For most people, dealing with unwanted household junk is a headache. For Dave Steinman, it’s a living.

“I’ve always had the entrepreneurial bug and a fascination with junk and the whole notion of upcycling, repurposing, keeping things out of the landfill,” Steinman said from his tiny office tucked away in a consignment store.

The walls are lined with items and artifacts Steinman has gathered from his junk-hauling business. He gestures toward a large black canister behind the open door that he says is a military practice bomb from the 1950s.

“It’s been here for a long time. If it hasn’t gone off yet ...” he said trailing off, then laughed.

From left: McKinney resident Fletcher Kelley, Dallas resident Max Zimmer and Plano resident Edgar Cisneros are local students Steinman has recruited to work for his junk-hauling business.[/caption]

Cisneros (center) transports a bag of items to the company truck’s rear storage area to make room for an upcoming job.[/caption]

Steinman owns the local franchise of College Hunks Hauling Junk, which picks up unwanted furniture and other household items and disposes of them by recycling them, donating them or transporting them to the landfill.

Steinman recruits college-age employees—mostly from Collin College and the University of Texas at Dallas.

His business often serves clients during emotional moments in their lives—some are preparing to move from a longtime home, or dealing with the aftermath of a death in the family, he said.

The company partners with local nonprofits, such as A Christian Food Pantry in Plano, which acquires furniture and other items from College Hunks, sells them and uses the money to purchase food at a discount from a local food bank.

After spending more than three decades in the corporate world, primarily in airline hospitality and travel technology, Steinman said a series of layoffs after 9/11 drove him to the junk business in 2010.

The interest in junk runs in his family. Steinman’s grandfather, an immigrant from Russia, once operated a junkyard in Hartford, Connecticut. Steinman’s father worked there, too, he said.

“We find all kinds of interesting things here,” he said. “What people throw away would just amaze you sometimes.”