Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, January 20, 1992 TAG: 9201200224
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
MORE BUSINESS FOR RECYCLERS
COLLECTING and handling junk is down-and-dirty work, carried on amid noise, dirt and clutter. Last week the business took on an aura of glamour in the Roanoke Valley. While most economic indicators, local and national, were pointing down, Cycle Systems of Roanoke and Lynchburg announced it is expanding its recycling and processing operations.That's more than economic good news. In an era when our society is trying to shake its throwaway mentality, a business like Cycle Systems takes on special importance. The valley and other nearby communities have gained from access to this company. Now it plans to expand as far west as Bristol, and to this end has sold its waste-hauling division to Illinois-based Waste Management of North America.
Unloading that division will allow the company to concentrate on the effort that happens to be of greatest benefit to this end of Virginia. That is in helping its residents find better uses for solid waste than trucking it to the landfill.
Cycle Systems has done business in Roanoke for 75 years. Never mind that it happens to have been an environmentally responsible corporate citizen: It must have looked heaven-sent to valley governments a few years ago, when the General Assembly ordered Virginia localities to recycle progressively larger amounts of their solid waste.
It is by far not the only waste dealer in the area, but Cycle Systems is one of only five multimaterial recycling facilities in the state: It accepts a broad range of paper, glass, metals and plastics. Having a guaranteed outlet for their recyclables means that governments can work on collection programs and not have to worry about finding markets. Cycle Systems also keeps close tabs on this fast-changing field, and localities can benefit from that knowledge and experience.
Not all this new business from localities is gravy for Cycle Systems. The recent upsurge of interest in recycling across the country has flooded the markets with castoffs.
As gluts developed, prices dropped, sometimes sharply. In its year-end edition, the trade newspaper Recycling Times reported that "most recyclers are already looking for a better and brighter 1992. Some are just happy to still be in business; that's what kind of year it was in recycling markets."
Recycling trash seems a business that, despite ups and downs, can only grow. The established experience and long-term outlook of a company such as Cycle Systems is helpful, especially in down cycles.
Also helpful would be more competition as the recycling industry expands.