Elijah Gibson lost his hand in a fireworks accident, but that hasn't stopped him from building a small business with his brother, scrubbing out neighbors' trash cans across their Perris neighborhood three times a week. Elijah, 16, and his brother Rhyan now count roughly 20 customers who pay them to clean their bins, using the earnings to help cover school expenses while they figure out how to move forward after the accident.
The brothers launched their trash bin cleaning service about a year and a half ago, according to NBC Los Angeles, which described the two as working toward self-sufficiency after surviving a devastating fireworks accident. Reporter Christian Cázares detailed how the brothers lean on social media to keep their small operation running and attract new customers in the neighborhood.
Their grandmother, Sherrie Hill, said the brothers set their own hours and choose their own customers, running things largely on their own terms. Hill said she stepped in to prevent the brothers from ending up on the streets, and she provided medical attention and family support to Elijah after the accident that cost him his hand. She said she is very proud of what the two have built.
Full-Time Students Balancing School and a Growing Client List
Elijah and Rhyan are both full-time students at Rancho Verde High School, a Val Verde Unified School District campus that opened in 1991 and serves over 2,050 students on a 38-acre site in southern Moreno Valley, according to Wikipedia. The brothers run their bin-washing service around their classes, working the business three days a week.
Elijah said hard work can help people achieve what they want to do, and he and Rhyan are hoping their earnings eventually go toward a car they can share once they head to college. Elijah said he plans to be financially ready for whatever comes next. The work isn't always smooth, though — Elijah said some residents refuse to answer the door or ask him to come back another time.
A Business Model Built for the Inland Empire
Perris, where the brothers live, is a growing Riverside County suburb with roughly 80,511 residents, a median household income of $88,911, and a median age of 31.3, according to 2024 estimates cited by the U.S. Census Bureau. Households there average three vehicles apiece and a commute of about 37 minutes, while the brothers bring their bin-cleaning service to customers' homes.
The brothers' business is a small-scale mobile bin-cleaning operation, built around a pressure washer and a client list. According to the City of Perris Public Works Department, communities must address the impacts of stormwater runoff under the Environmental Protection Agency's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.
Fireworks Injuries Remain a Persistent Risk for Teens
Elijah's injury fits into a troubling national pattern. Fireworks sent an estimated 14,700 people to emergency rooms in 2024, a 52% jump from the year before, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The national estimate underscores the risks fireworks pose.
Despite the accident that changed his life, Elijah has focused on building something forward-looking rather than dwelling on what was lost. NBC4's coverage of the brothers' story was set to air at 6 p.m. on Thursday, spotlighting how the two teens turned a hard year and a half into a working neighborhood business — one trash bin at a time.
