Recycling creates jobs

With approximately 70,000 residential homeowners currently recycling trash in Southern Nevada under Republic Services' new Enhanced Recycling Program, and that number expected to hit 100,000 by the end of the year, it's no wonder the company is dedicating both manpower and state-of-the-art equipment to what it considers an area for future job growth.

Everyone has seen the familiar red, white and blue plastic bins homeowners stick out on the curb on designated pickup dates. The red bins are for aluminum cans and plastic bottles; white bins for newspapers, magazines and old phone books; blue bins for glass bottles. This is Republic Services' old program that began in 1991 and has had less that 10 percent of its 500,000 customers participating.

Republic launched its Enhanced Recycling Program in January 2008 at Nellis Air Force Base. Instead of homeowners using three bins to separate recyclable trash, everything is tossed into one large container with a blue lid on it. The container is then picked up via a special trash truck equipped with an automated arm that reaches out and grabs the trash can. Rhodes Ranch was added to the program in July 2008 and North Las Vegas was added in October 2008. Future services using the Enhanced system are scheduled in the near future for Las Vegas, Clark County and unincorporated Clark County.

According to Steven DeStefano, Republic Services' project manager, out of the 4 million tons of trash picked up by its drivers every year, the Enhanced system is experiencing more than 80 percent participation in the areas it is being used. North Las Vegas currently has 40,000 homeowners participating in this single-bin program, and DeStefano expects those numbers to grow by another 20,000 homeowners by the end of the year.

Besides being more environmentally friendly, DeStefano says Republic Services' recycling programs are creating jobs. The company currently has about 100 employees dedicated to its recycling program, with about 50 workers designated to drive the special recycling trucks. Drivers in trucks with the automated arm are trained on how to use a joy stick inside the vehicle.

When the trash is brought back to Republic Services for processing, another group of employees is responsible for its separation. DeStefano says these employees are trained on what can be recycled and what must be rejected. Only plastic bottles with a number 1 or 2 imprinted on them are collected. Any 5-gallon, or larger, plastic buckets are rejected because they are composed of a heavier plastic that is more difficult to recycle. Also, those pesky hangers that everyone accumulates from dry cleaners are not recyclable. In all, only about 5 percent of the items homeowners deposit for recycling are rejected, DeStefano says.

As the company's recycling program grows, DeStefano expects certain jobs will also change. Many truck drivers will be reassigned to the automated recycling trucks, and he expects the in-house sorting assembly lines to grow.

Another program expected to spur job growth involves multifamily apartments. Republic Services currently has 70 apartment complexes signed up for its Commercial Multi-Recycling Program. Under this program, 100-gallon containers are placed in an apartment complex mail room for the collection of junk mail. Maintenance workers then transfer the junk mail into a larger container that Republic Services picks up at a designated time.

"Each new route creates a position for a driver," DeStefano says. "As we get more apartments participating in the program, this will create more driver jobs. And this will increase our need for more people in the plant (to separate the trash)."

Until the Enhanced Recycling Program is instituted in your area, Republic Services encourages homeowners to continue using their three bin-system of separating trash and to follow these tips:

n Red basket (aluminum cans, tin cans and plastic bottles) -- Empty all cans and plastic bottles. Aluminum cans can be crushed and tin cans should be rinsed out. Remove all lids from plastic soda bottles and milk jugs. Make sure your plastics are recyclable by looking for the recycling symbols that have a 1 or 2 inside the triangle.

n White basket (newspapers, telephone books and magazines) -- Remove all strings and rubber bands.

n Blue basket (glass bottles) -- Rinse bottles. Remove caps. Do not break glass. It is important to remember to keep all glass jars and bottles separate from other recyclables. Do not include mirrors, plate glass, china ware or ceramics.

n Corrugated cardboard -- Flatten cardboard boxes and place them next to the recycling baskets.

Republic Services says that recyclable items can also be placed next to the three bins if the items are put in clear plastic bags and labeled recyclables. Homeowners can see what days they have been assigned for recycling by referring to their trash bills to see what recycling sections they are in: A, B, C, etc.

For more information about Republic Services' recycling programs, homeowners and commercial properties are encouraged to call the company's customer service department at: 702-735-5151. Information can also be obtained by emailing: RSSNCustomerService@repsrv.com

Now, for those really big items that you're thinking of, or maybe have not thought of, recycling, there's a route to go and still satisfy your civic duty of being "green." If you've recently replaced your water heater and don't know what to do with the old one, replaced the washer and dryer, dishwasher or air conditioner, don't stick it on the curb or unlawfully dump it in the desert. That's throwing away good money. SA Recycling in North Las Vegas can take these items off your hands and put a few bucks in your pocket. They'll even take your old beat-up bicycle, horse trailer, car or truck.

If you bring all this stuff to the company's Nellis Boulevard yard in North Las Vegas, the going rate is $240 a ton for steel. If you have at least 3.5 ton of steel in your backyard, SA Recycling can make arrangements to send a truck out to pick it up.

"We train our employees on how to recognize the different kinds of metals," says Phillip Johnson of SA Recycling. "They learn how to grade the different kinds of wire coming in, the types of brasses and how to recognize the different kinds of aluminum."

SA Recycling, a full-service ferrous and nonferrous metal recycler and processor, currently has around 100 employees. They are always looking for equipment operators who can operate everything from cranes to grapplers -- those things with a large crablike claw.

"We want someone who is pleasant and likes working with customers," Johnson says. "You also need to be able to retain information and turn it into decision making."

SA Recycling opened its offices in Las Vegas in September 2008. It has 40 facilities throughout the Southwest and took over an existing scrap-metal company in North Las Vegas that had an automobile shredding business since 1973.

This shredder is not to be confused with the contraption that takes a car or truck and compresses it into a metal chunk of stuff about the size of a child's lunch box. The shredder actually does what it sounds like. It shreds metal.

Johnson says SA Recycling shreds about 800 tons of steel a day, five days a week. This averages between 15,000 and 20,000 tons of steel a month.

Recycling is quickly becoming a growing business in Southern Nevada. SA Recycling currently has three yards: 5850 N. Nellis Blvd., North Las Vegas; 1701 Western Ave., Las Vegas; and 5001 Cooper Sage St., Las Vegas.

The company is planning to open a fourth facility at 2780 N. Nellis Blvd., North Las Vegas, on May 1. It will employ six people initially and is expected to have 11 employees when fully operational. Johnson says the company will be looking to fill positions for metal inspectors, scale masters, equipment operators, traffic controllers and various management jobs.

"We have been hiring over the last few months," Johnson says. "We are expecting much more foot traffic from the general public at our fourth facility when it opens."

Johnson says SA Recycling will take almost any kind of scrap metal except burned wire, beer kegs, oxygen tanks, propane tanks or anything made of lead. It also works with the police if employees suspect items are stolen.

"We also make sure anything we accept isn't radioactive," Johnson says. "We don't want our employees exposed to anything radioactive."

Considering that most automobiles weigh between 3,500 and 4,000 pounds and that 1 ton equals 2,000 pounds, the average vehicle could fetch between $420 and $480. Not bad when you consider the alternative of just letting it sit in your driveway collecting dirt and ticking off the neighbors.