Meet Marco. He calls himself “Marco, bulk-metal pick-up guy.”

With City services reduced and many of us “Covid cleaning,” Marco is someone you may want to call. Maybe even this weekend.

I learned about Marco from Heather Bublick, the incredible force behind Feast & Imbibe and Soul & Smoke, who along with her husband d’Andre Cater have turned their two catering companies at 1601 Payne Street into a huge operation that provides 200 to 400 free meals every day to people in need in Evanston and beyond.

At the end of April, one of their refrigerators broke, and Heather happened to see the “junk truck” pass by.

“So many people still hustling, trying to provide for their families,” Heather said.

Turns out it was Marco, who Heather knows because Marco’s other job is delivering baked goods from a local bakery.

So she posted a photo of Marco hauling away their broken fridge and posted about it on Facebook.

I wanted to learn more about Marco’s work, so I asked my friend Jason Lauren to chat to him.

Here’s what Jason found out.

Marco emigrated from Mexico, and moved to Evanston from Rogers Park last year. He says he feels fortunate to live in Evanston and enjoys serving the community by hauling away items of any size that contain any form of metal.

Marco attends St. Nicholas Church. He appreciates that St. Nick’s is actively supporting the community during the Coronavirus pandemic and that it has ongoing programs to promote the well-being and futures of children and senior citizens in the Latinx community.

“Our seniors are the foundations of our families, the ’roots of the family tree’,” he says.

On short notice, Marco will arrive in his truck to relieve you of those hard-to-dispose-of items, free of charge. A hundred percent of the metal he picks up is recycled and/or reused, and it doesn’t cost you a penny.

What’s eligible for pick up?

—disconnected kitchen appliances

—water heaters

—motors

—metal furniture

—vehicle scrap metal

—construction sheet metal

—pipes

—wire

—kitchen utensils ...

—and just about anything else containing metal.

Marco will also collect some electronic devices that do not have screens and tubes.

No wood or plastic, please.

He’ll pick up any day between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and can usually be at your place within 20 minutes.

If he doesn’t answer your call, leave a voicemail with your address and the time that it would be convenient for him to pick up your items.

Call or text Marco at (312) 714-7917