When Sedona Recycles began operation of the Community Recycling Facility on Shelby Drive in 1996 the City of Sedona was right there with us. They supported the idea and the mission and have been there with us all the way along our journey. Although city officials have come and gone the support has not gone with them but has been passed along and continued. Sedona Recycles is unique, a one of a kind facility in Arizona and probably in most parts of the country and we are your nonprofit community recycling center. We operate much like the facilities in New Zealand where each town has there own material recovery facility providing service and jobs in their community. In the VerdeValley and for that matter over the hill in Prescott there is no other facility like ours. That is one reason we make the trip every week day around the VerdeValley to provide other communities with the same service that Sedona receives. Larger for profit companies have a different outlook on what they are willing to collect and because of their processing methods they are further limited. At Sedona Recycles we want to give every material a real chance to be recycled into something new. That is why we accept many items that others don’t. These include glass, electronics, batteries, packing materials, corks, books, and Styrofoam. Not exactly money makers in fact in most cases these items collected don’t break even for us. But our diligence in finding new homes for these materials keeps them from clogging the landfill and allows for new uses of these materials. The following is a look at what happens to these things that other recyclers don’t accept:
- Our glass is sent to Phoenix and because we separate glass by color it is back on the shelf as a new bottle in less than six weeks. Glass is one of those rare materials that is closed loop and infinitely recyclable. Bottle to bottle. Its reason for not being accepted by other recyclers has nothing to do with its recyclability. It is a matter of low value and collection techniques.
- Electronics are challenging and require a great deal of work on our part from receiving and packaging to finding the environmentally best solution for their recycling. We research the companies we deal with to make sure we are doing the best possible job of seeing that these materials are properly managed and recycled.
- Batteries have proven to be quite challenging and despite the fact that the EPA says that household batteries can be safely disposed of we choose to give them another chance. Batteries are generally buried in Hazardous Waste Landfills but we have chosen instead to work with the only company in the U.S. that actually recycles them into new products. Every part of the battery is recycled at Battery Solutions and although doing things this way cost Sedona Recycles a pretty penny we feel there is no other option for us, certainly not landfilling.
- Packing materials are accepted at the facility and any one can come in and take them. These materials include packing peanuts, bubble wrap and thin foam sheeting. We prefer not to get the packing pillows because most packers can’t use them but when deflated they can be included with your plastic bags and recycled at the local grocery stores.
- Corks originally were being collected to include in Whole Foods cork recycling program but we can’t keep them in the center long enough to send any out. Crafters come by regularly and pick them up for projects which is something we love to see, reuse first before recycle.
- Books are collected for both reuse and as a fundraiser for our non profit. These books are dropped off by the public but we also receive books that are out of date from the library and local thrift stores. When all else fails and no one wants the books we remove the covers and recycle the paper.
- Styrofoam has been an amazing success and is increasing all the time. Finding a home for this hard to recycle material was a goal for Sedona Recycles for many years and we are so glad we can keep this material out of the landfill where it takes up close to 30% of the space and see it recycled into new products like crown molding, picture frames and CD cases.
So you see we are not your average recycling facility we are so much more. We are your community nonprofit recycling center. We are always here by phone, email or in person to answer any question you might have and to help you do the right thing when it comes to proper disposal. But in the end we wouldn’t be where we are today without the foresight of the City of Sedona. They have been right there with us every step of the way. Our goal is to continue to search for innovative solutions to the problem of waste, to educate the public as well as provide school presentations and equipment. We embrace our unique approach to recycling and are grateful to the City of Sedona for recognizing the important role we play in the community.