2024 Economic Impact Awards 1-10 Years in Business Top Honors: Smash My Trash

As general manager of the local Smash My Trash franchise, Michael Turner knows the trash industry isn’t one many people know much about, and that can make customers vulnerable to unnecessary costs. That’s why his goal is to help people save money.

“We are not an extra expense to the customer,” Turner says. “We are the first company to ever succeed as a disruptor in the trash industry, and we take pride in that. We’re breaking up all the nonsense.”

Turner is proud of his company’s impact and work ethic, saying it provides 24/7 service and accessibility.

“When our clients have an issue or a last-minute request, there is no such thing as closed for the day,” he says.

Starting in 2016 out of Carmel, Indiana, the mobile dumpster compactor service has spread across the nation, now providing services through franchise locations in 41 states with about 300 employees. The Springfield location, which was established in 2021, employs four and recorded 2023 revenue of $556,620.

By smashing down trash in dumpsters, the company creates an environmentally friendly approach to trash, officials say. In 2023, Smash My Trash reported their services eliminated 429,830 unnecessary hauls and kept almost 77 million pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. By saving room in dumpsters, Turner says clients are also saving money and the environment.

“Trinity Consultants did an independent study, and what they found was what we’re doing is so environmentally friendly that we couldn’t not share that,” Turner says, adding that keeping trash trucks with low gas mileage off the roads helps immensely. “If we can keep them off the road as much as we can, you’re going to automatically start saving CO2.” 

Smash My Trash also gives back within the community, funding local charities such as Women In Need, and participating in Big Rig Night, which is a local event geared for children, teaching them how to run the mobile trash compactor. Turner says Smash My Trash has over 125 clients throughout the Ozarks but has a large presence specifically in the construction industry. Homebuilding in the Ozarks area has boomed, Turner says, and three of the largest residential construction companies in the Springfield area are clients of Smash My Trash. 

But although the business is a large national employer, Turner says the winning business idea of the company is its emphasis on taking care of the little guy. Homegrown, hometown philosophies are important to him.

“When businesses get bigger, you kind of forget about the little people that brought you to that point,” he says. “I’ve tried not to do that. I’m not going to abandon people that were faithful to us. They’re just as important to me as the big ones.”