News > February 14, 2008

By Haowei Tong | Staff writer

A multi-million dollar facility located on Ivy Avenue in downtown Winston-Salem was the destination for a field trip for the Physics and Chemistry of the Environment class. With a single system valued at two million dollars and 58,000 weekly patrons, Waste Management (WM) Recycle America proved full of surprises.

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Students recently visited Recycle America, a company that uses recycling to turn a profit. The trip was for the Physics and Chemistry of the Environment class. (Haowei Tong)

“This company reports to Wall Street just like any other corporation. But there is a common misperception about recycling’s profitability, and many do not understand that even with price stabilization tools, this market changes too,” said Terrence Feeney, district manager.

The Winston-Salem plant returns 28 percent of its profits to the city government. This sum contributes to the public education and public waste budgets.

“I was really impressed by how much money is in the recycling industry. I used to associate recycling with non-profit campaigns and poor economic logic, but this tour definitely changed my mind,” said freshman Tyler Starr.

WM Recycle America has the capability to safely, cost-efficiently transport, sort and process more than 50 different paper grades, including office paper, cardboard and newspaper.

One ton of unprinted paper is equivalent to $500. Additionally, it prepares six types of plastics for manufacturers of hair-care, household cleaner and beverage bottles and containers. Profit from one ton of plastic ranges from $400 to 600, depending on the type of plastic, gas prices and other factors.

Once processed, glass is sold to Miller Brewing Company and other beer corporations.

Another high-profile client is the North Carolina racing industry, which uses recycled plastic to make racecar windshields.

“The idea that my Coke bottle might turn into part of a Ferrari is awesome and thought-provoking," sophomore D.J. Soriano said.

"Overall, there was just an astounding variety and amount of recyclables. Surprisingly, there are also tons of uses for them all.”

Perhaps most astonishing was that 1,400 pounds of aluminum is generally sold for $1,800. Because aluminum is so valuable, the plant must carefully ensure its high quality.

Eight-foot cubes of soda cans were pristine, like abstract art.

Presently, 10 people operate the Ivy Avenue plant’s conveyor belt per shift. Winston-Salem’s Recycle America trucks have split body containers, and the driver is responsible for appropriate separation of materials.

“The Recycle America staff has to be knowledgeable and careful on the job. They handle at least thousands of dollars on an hourly basis,” said junior Katie Bogue.

Facilities nationwide currently handle eight million tons of commodities on an annual basis. Many urban areas, that generate more recyclable materials have invested in single stream processing technology, a system which can cost $10 million.

The single stream system allows customers to mix recyclable paper, plastic and glass in one bin.

It utilizes mechanized screens and optical sorting technology, demonstrating vastly improved recovery rates and cost-efficiency. Single stream programs have recovered as much as three times the amount of recyclable materials since 2001.

“Not only was it great to simply go on a field trip, Recycle America proved to be a really interesting place. I learned a lot, and I am more compelled to recycle at Wake,” Bogue said.