檙e all being hired as commercial professionals, and I expect our employees to behave that way. I just want you to come and talk to me about any situation and we can work through how to fix it. We strive to have open communication with our employees. When I hire someone, there are three things I tell him: 1) I want the general public to go home safe, 2) I want our employees to go home safe, and 3) I want our equipment to come back to the yard intact,鈥� Chad explains. 鈥淔or every concerning thing that somebody does, it is just a training opportunity for the whole team. And they really take a lot of pride in what they do.鈥�
That also translates to supporting the community in various ways. Chad鈥檚 parents are huge supporters of the Boys and Girls Club, and they are very involved in donating to and sponsoring anytime there is an event that needs cleanup services. Because they are close to a desert area, a lot of groups like to go out there and have a good time, but they leave their trash. 鈥淚 always donate roll-off boxes to any events and try to help out where we can. If it wasn鈥檛 for the community, we would not have a company, so giving back in any way, shape or form that we can is very important for us. J&M Sanitation also partners in annual cleanup events where people can put out a pickup truck load worth of stuff, including bulky items, at the curb and they will pick it up at no charge. 鈥淲e have a drop site here where we collect TVs, tires, refrigerators, haz-waste, etc. It鈥檚 always a good day when we do a Saturday collection event. All the employees come in, and we have a lot of volunteers who help us out. It has grown so much that we transitioned from covering the whole city in one day to spreading the event out over a two-week period.鈥�
J&M Sanitation also likes going to schools and educating kids as well as inviting them in for tours of the site. Many times, especially with school programs, they will put one of the electric trucks on display and do a demonstration. The company also gets requests to show off the trucks or to drive by a kid鈥檚 house on his or her birthday and stop and say hello. 鈥淭he drivers love seeing the kids. I tell them to be cautious if they do. Kids love garbage trucks, but make sure you set your parking brake, go out and talk to them for a minute and educate them on safety and staying back far enough. In the wintertime, one of my drivers who knows he has kids on his route, goes out and buys a handful of toys, usually garbage trucks, and stops to hand them out. It鈥檚 just a great group of guys and they all love being part of this community,鈥� says Chad. 鈥淚 feel like there鈥檚 not many industries out there where it doesn鈥檛 matter if there鈥檚 a downturn in the economy, pandemic, etc. and your business will not go backwards. During COVID, my wife who owns a hair salon had to close down for almost three months, but our guys worked every single day following set safety protocols. Overall, we have great response from our customers. I think that COVID did change the perspective of this industry, showing that it is just as important as some of the other essential ones. People have appreciated us a lot more.鈥�
Looking Forward
Not only is J&M Sanitation working towards making their entire fleet 100 percent electric, but they are also in the process of installing solar panels that will create enough energy to power the current four electric trucks. 鈥淭hrough some USDA grants we received, we are planning to install 10 solar panel arrays at our facility in order to offset charging the electric trucks. Although a couple of hurdles popped up, we have most of the equipment here on site and they should be starting to install the panels soon. So, we should be up and running within the next three months.鈥�
He continues, 鈥淚n our communities here just outside of Boise, this whole area has just been growing like crazy. We have a new Facebook data center that鈥檚 coming in within our service area and that鈥檚 been a huge increase for us. This means more customers, more restaurants, and so on. I look back and I can鈥檛 believe I have been running J&M Sanitation for 25 years now. It is awesome to be a part of a company where everybody appreciates what we do.鈥� | WA
For more information, contact Chad Gordon at (208) 922-3313 or e-mail [email protected].