Right Away Disposal shares company and economic updates at July Coolidge Chamber lunch
by Melissa Johnson | Pinal Partnership
Image from YouTube video.
At the July Coolidge Chamber lunch, we heard a great presentation from Eric Brink who manages special waste at Right Away Disposal. RAD started in 2007 with one driver and has since grown to about 300 employees. Recycling in Pinal County began in 2010 after a variance was approved to switch from twice a week trash pickup to once a week trash and once a week recycling pickups. The landfill and recovery facility opened in 2015 and since then 1 million pounds of trash have been diverted from the landfill. Most recently, RAD was acquired by Waste Connections, a publicly traded company, but local operations will maintain the RAD branding. The transition has been a positive one which will allow the company to continue and improve their operations in Arizona.
Speaking to the economics of recycling, Brink shares that recycling has changed a lot in the past year. It’s an industry that thrives when the economy struggles and vice versa. One example given was that China is no longer buying waste at top dollar as they used to. The cost to recycle is up but that shifts often.
From left to right: Coolidge Chamber Executive Director Lynn Parsons; APS Relationship Manager & Coolidge Chamber President Richard Rosales; The Windmill Winery Special Events Director Mandy Rogers; Right Away Disposal Special Waste Eric Brink; Pinal Partnership Executive Director Melissa Johnson
Glass is not something RAD would prefer to see in your recycle bin as it takes companies more energy to recycle than it does to make new. Water bottles and other plastics are sent to Mexico to get ground down and re-used in non-consumption products such as detergent bottles. Paper is sold to local companies that in turn use the recycled material as installation spray during construction. This keeps jobs and resources local. RAD is constantly looking for new ways to recycle and for new buyers of the materials.
Helpful tips shared include to not recycle grocery bags – instead, take them back to your local grocery store. If you think it’s not recyclable, it probably isn’t. Clean paper, cardboard, plastic bottles, tin and aluminum are called the “Big 5,” if it’s not one of those listed, then it’s not allowed in your recycling bin. Following these guidelines will help RAD achieve a lower contamination rate which they like to see around 1-5%; currently it’s at 20%.
Head over to Right Away Disposal’s website to learn more.
Right Away Disposal is a Gold Member of Pinal Partnership. Learn more about membership opportunities for your organization.
