Chelsea, Hoover duo launch waste disposal company

Most people would probably not decide to start a company during a national pandemic, but Jon Riddle and Micheal McCants decided to do just that.

The two met over five years ago while working at a trucking company together. Riddle, a Hoover resident, moved on to work in real estate and renovate houses, but when he got the idea for a roll off dumpster business, he knew who to call.

“I reached out to Micheal because he had had a lot of experience on running the truck-side of things,” Riddle said. “We got together and came up with the idea for Magic City Dumpsters.”

McCants, who lives in Chelsea, said it was three weeks later when he turned in his two-week notice at his previous job and the two started the company.

“It was a big leap, especially this year,” he said.

Riddle said he felt there was a need for this business, especially on the renovation side. He said through his real estate business, he has been able to gain some of its biggest clients, and that has helped them get their business up and running.

“Amidst COVID-19 and everything going on, there is still opportunity out there to be had if you have people willing to work hard and get after it,” Riddle said.

Magic City Dumpsters specializes in residential and commercial waste and construction debris removal options for small or large projects. It provides construction and demolition and household waste solutions for residential and commercial use with the 20-, 30- and 40-yard roll off dumpsters that they deliver.

The dumpsters can be used for a variety of things, including landscaping projects, hauling off dirt or tree limbs, weekend home projects, house flips and more.

While there are other companies out there they have to compete against, Riddle and McCants said their focus is on customer service to make them standout from the rest. Their goal is to build relationships and trust with their clients. When someone calls, there is no phone tree to go through. They are directly connected to McCants.

“Service is a huge thing, and a lot of companies have gotten away from it,” McCants said. “Some of the bigger companies are more worried about big contract jobs and not so much about residential. That’s one thing we are really focusing on — our customer service isour biggest selling point. Without it we are no different than anybody else in this business.”

Timeliness is another important part of their business. While contractors might only give a day’s notice that they need a dumpster, Riddle said if they can provide service within 24 hours of a phone call, they can build a business fairly quickly.

“A lot of times, building clean-up needs to be done immediately, and that’s what we are trying to build business off of, and we’ve been able to pick up some business over some bigger companies,” he said.

With their one truck, 50 dumpsters and two drivers, they work within a 50-mile radius of Birmingham and do their best to get dumpsters delivered within a day. They also have a flat fee, competitive pricing and work seven days a week.

“Over a six-week period, we moved 82 dumpsters, so we’ve been pretty busy,” McCants said.

For more information, visit magiccitydumpstersllc.com, facebook.com/MagicCityDumpsters or call 205-500-1031.