Don't look over his shoulder unless you're ready for a whiff of something rank, but Nick Youngleson is finding money in the sticky bottoms of residential garbage cans.

The 26-year-old entrepreneur, figuring that even during a recession people will keep making trash, founded Opala Can Cleaning Co. in December. Ever since, he and his crew have been busy doing one of the worst jobs on O'ahu: Driving from Ko Olina to Kailua in their retrofitted Ford E-250 cargo van and washing trash cans.

"Some people have never cleaned their can," Youngleson said. "You can have 10 years worth of debris and waste in there. It's pretty gnarly."

More recently, the service has sought to capitalize on a new reality: the fact that refuse is being picked up weekly, rather than biweekly, as the city phases in its recycling program.

"Now you have to wait longer and it sits in the sun," Youngleson said.

The process eliminates the bacteria that can cause E. coli, salmonella and listeria, he said. And heaven forbid, maggots, too.

A native of South Africa who earned a degree in archaeology from the University of Hawai'i, Youngleson got the idea during a visit home a few years ago. The service is popular in South Africa and in England, too.

The process is environmentally friendly, Youngleson said.

He and his crew arrive at homes after regularly scheduled garbage collection. They pressure-wash the can and spray it with a lemon-scented, biodegradable disinfectant, he said. It's all done curbside and takes about five to 10 minutes.

The water used to clean the cans is stored in a 150-gallon tank inside the van and later disposed of at designated wastewater drains maintained by the city, Youngleson said.

So far, Youngleson has about 150 clients, including some who have paid for a year's worth of service, he said.

"It is flying really well with the military," he said. "Military wives love it. When you leave your military housing, you get fined if your trash can hasn't been washed out and (isn't) pristine on the inside."

When Jerry Lolli first saw the Opala Can Cleaning van on his street in Ko Olina, the 73-year-old retiree didn't know what it was.

"I was a little apprehensive at first," he said. "I've never had anyone solicit me to clean my garbage can."

But he loved the results.

"They had a little perfume aroma to it and my can has never been this clean," he said.