This piece is a part of our Q+A series. Know someone we should interview? Nominate them here.
Profile: Melissa Vaughn Polutta and her husband Jeff Polutta own + operate Trash Gurl — a local waste management company located in Moncks Corner. You might recognize the business by its bright purple dumpsters scattered throughout the Lowcountry.
We’re asking Melissa 15 questions. Read on to find out her favorite piece of local trivia and most embarrassing moment on the job.
How did Trash Gurl start and what drew you to this business?
My boyfriend at the time, now husband Jeff Polutta, encouraged the start of Trash Gurl and the name. He came up with the name after hearing one of my customers calling me over my Nextel radio. That customer called me “trash girl” because he never could remember my name.
We both came up with our famous logo together and decided to spell Trash Gurl with a “U” instead of the correct way. All the colors in our fun logo is like my personality, a fun, bubbly groovy chick. Exploring all new sites around town, meeting new people and watching places grow is what drew me to the trash business.
We read you were born in North Charleston. Why have you stayed in the area?
I’m from North Charleston, and I grew up on Remount Road. I attended several local schools — Divine Redeemer Catholic, North Charleston High, and Trident Technical College. I chose to stay here because Charleston has everything! We have so many nice people, beautiful beaches and lakes. Not to mention all of the cool history and neat buildings in the historic district.
What does being a female business owner mean to you?
Being a female owner means that if you are determined, you can do anything. Just know what you do and do it right.
According to your website, local knowledge is what sets Trash Gurl apart. Can you elaborate on this?
Most waste companies are large corporations or private equity groups posing as local businesses. Some companies put their main focus on cheap pricing to speed up growth and sell their business to these large nationwide companies. At the end of the day you could say they are mainly looking for a profit.
We at Trash Gurl care about our town and the people living here. We focus on customer service and repeat business. Not having a call center has helped tremendously, our customers like to hear the same name when they call us. This puts that personal touch to our service. Being local definitely helps as well when it comes to dispatching our trucks around town, I know all the back roads!
What is your favorite part of your job?
It’s so awesome seeing our trucks around town and even cooler when I read the sayings on the back door. They always give me a big laugh. I also love being the dispatcher.
What is your least favorite or hardest part of your job?
Being the boss sometimes stinks, I would rather be a friend to my employees. Another thing that would be my least favorite is getting up at 3 a.m. and working long hours.
What is an improvement you’d like to see in Charleston?
No more COVID! Life to go back to normal, healthy, and happy Charleston.
What do you hope Charleston is like in 10 years? 20 years?
I-526 and other road projects to be completed with nice new roads for Charlestonians to travel on. Same old sweet Charleston with slow, steady, and healthy growth.
Share an embarrassing moment. Spare no detail.
I was on a jobsite trying to install a can liner in a dumpster. I was leaning halfway in the dumpster and almost fell inside. A contractor ran over and grabbed me by my legs to stop me from falling in.
Hit us with your favorite piece of local trivia:
Why do Charleston homes paint their porch ceilings blue? To ward off evil spirits.
What’s something every new Charlestonian ought to know?
Smile more! Be friendly and be more courteous while driving, especially in the morning at the I-26 & I-526 interchange. Charleston restaurants are the best and we have so many to choose from. Be thankful for living in this great country and respect one another.
If you wrote a book about Charleston, what would you name it?
“My Little Town with a Big Heart.”
Tell us some background behind your biz. What are you most excited about?
We started 12+ years ago and I’ve been in the waste business for almost 15 years. We have 55 employees and 41 trucks. We offer roll-off dumpsters, front load commercial containers, and portable restrooms. We service residential, commercial, and construction sites. We even offer emergency and environmental clean-up equipment such as frac tanks, vacuum boxes, and sludge containers.
Tell us about an obstacle you’ve had in life and how you overcame it.
The biggest obstacle Trash Gurl had to overcome was not only about the business but a personal obstacle, and it wasn’t just in the Tri-County Area it was nationwide that I broke into a predominantly male driven industry. Initially, we were ridiculed by competitor’s drivers and more so the owners themselves. It took about 3 or 4 years for them to take us seriously. By the time they realized what was going on we were rolling strong.
What will the future be like for Trash Gurl? What are your goals for the business?
I plan to keep my business growing. Maybe one day even start up in other areas. I also would like to incorporate a state of the art recycling program in the near future.
