110 degrees magazine - Index

110 degrees magazine - wlinks_may08 - Index

BY ANDREA STUART I BLOOM
OAKLEY’S
ECO-CONSCIOUS
HAULER
When Ben Daughdrill moved to California from Mississippi at the age of 10
he brought with him a passion for environmental clean-up — even if he did
not know it at the time. Living his teen years as an avid dirt bike rider in East
Contra Costa County with parents who were apartment managers, Ben
witnessed copious amounts of trash dumping in the Antioch hills. Upset by
this trend and motivated by how his parents dealt with waste from vacated
tenants, Ben adopted a personal mission to reduce waste by collecting the
debris that many people called “junk” and found ways to reroute it.
The owner of A & D Hauling in Oakley, Ben is fortunate to have made a
career out of his passion. Since the company’s inception in 2001, A & D
Hauling has created a reputation for themselves as one of the Bay Area’s
most reliable and environmentally conscientious hauling companies.
With services that range from appliance recycling and general clean-up,
to demolition, A & D Hauling successfully diverts close to 60% of the
materials that they accumulate. Acting as a portal that diverts waste to
various recycling companies around the Bay Area that they have partnered
with, A & D Hauling is able to properly dispose of recyclable and reusable
materials without having to take much of it to the landfill.
“We don’t dump a lot of the usual materials that people junk. For instance,
tires, electronics, and mattresses can all be broken down into reusable
resources,” says Ben.
However, A & D Hauling was forced to reexamine their business approach
last year. Limping through 2007 with a financial wound—caused largely by
the debilitated real estate market—Ben and his wife, Dawn, began attending
classes through the Small Business Administration (SBA) to reeducate
themselves on the ins and outs of their business; acutely defining their
SINCE THE COMPANY’S INCEPTION IN 2001, A & D
HAULING HAS CREATED A REPUTATION FOR
THEMSELVES AS ONE OF THE BAY AREA’S MOST
RELIABLE AND ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIEN-
TIOUS HAULING COMPANIES.
purpose and implementing effective marketing for their services. Armed
with the right tools, A & D Hauling was determined to find a way to expand
upon their services and offer a solution to the community’s waste problem.
That’s when Envirohaul was born.
A & D Hauling is actually the preface for Envirohaul, a landfill diversion
company. Envirohaul is A & D Hauling’s sister company that redistributes the
waste that A & D Hauling collects. Ben’s long-term goal is to create a convenient
way for East County residents to rid of items that the dump charges for by
building a fully functioning facility where people can drop off recyclable goods.
In the meantime, A & D Hauling and Envirohaul are promoting a healthier
way of living by participating in the statewide e-waste program as state collectors.
They periodically host e-waste events where people can drop off their
unwanted items for free. These events offer an alternative to taking items to
the dump (which charge up to $25 per television and $35 per refrigerator) and
minimize the amount of rubbish that is dumped in our community, which the
cities have to clean up. In addition, A & D Hauling donates a percentage of the
proceeds from each event to the sponsoring organization.
On January 12 they hosted an event on behalf of the Freedom High School
football team and raised over $3000 for them. Their next e-waste event is
on April 12 at Liberty High School in Brentwood with future events taking
place monthly.
Expanding upon the adage that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure,
A & D Hauling continues the effort to remain eco-conscious, and it shows.
For more information call 925-625-9177 or visit www.adhauling.com. Send any
comments to editors@110mag.com.
May/June 2008 www.110mag.com 71