Business recycles old parts to make new products

Reduce.  Reuse.  Recycle.

That popular slogan has had a major impact on the efforts to get Americans to generate less trash.  But, it makes most of us think of the way we dispose of glass, paper, and plastic.

One Delta County business is taking that common slogan a lot further.

SGT’S Recycling in Escanaba is a veteran owned business takes items people recycle and turns them into new products.

The employees, all veterans, re–use parts to create fences, race barrels, and fire starters.

People can drop off items free of charge, and SGT’S Recycling tries to make the drop–off process as easy as possible.

“It’s as simple as driving right into our drive thru and our guys come up to you and they will help you in every step,” SGT’S Recycling President Jim Smith said.  “They’ll unload you, and show you every spot where (the materials) go.”

SGT’S Recycling also has relationships with stores in the area.  The stores will donate items that would normally be taken to a landfill.

“We have…in the 70’s (number of) stores that we work with, with Habitat (for Humanity), Goodwill, St. Vincent (de Paul),” Smith said.  “All the material they would send to landfills, we take from them, and then that comes in here.  And we have drop-offs that come in daily.”

The business is excited about expanding opportunities and showing U.P. residents what the business is all about.

“This is a huge learning process for everyone,” Smith said.  “Recycling wasn’t a very big thing around here, so we encourage people.  Even if they want to drive thru, we’ll walk with them and show them the processes, how they work and that things are really getting recycled and that there’s a place for these things to go.”

“We’re excited to be here,” SGT’S Recycling CEO Steve Hawn said.  “We’re committed to this area.  We really want people to feel comfortable about what we’re doing and know the reasons we’re doing it:  the veterans side and the community side.”

“We want everybody to pull together and everybody knows we can do a better job (at recycling.  The state has admitted that we’re (Michigan) lagging far behind our Midwestern neighbors as far as recycling efforts.   The U.P. as a whole as admitted that, so working together will definitely bring us closer to that goal.”

For more information on SGT’S Recycling, you can visit their website.