Remember that priceless scene in the 1967 film classic “The Graduate” when a zealous businessman collars the naïve protagonist Benjamin Braddock to offer a “just one word” of career advice? “Plastics,” declares Mr. McGuire. “Exactly how do you mean?” Benjamin asks. “There’s a great future in plastics,” McGuire replies solemnly.
Who envisioned back then that those words were an accurate prediction concerning not only the value of plastic in the mass production of all kinds of consumer goods, but also the huge dilemma of how to dispose of vast amounts of spent wastes that now are inundating the entire planet?
At the time, dealing with inorganic refuse wasn’t a subject foremost in the minds of Craig Shanholtzer and Francisco Gonzalez. By a strange twist of fate, these two guys – born in different lands, in the same “boomer” generation – eventually paired up to establish Recicladora de la Ribera de Chapala (RRC), lakeside’s first bona fide plastics recycling and processing center.
RCC is more than a simple depository for junk plastic. It is forward-thinking enterprise equipped to collect, sort and mill different types of discarded plastic that can be easily converted into reusable material.
The tidy facility is staffed by three full time employees who handle day-to-day operations while the owners oversee management. The business adheres to strict safety standards, with employees fitted out with complete protective gear and zero production of toxic wastes. The work crew receives, weighs and disburses payment for recyclable plastic items brought in by clients. Next they separate and categorize the stuff, and then feed it by batches through an industrial strength grinder that turns it into small flakes.The final product is stored in giant bags that are sold to other outfits specializing in washing and sanitizing ground plastic. From there the raw material continues up the recycling chain to be melted, molded, cut up into pellets, and finally turned into new goods. Recycled plastic is used in manufacturing a wide array of products including building materials, furniture, household utensils, fiber for clothing and other textiles.
Cross-cultural partnership
Although Shanholtzer and Gonzalez come from entirely different backgrounds, they found common ground to develop a partnership in a promising and earth-friendly business venture that runs under the slogan “Serving Lakeside, Mexico and the World.”
Shanholtzer, a Montana native and Colorado transplant, is a former world cup ski racer who left behind a sports career to go into construction and industrial production of high-end carpentry. Forced into early retirement by the stagnant U.S. economy, he began the search for an affordable place to settle. He came to lakeside sight unseen three years ago and so far has no regrets about taking the plunge.
Born in Guadalajara, Gonzalez was raised and educated in the U.S. in a fully bicultural environment. His adult professional life has evolved through the fields of education, the arts, public relations and ultimately architectural and interior design with a “green” focus. He has vivid memories of visiting the Chapala area in his youth, but never imagined actually living here. But once he decided to return to his native land and began exploring various Mexico destinations, he rediscovered the idyllic place to put down roots just over a year ago.
The two men struck up a friendship after a chance encounter on rainy day last summer. Conversations on local environmental issues led to more serious discussions on shared goals of generating income and contributing towards ecological sustainability.
“People are married to plastic, but we can’t afford to keep using up a limited supply of petroleum to make it,” Shanholtzer observes. “Reclaiming resources makes sense. In the current climate recycling is an industry with a heartbeat.”
After dedicating about eight months to research and development, the pair opened RRC just over one month ago. A key step was connecting with Tecnorec, the Guadalajara green technology outfit that produced their high power plastic grinder and provided essential guidance to get the recycling plant rolling.
“We found out we’re not the first people to come up with the idea,” Gonzalez recalls. “Tecnorec told us they had been approached by a dozen others who were thinking of starting a lakeside recycling center, but for one reason or another, none of those ventures panned out.” Although they expected to run into insuperable roadblocks along the way, the project steadily moved forward without a major hitch.
Combined knowledge and working backgrounds seems to have made up the perfect formula to succeed in the pursuit. Shanholtzer contributed his hands-on technical experience in manufacturing processes and serious chops for running a business. Gonzalez had plenty of practice in developing environmentally sound architectural and design projects and running business promotion campaigns. His bilingual language skills and full understanding of Mexican culture and bureaucracy proved invaluable.
Nuts and bolts
The company’s business plan is geared to appeal to lakeside’s broad and culturally diverse populace. RCC buys materials directly from local businesses, home owner associations, schools, community organizations, independent junk dealers and walk-in-customers. They may register as bulk, small account or individual clients. In the future, a drop-off system will be set up to drum up cash contributions for selected local charities.
The facility is already doing swift trade with the municipal government’s garbage collectors who pull heaps of plastics and other recyclable materials from the waste stream as they make their rounds. City Hall allows the men to keep proceeds from selling salvaged inorganic scrap, providing them some extra pocket money to buy snacks and drinks during the work day.
The local government also benefits from this informal waste recycling scheme by saving some of the steep dumping fees it pays to deposit the community’s solid wastes at the privately operated GEN landfill facility in Ixtlahuacan de los Membrillos.
Residents who separate recyclables from the rest of their household refuse help the garbage men avoid the nasty task of picking through mixed rubbish, save time in sorting, and aid in making curbside pickup service more efficient.
RCC pays top market price for items made of PET (water and soft drink bottles), Natural HDPE (milk bottles), Jazz HDPE (mixed color crates and pails) and mixed plastic (food and cleaning product containers). Per kilo rates fluctuate from week to week.
The facility is conveniently located at Hidalgo 222-A in Riberas del Pilar. Look for the bright blue and green storefront adjacent to the south side of the Chapala-Jocotepec highway, a half-block of the 7-Eleven store. Stop by to pick up printed flyers spelling out RCC guidelines, available in Spanish or English.