SBA loans for junk removal, debris hauling and other waste collection

What SBA lenders approved for other waste collection

Other waste collection (NAICS 562119) is the code for companies that collect and haul waste that is neither ordinary household and commercial trash nor hazardous material. In practice many of the borrowers are junk removal and cleanout services, construction-debris and brush haulers, and collectors of specialty streams. Route-based garbage and roll-off companies usually sit under solid waste collection instead.

From 1 October 2023 to 30 June 2026 the industry took 165 SBA 7(a) loans worth $53,216,200 from 65 lenders. The median loan was $150,000, level with the national $150,300. The middle half ran from $44,300 to $388,800, the 90th percentile was $558,400, and only 7 loans, 4.2%, were $1 million or more. The median rate was 10.5%, with the middle half from 9.24% to 11.25%.

What sits under the code

The first two account for much of the code's new-business and franchise lending. They share a pattern that shapes every file: no subscription, no contract, and revenue that has to be won again every week. A lender reads them less like a hauler and more like a local service company with trucks.

Per-job revenue: what a lender wants to see

An annual revenue figure tells a lender little about a junk removal company. The job-level numbers tell it a lot: jobs per week, the average ticket, the cost of the lead that produced each job, crew hours, and the dump fee per load. A company that can show those by month, for two or three years, lets a lender see whether growth comes from more jobs, bigger jobs or higher prices, and whether margins hold in the slow months.

• Disposal. Every load pays a tipping fee at a transfer station or landfill. Companies that divert furniture, appliances, metal and building materials to donation, resale or recycling pay less, and a lender will ask what share is diverted and at what cost.
• Marketing. Most junk removal jobs start with an online search or a call. If lead costs rise, margin falls, so a lender looks at marketing spend against jobs booked, and at repeat and referral business from property managers and realtors.
• Seasonality. Spring cleanouts, moving season and estate work make some months far busier than others. Monthly figures show whether the business can carry its payment in winter.
• Storms. Debris work after a storm can swell a hauler's year well past normal. Lenders normalize it out. As a worked example, a hauler with a normal year of earnings of 1,000 and a storm year of 1,600 will usually be sized on something close to 1,000.

SBA requires debt service coverage of at least 1.15x, and 1.0x globally once the owners are counted; from 1 October 2026 a change of ownership must show 1.25x on historical results. See debt service coverage.

Franchises, start-ups and trucks

At 17% start-ups and 13.9% franchises, new businesses are a large part of this code's lending. Junk removal can start with one box truck or dump trailer, and several franchise systems sell territories with a brand, a call center and a booking system. SBA requires at least 10% of total project costs as equity for a start-up, and the lender weighs the owner's management experience, the territory and the franchisor's record. A franchise's royalties and marketing fees come off the top, so the lender will want to see the system's unit economics, not just the owner's projection. See how much equity you need.

The trucks are real collateral, valued on what they would bring in an orderly sale. The 26.1% fixed-rate share is high for SBA lending, and it suits a borrower financing vehicles it will run for years at a known payment. See fixed vs variable rate. For one truck, an equipment loan is often simpler than SBA, and Transparent's book holds 244 equipment lenders. SBA Express, at 41.2% of the industry's loans, goes up to $500,000 with a 50% guaranty. See equipment financing vs SBA 7(a).

Buying a hauler or a territory

Acquisitions were 19 loans, 11.5% of the industry's SBA lending, above the national 10.4%, at a median of $480,000 and 9.75%. Some are resales of franchise territories, which need the franchisor's approval of the buyer before closing. See financing an existing franchise location.

What a buyer pays for is mostly intangible: the phone number, the website and its search ranking, online reviews, and referral relationships with property managers and realtors. The purchase agreement should transfer all of them, and a lender will check that it does. Where the amount financed, less appraised real estate and equipment, exceeds $250,000, SBA requires an independent business valuation, and the loan for the purchase cannot exceed it. The buyer injects at least 10% of total project costs; a seller note counts toward half of that only on full standby for the life of the loan; SBA prohibits an earnout to the seller; and the seller may consult for up to 12 months, or up to 24 months under SOP 50 10 8.1 from 1 October 2026. From that date financial due diligence is required on every change of ownership. See how SBA 7(a) finances an acquisition.

The 11 SBA 504 projects, at a median of $569,000, finance owner-occupied property and long-life equipment, which for a hauler usually means a yard or a building for sorting, storage and resale. A 504 borrower must occupy at least 51% of an existing building. See SBA 7(a) vs 504.

Preparing a hauler's file

The SBA list: 2–3 years of business tax returns, a P&L and balance sheet with a year-to-date P&L through last month-end, a debt schedule with copies of notes being refinanced, and personal tax returns and a personal financial statement for each owner of 20% or more, with the owner's resume for Form 1919. For a purchase, add the letter of intent and the target's latest full year of figures.

Then the hauler's own records: jobs and revenue by month, disposal invoices, marketing spend and lead sources, a truck and trailer list with liens, permits, insurance, and for a franchise the agreement and territory map. Transparent builds the full lender package — financing model, lender presentation, blind teaser and underwriting memo — in a day once the documents are in, and takes it to the lenders in its book that fit: 278 write SBA 7(a) and 504. On SBA loans the lender pays Transparent, not the borrower. See the package.