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September 27, 2005
Mt. Holly Best Recycler award
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Sept 27, 2005 -- Greenville, SC – The SC Recycling Market Development Advisory Council recognized Chris Fisher as the state’s Recycler of the Year as part of an award ceremony held in Greenville today as part of the second annual Recycling Business Forum. In addition, Alcoa Mt. Holly was honored for having the state’s Best Industry Recycling Program, and Nucor Steel’s Berkeley plant was tapped as Best Large Recycling Company of the Year.
Housed within the SC Department of Commerce, the Council tracks the recycling industry for the state as well as promotes the benefits of recycling through the Business Recycling Assistance Program (B-RAP). B-RAP is a partnership with the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control that provides free technical assistance to business, industry, government agencies and other interested organizations.
An entrepreneur that started his business in 1992 with one truck, Fisher began collecting cardboard, glass bottles and metal containers from businesses in Charleston’s peninsula business district. He has since grown to provide curbside collection to residents of Daniel Island, offer onsite document destruction, electronics recycling and reuse, vermi-composting of yard debris and organic food waste, making terrazzo tiles and countertops from recycled glass, and creating wood flooring from recycled pallets.
Fisher Recycling has an impressive list of clients, including the College of Charleston, Charleston Place Hotel and Trident Regional Medical Center. He recently opened a second location in North Charleston as part of a partnership with the Noisette Company to provide recycling services and create new jobs as part of ongoing efforts to redevelop the former Naval Base. Fisher is active in numerous civic and environmental organizations, including a past board member of the Carolina Recycling Association, the City of Charleston Appearance Committee, the National Association of Information Destruction and the Mount Pleasant Business and Professional Association. He represents the general public as a Governor-appointee to the South Carolina Recycling Market Development Advisory Council.
"Choosing this year's winners was no easy task as we had a good number of deserving nominees," said Ted Campbell, senior manager of the Council. "But the winners we recognized today took some extra steps to help foster our recycling industry and we're certainly appreciative of the example they set for their peers."
Alcoa Mt. Holly has been a leader in many ways with regard to recycling, waste reduction and sustainable activities. In 2004, the company was successful in recycling 72 percent of its total waste – well on its way to meeting its zero waste goal by 2020. In addition to recycling materials generated at its plant, Alcoa also provides a recycling collection center for its employees to bring materials from home. Since this program was started in 1990, more than 400 tons of recyclable material and another 1,774 tons of scrap wood have been recycled. The aluminum manufacturer has saved more than $1.8 million in avoided landfill disposal costs.
And the nation’s top recycler is also South Carolina’s number one recycler, producing more than 3.3 million tons of carbon steel sheet and beams in 2004 at its Huger facility. The company reported a 12 percent increase from 2003 efforts to recycle scrap from old automobiles, railcar wheels and appliances. Nucor is recognized globally as a low-cost, innovative and technologically-advanced producer of recycled steel as well as for its incentive-based pay and decentralized organizational structure designed to foster entrepreneurial spirit among its employees. The mini-steel mill also reuses a variety of its byproducts to keep materials such as mill scale, slag, ferrous chloride, baghouse dust, zinc dross and used refractory brick out of area landfills.
The awards were broken into two categories: four recognizing recycling businesses and four recognizing organizations that implemented successful recycling initiatives as part of their operations. There were two special recognition awards also presented. A summary of the other award recipients is provided below:
SC Recycling Business Awards:
Mid-Carolina Steel & Recycling Company in Columbia received honors as the state’s Best Medium-sized Recycling Company. Mid-Carolina not only operates a ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metal recycling processor but has added a new steel service center that includes an ornamental iron warehouse and showroom.
Earth Protection Services Inc. in Williamston won recognition in the state’s Small Recycling Business category. EPSI serves as a regional collection and processing center for a variety of materials regulated as universal waste, including computer electronics, mercury-containing fluorescent lamps, industrial and consumer batteries as well as PCB and non-PCB lighting ballast.
Business Recycling Assistance Program Awards
Greenville County was recognized as having the Best Office Recycling Program in the state. Using a fun slogan, “Play Paperball,“ and creative educational pieces, Greenville County employees increased the amount of office paper they were recycling as well as added beverage containers, fluorescent bulbs and printer cartridges to their recycling efforts.
S&T Grading and Excavation in Lexington was recognized as the top Construction and Demolition Recycling Program in the state. S&T recycled 95 percent of the land-clearing debris, concrete, asphalt and brick debris generated in construction and demolition projects to create mulch, boiler fuel and aggregate products that are sold to various commercial and industrial customers.
Chicago Pneumatic Tool Company in Rock Hill was honored as the state’s Best Small Industry Recycling Program. After tackling high volume items like cardboard and office paper, Chicago Pneumatic aggressively targeted a number of additional items, including used oil, fluorescent bulbs, scrap metal, printer cartridges and skids. They have also implemented a program to use reusable packaging and containers to reduce packaging waste.
Collins Home & Family Ministries of Seneca was given special recognition for its efforts to recycle newspaper and office paper in the Upstate. As a non-profit children’s home, the recycling program began in 1986 as a way to raise money for the support of the children living at Collins Home. Collecting newspapers from individuals, civic groups, neighborhood associations and businesses throughout a three county area, this program generates about $25,000 in revenue for the Collins Home each year and provides a positive stewardship message not only to the residents of the Collins Home but also the customers they serve.
Clarence H. “Red” Hermann of Michelin Tire Corporation was recognized for his outstanding service to the SC Recycling Market Development Advisory Council. Red joined the Council in 1997, representing the tire industry. He has chaired the Council’s Tire Committee and most recently the Established Recyclables Committee as well as served as Vice Chair of the Council. He also has served on the state’s Waste Tire Committee and has been a strong supporter of efforts to use recycled tires in rubberized asphalt.
-South Carolina Department of Commerce
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