Curbside Solutions brings “modern convenience” to Orinda’s trash day

    Let’s talk trash for a moment. But in a good way.
    What began as one homeowner’s frustration with rushed mornings and forgotten trash cans has turned into a growing convenience service for residents across Lamorinda.
    Curbside Solutions, co-founded by Orinda resident Amber Johnson with her husband Craig Johnson, began serving the community last summer, with plans to expand throughout the East Bay and, one day, across California.
    Johnson said she launched the company with a straightforward goal: “to take the hassle out of trash day.”
    “Too often, homeowners are stuck rushing to get cans out early in the morning – or forgetting altogether. I was this homeowner,” she said. “We’re creating a new kind of convenience – taking care of a small messy task that homeowners never thought they could outsource.”
    Curbside Solutions provides weekly or as-needed service that includes transporting garbage, recycling and green waste cans to the curb on collection day, then returning them after pickup. The company markets itself as an extension of a customer’s waste-management provider, “a personal butler,” Johnson said, delivering reliability, consistency and peace of mind.
    “We give our customers back time, peace of mind, and one less thing on their to-do list,” said Johnson, who was born and raised in San Jose, attended Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and later, moved to Orinda in 2017 with her husband and son Harrison, age 14.
    Johnson spent most of her career in recruiting and was a talent acquisition leader for biotech/medical device companies until 2021. The couple owns other businesses as well.
    Their Curbside Solutions business, however, offers three service levels – Essential, Premium and Elite Property Assessment – based on driveway length, steepness and property type.
    Essential service, Johnson said, covers most standard single-family homes, even those with moderately steep or circular driveways.
    “Surprisingly, most of our customers do qualify as Essential Can Service,” she said, adding that many sign up, not due to physical difficulty, but because they travel frequently or don’t live in Lamorinda full-time.
    Premium service is designed for “very long and often steep driveways, beyond several hundred feet,” she said. The service is commonly used by older residents or customers recovering from injuries who no longer want to rely on neighbors, adult children or gardeners for help.
    Elite assessments are custom plans for large properties or multiunit buildings.
    “For example, one customer has several multi-unit buildings. I provide custom pricing based on the number of cans and a discount for having multiple properties subscribed to our services,” she said.
    Johnson describes Orinda’s hillside properties – with steep driveways, wooded terrain and narrow roads – as a natural fit for the company’s safety-focused approach.
    Customers provide detailed instructions on how cans should be handled or positioned, and managers walk new clients through those preferences. Technicians are expected to lift heavy 64- to 96-gallon carts repeatedly, pass a background check and be prepared to work in all weather conditions.
    “If the property is very large or steep, or they often have very heavy cans, we can assign two technicians to work together,” Johnson said.
    Technicians may enter gated areas if owners provide access codes, and the company contacts customers immediately if unexpected issues arise. “Luckily, this has not been an issue thus far,” she said.
    The company offers both weekly subscriptions and occasional, on-demand bookings – popular with residents who travel frequently or only need periodic help and prices range from $19 for one week to $45–$60 for a month. All subscriptions are contract-free.
    “We offer one, two or three weeks of service, or one or several months to cover a specific need, without an ongoing subscription,” Johnson said.
    One customer uses services every other week, while others activate services only when traveling. “Service can start immediately, next trash day,” she said.
    Technicians undergo county criminal background checks, and the company carries liability insurance similar to contractors or landscaping businesses.
    Curbside Solutions follows Republic Services’ schedule, including holidays.
    “We operate rain or shine,” Johnson said. If Republic delays pickup – which she said happens more frequently – technicians return the next day to retrieve emptied cans.
    While not moving into vegetation-management services, Johnson said the company does offer small-scale hauling for move-ins, clean-outs, excess cardboard or yard waste, and trash-can cleaning may be added in the future.
    Johnson shared testimonials from residents who said the service has improved daily life.
    Lisa Noble of Farmhouse Foods in Orinda said the service lets her travel freely.
    “We stopped worrying about this … it’s a little like having a house sitter,” she said.
    One Orinda couple wrote that the company’s reliability outweighs the cost entirely.
    “We subscribed for benefits – driveway steep slope and occasional travel. The company accommodates our needs and proves reliable. Cost is fine for the benefit,” they said.
    Johnson hopes curbside-to-house service will eventually become an everyday amenity.
    “I believe it is time to stop dreading taking the trash cans to the curb,” she said. “In the future, trash-can-to-curb services will be a common convenience we all enjoy.”
    She said the company serves busy professionals, seniors, frequent travelers, short-term rental owners and residents who simply dislike messy chores.
    “We provide effortless convenience tailored specifically for… everyone,” she said.
    Being a business owner and previously working for the corporate world – Johnson said she likes both.
    “I actually really liked working for large companies too,” she said. “Many business owners can only see working for themselves. But I really like both environments. I look to run my small businesses as the best of both worlds. I strive for autonomy, flexibility, and empowerment of employees, but also employ some of the structure and strategies learned from larger organizations.”
    For more information about Curbside Solutions, visit curbsidesolution.com, call 888.958.CURB or email customerservice@curbsidesolutions.com.