Growing up, I liked soccer, music, and movies. 

Sophomore Jacob Chung, or better known as Trash Man Jake, likes, well, trash. 

Last month, I got up and drove to Westchester at 6 a.m, hopped in a truck with Chung, a kid that was in my P.E class the year before, and found myself in a scrapyard in Watts by 7 a.m. 

The air was cris, and a scrap metal dystopian landscape surrounded me, as though The Iron Giant was about to emerge from the heap of recycling behind me. As I started unloading buckets of copper wire and six foot pipes from Chung’s dad’s truck, I had a thought: Where on God’s green Earth am I?

It wasn’t long ago that Chung and I used to walk around the track during 6th period P.E, complaining about the heat, and on Thursday’s grumbling about having to run the mile. Every day in the last half hour of class, Chung would take off and tell me he had to take a “business call.” 

To be honest, I didn’t buy it. I was more inclined to believe that he just didn’t want to walk with me anymore. Dragging carts of scrap metal through this scrap yard in Watts made me realize that those business calls were very real. 

When I was researching for this story, curiosity got the better of me and I googled “Trash Man Jake.” I wasn’t necessarily expecting anything to come up. To my surprise, there was a trove of five-star reviews, raving about Chung’s services and recommending him to any and everyone. 

Chung said that he drives around with his dad, answering calls to go collect people’s scrap metal, and throws them in the back of the truck. By the end of the week, he takes his weekly collection and brings it to the scrapyard, pops it on the scale, and ka-ching. Easy money. 

But it doesn’t seem to be about the money for Chung. 

Chung said that the financial benefits of his business are secondary to creating a genuine difference in the local environment. 

I thought I had never met someone with a hobby like Chung, but the more I spoke to him about it, the more I realized that I had. His love for trash and recycling is rooted in the same thing as anyone else’s passion: a yearning to be involved in something bigger than himself. 

Chung said that as a kid, he would drive past landfills, peering out the window and seeing the tonnes of scrap metal rotting the earth. He longed for alternatives, and when he found out that scrap metal could be recycled, he wasted no time getting involved. 

“It really hurt me to see my environment like this,” he said. “I knew then that I wanted to change that.”

Chung said that in seventh grade, he called up Atlas Iron & Metal Co., and told them that he had a collection of recycling to sell. Before he could get to the end of his sentence, the bell for 5th period rang, and Chung told them that he had to go to class, and that he would call him later. 

In shock, the owner asked Chung how old he was.

“I’m 13! I’ll talk to you later!” Chung replied at the time.

Chung said that people used to be surprised about his age all the time, but now, it’s just part of the deal. According to Chung, he said the reaction is normally, “You speak very professionally. I’m impressed you’re able to do this at such a young age.” 

It’s not just his professionalism that impresses people—it’s his passion. 

Chung’s dad, who admittedly couldn’t care less about recycling, spends hours driving around with him, stuck in traffic or loading the truck, just to support his son’s vision. Then there’s the Westchester locals, who are quick to spread the word about Chung’s business, wanting to help this teenage recycling prodigy succeed.

Chung said that it’s this network of support that allowed him to land his biggest client yet: the Delta Sky Way Project at LAX. He’s now their go-to e-waste disposal partner, handling a corporate contract that would make any adult entrepreneur envious. 

As I watched Chung navigate the scrapyard, giving fist-bumps to employees and checking off his list of pickups, it was hard to believe this was the same kid I used to complain about running the mile with.

So here I am, standing next to this kid that’s a couple years younger than me, yet already making deals and changing the way people in Los Angeles think about recycling. 

“Trash Man Jake” has taken what was once just a childhood curiosity and turned it into a city wide business, all before he can sit behind the wheel of a car.