Marketplace Profile: Recycling
Services, Inc.
It is probably fitting that the first person profiled in "The
Marketplace" is the president and founder of the first community-recycling
program in Pennsylvania. Jim Crater, head of Recycling Services,
Inc. ("RSI") in Pottstown, first began his recycling
ventures as a high school student in Berks County in 1971. After
high school, Jim operated it as a volunteer project until 1982
when Jim decided he wanted to collect more types of items for
recycling. Jim tried to operate the business on a more or less
full-time basis for about a year.
After
trying to operate as a for-profit company for about a year, the
decision was made to turn the recycling business into the not-for-profit
corporation that continues today. On Tuesdays and Saturdays people
come from distances of up to 100 miles to bring their recyclables
to RSI. At the present time, RSI accepts 45 different types of:
glass; plastics; metals; textiles; papers; tires, and electronics,
including computers. People pull up to the gate and are given
a cart by one of workers to load with their items and transport
them to the proper locations inside the facility. Jim or one of
the other RSI people are always available to direct people to
the correct area to unload their materials, or to give advice
on many topics related to recycling. On an average day anywhere
from 100 to 200 cars arrive loaded with recyclables. However,
back in the 1980's, before Act 101 was enacted and started many
communities on the road to recycling, RSI would be literally inundated
with 300, 400, or 500 cars a day.
Business
on this hot, humid, Tuesday was crisp with an average of about
20 to 25 cars per hour arriving at the facility. Many of the people
know each other from their repeated adventures at RSI and the
place was bustling like a busy community. Community is a word
that Jim Crater uses often whether it is to describe his customers
or to give meaning to his vision for recycling and its place in
our society. There is no hurried rush to load the recyclables
into the cart, transport them to the proper locations, and rush
off to the next assignment. People are talking happily and catching
up with what is going on in the lives of their friends. Jim and
his staff are never too busy to listen and assist their clientele.
One delightful lady asked Jim to recite some poetry, as she knew
he was working on several books, one of them a book of poems.
Afterward she entertained us with a poem of her own. "What
we need to do is to pay attention to the things that are important;
community-building, connecting the dots, completing the circles",
that is the essence of what Jim Crater tries to do. Another Crater
favorite saying is "Attention given to things will create
change."
In addition to attention, RSI and its president focus tireless
efforts on creating, identifying, and nurturing markets for the
recyclables that RSI collects. As Jim notes; "The more local
the market, the less money is spent on transportation that is
really the killer in making recycling successful financially."
One local project that Crater has created is; "Common Thread"
which takes worn out denim clothing, collected at RSI, and makes
rugs, aprons, tote bags, etc., with it. The trimmings are used
to make tags for the items. Soon all of the equipment used in
this project will utilize renewable resources and the water used
in the process is used to fabricate blue paper. It is this completeness
or connecting of the circle that fuels Jim's enthusiasm for what
he does. Jim also speaks to students and all types of community
and civic groups on; recycling, composting, preservation of open
space, organic farming, product durability, electric vehicles
and solar projects.
One of the nicest things about working in the recycling field is the opportunity
to meet committed and caring individuals who make up the majority of the professionals
working in recycling. Jim's story is the first of many such stories that I hope
to bring to you in the coming months. And as Jim is fond of saying; "Create
a great day".