Northern California Takes Recycling to Commercial Status

Recycling.

This simple word means so many complex things to so many people, and it is being scrutinized by some. The definition of what it means to recycle, even, has changed over the years, according to some who have dedicated their lives to efficient recycling.

Since 2003, Business Management and Waste Consultant Jim Verros has worked closely with Cedar Avenue Recycling and Transfer Station (CARTS). Subsequently, he has watched the recycling trends of the residents of Fresno, CA. Over the past six years, he has noticed a heightened awareness from consumers. In general, he says that the stigma of the “kind of people” who recycle has vanished, replaced by vigor for saving the environment.

“The days of ‘I don’t know how to!’ or ‘Only hippies recycle!’ are no longer valid. The consumer now knows not only how to recycle, but they have made it part of lives without making it an inconvenience.”

Verros also credits the continued operation of CARTS to a new push for businesses to recycle.

“The business of recycling and renewable energy is allowing businesses to cut cost without cutting the quality of their products,” Verros says. “Between cardboard, paper and plastic all being commercially recycled, it allows business to cut waste cost and keep waste out of landfills.”

Though the station itself has been open for only six years, there is a wealth of history behind it. The Orange Avenue Disposal Company, Inc. (OAD) has been continuously providing solid waste and recycling services to the city of Fresno for over 64 years. Orange Avenue Disposal Company, Inc. operates the CARTS facility and the CARTS Concrete and Asphalt Recycling Center, and their mission statement reflects their push for new practices in recycling:

“The CARTS facility represents the next generation of solid waste and recycling facilities,” its website states.

But, even with ambitious goals, as with every business that has history, when asked what could be improved about the recycling practices of California residents, Verros has suggestions.

“Central/Northern California residents have accepted the concept of recycling. The residents now must apply their knowledge of ‘home’ recycling to the ‘commercial’ recycling,” Verros says. “Recycling at the workplace must be just as important as residential recycling.”

With that said, Verros continued that California residents are 15 to 20 years ahead of the rest of the nation, and that gives him hope that the emphasis on residential recycling will quickly include business recycling as well.

“When I travel around the country, I see states and cities that have not made recycling a priority. It makes me sad — especially in the Midwest, where I am originally from,” Verros says. “It takes time, and those states have some great people moving the cause forward, but the public must grasp the idea before it can be implemented.”

For other recycling centers similar to CARTS, check out the 1800recycling.com database and search in your ZIP code area.