Meet Will, a 12-year-old entrepreneur

East St. Paul

North Kildonan

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure is a well-known saying. For Will Thys, it’s more like garbage left behind is another man’s business — his business, in fact.

Thys is a spring-cleaning entrepreneur whose endeavour involves cleaning the crust, mold, and old trash out of garbage and recycling bins, leaving them fresh and ready for whatever summer waste will end up in them.

Will is a 12-year-old Grade 6 student, who lives in Narol, Man., near East St. Paul. He loves dirt biking, snowmobiling, fishing, swimming, and running his business, Goodbyegrime.

“I’m happy I can do it and I like doing it alone,” Will said. “I like earning my own money.”

“When Will was little, he would always think of other ways to use a toy other than it’s intended purpose. He always thought outside the box. He’s 12, so he can’t necessarily have a job, so he thought outside the box and made it happen,” said Jen Thys, Will’s mom and, she said jokingly, his secretary.

Will started his project in spring 2025 with the goal of buying his own dirt bike. In the end, he cleaned around 200 bins throughout the summer and saved enough money to buy the bike he wanted.

One year later, Will’s older and ready for a bigger, faster dirt bike. His goal is to double the number of bins he cleaned last year.

After school, Will gets home, grabs something to eat and spends the evening working.

His first step is to plan the route. His dad, Dayle Thys, or his grandpa, Willis Thys, help to plan the order of pick up and drop off.

Whoever has time in the evening helps Will hook up the truck to a large trailer that holds 16 bins laying down. They drive to the farthest house, pick up the bins, strap them down, and take them all the way back to the Thys home.

So far, Will has collected bins from Narol, St. Clements, East St. Paul, and North Kildonan.

Once the bins are gathered, the work begins. With no gloves, maybe the occasional pair of goggles, Will starts scrubbing.

He starts with the pressure washer to rinse out the inside, then uses a bubble-gum-scented foam water cannon — which he bought with the money he made last year — and scrubs out the inside.

Finally, he does a quick rinse on the outside, loads up the trailer again, and drops the bins off at their homes — all in the same evening.

“The worst thing I’ve ever seen is dog poop. But there’s lots of mold,” Will said.

“It’s fantastic, if I had something booked, I’d drop it in a minute,” said grandfather Willis. “It’s rewarding watching him succeed.”

Will has customers who depend on his services, so he’s out there rain or shine, Jen added.

“The response (from the community) is insane. People want to support the 12-year-old. I get messages from people wanting to pat us on the back for good parenting, but we couldn’t do it without them,” Jen said.

Will schedules pick-ups after garbage collection, so bins are empty and customers aren’t without garbage bins for long.

He charges $20 for one bin, or $35 for both. He accepts e-transfers — but prefers the rewarding feeling of holding cash in his hands.

To help Will reach his goal and arrange your bin cleaning, contact his ‘secretary’: jenniferthys@gmail.com