Penn Hills entrepreneur seizes opportunity to launch subscription trash-to-curb service

If all goes well, one person’s trash will be Mike Prosky’s livelihood.

In March, he started Curbside Appeal LLC, a service for those without the time, energy or ability to take their cans to and from the curb.

So far, he’s only landed three customers and hired one employee, but he expects that to change in a community where trash has been front of mind.

“I thought about this business about a year ago,” Prosky said, “I live in Penn Hills, so when these cans came and the problem arose … I really started pushing it.”

Penn Hills switched to automated trash collection in December, distributing 95-gallon trash bins and 65-gallon recycling bins to every home. The carts are designed to withstand the mechanical arm used by Republic Services, but they’re also larger than most store-bought receptacles.

The larger size has created some difficulties for older residents and those with disabilities, as reported by TribLive in February. Smaller carts soon will be made available for exchange, though the exact size has yet to be determined.

Prosky quit his sales job with a bathroom remodeling company to spend time with his newborn daughter and start Curbside Appeal. He plans to put those skills to use through online and door-to-door marketing.

“As soon as I get out there, it’ll start exploding,” Prosky said. “I know it will.”

Rain or shine, for $10 per week, clients can have their trash cans moved to the curb the night before collection and returned to their original place the next day. Prosky said he would only skip a house if his all-wheel drive vehicle “physically could not get to that location.”

Curbside Appeal also offers pet waste removal at $5 per visit and trash can sanitation for $25.

“We wanted to make it affordable where people didn’t have to think about the subscription fee, but enough that we could keep a couple bucks in our pockets after taxes,” Prosky said.

Not having to bother with the cans is worth the price for Plum resident Chelsea Jessell.

She first hired Prosky to take unwanted items from her basement to the curb after some spring cleaning. From there, she subscribed to the weekly service and no longer sweats remembering garbage day.

“He’s like a magic man that I don’t see,” Jessell said. “But my cans get moved.”

Jessell has even considered subscribing on behalf of her 88-year-old grandmother, who lives in Penn Hills.

“Those trash cans, they are heavy, especially once they’re pretty full,” Jessell said.

To start, Prosky said he is willing to take on clients in Penn Hills and adjacent communities such as Plum, Oakmont, Verona and Monroeville.

His research indicates there could be a market well beyond those areas for a trash-to-curb service.

“There’s quite a few of these throughout the United States,” Prosky said. “But there’s none in Pennsylvania.”

For details about Curbside Appeal, visit
curbsideappeal.org or call 412-609-4495.