5 Easiest Ways to Reduce Waste at Home

We sat down with Jen Burton, the General Manager of our team at Oaks Dumpster Rental, to learn more about her strategy as the manager of one of the leading dumpster rental companies in the Northeast.

Q: Hi Jen! Let’s start with an introduction and some background information about your career and time with Oaks.

I’m Jen Burton. I’m the general manager of Oaks Dumpster Rental. Before I worked for Oaks, I spent 20 years as a sales manager at a large corporation. I have been at Oaks since 2018 and helped develop the Dumpster Rental department from the ground up.

Q: What was the dumpster department like when you started at Oaks?

It was just two drivers and a phone, that’s all. It was a relatively small department, and when I joined, I began answering the phones, handling dispatch, and assisting the drivers with the logistics of behind-the-scenes activities. Now, I have approximately 50 people on my team who report to me, whether directly or indirectly. That ranges from drivers to part-time mechanics to individuals who handle our billing and call center operations. In 2018, we aimed to be a dumpster company serving residential and commercial markets. We were in Rochester in 2018, and we quickly grew to service Buffalo and Syracuse after that. Now, in 2025, we’re on our way to continue across the Northeastern United States. I plan to continue to service new areas as long as they’ll have us there.

Q: What is your day-to-day job like now?

My job varies every single day; it starts pretty early in the morning. By 5 am, there’s activity in the yard. I manage a lot of activity from my phone, including cameras and various technologies we use. My day continues until the last phone calls are answered in our call center at eight o’clock, covering a range of issues, from team needs to customer concerns, new sales agreements, or interviews, like right now. Every day is new and different.

Q: What makes Oaks Dumpster Rental stand out as a roll-off dumpster rental provider?

What sets Oaks Dumpster Rental apart is that we come from a construction company. We know what construction companies expect. We have many people here who have an extensive customer service background. This enables us to service both construction sites and residential properties, delivering on their needs and wants on time. When we answer the phones, we’re friendly and polite, and we help our customers understand every step of the process. We promise fair rates and on-time services, and we deliver on our promises. That alone makes us different than other companies.

Q: Who would you recommend a dumpster to?

So, who needs a dumpster? Everybody. Everybody needs a dumpster at some point in their life.  Whether you’re having construction done on your house or you’re cleaning out the stuff you’ve accumulated over the years, dumpsters help you get the task done. Instead of just putting a few things out of the yard or off the road one by one, the dumpsters give you that motivation to remove everything you need to and just get it done. One of my favorite things about the home shows we have booths in is that they take place in the springtime. Oftentimes, a married couple will come up to our booth and joke about how the other needs a dumpster. And I always say, you know, this would be a good Mother’s Day present, or this would be a good Father’s Day present, because it would be!

Q: What is something special about Oaks Dumpster Rental that you want people to realize?

We genuinely care for our customers. I know many companies claim to care, but we have trained our staff to listen to our customers and find out, “What is your project?”, “What are you doing?”, so we can best help your unique situation. We know this may be the first time you’ve ever rented a dumpster, and that it may be the only time you will ever rent a dumpster in your whole life. We want to help our clients learn as much as possible, so they can understand the project and have their needs met. That’s a special aspect of our work. Our customers are not just another number to us. They’re friends and clients for the long haul. 

Q: What do you like to do outside of work?

I’m a mom and a wife first and foremost, so I spend a lot of time living my family’s life, helping them live their best lives. I’m also into yoga. I’ve been doing hot yoga for the last year and a half, and I love it. I think about it all the time, so that’s exciting, but most of my spare time is spent in my camping chair at a lacrosse field.

What keeps Jen going isn’t just the momentum; it’s the people. “My favorite part of this job is the team I work with. We’ve achieved a great deal together, and we genuinely care about each other. That makes it easy to get up every day.”

Contact Oaks Dumpster Rental for your roll-off dumpster needs, questions, or concerns.