DURANGO, Colo. – It seems that Durango is always a little bit ahead of the curve, blessed with innovative businesses and forward-think individuals with entrepreneurial vision and drive.

One such example is Phoenix Recycling. And in this case, the proverbial Phoenix has not just risen, it’s flyin’ high.

Launched in 2001 by Mark Thompson and Alex Arribau, Phoenix Recycling is actually three businesses in one – residential curbside waste removal and recycling for La Plata County residents; confidential data shredding and recycling for businesses; and the latest (and most visible venture) construction recycling.

“The construction recycling is about 50 percent of our revenue,” said Arribau, who along with Thompson, had since college graduation sought a professional path that would “make a difference.” “It’s the side of the business that makes it all come together. The curbside recycling and shredding grow in a more organic rate throughout the year, so they’re nice to have.”

Phoenix “arose” at a time when Durango and surrounding La Plata County residents had started becoming increasingly concerned with “sustainability.” Acknowledging that the region is essentially isolated and has limited natural resources, and that a growing contingent of locals are “thinking globally, but acting locally,” Thompson and Arribau’s venture filled a much-needed, and under-served niche.

The seeds for Thompson’s interest in both recycling and composting had been planted during a vacation to Belize where he learned of the island’s orange juice industry. In response to the residual orange peel problem, an ingenious entrepreneur had laid out a business plan to compost the peels for eventual shipment to the U.S. as a high quality fertilizer.

“He took a waste product, helping the people there by getting rid of the stuff, and created a value-added product that benefits the people in the United States,” said Thompson. “Every step of the way it seemed like people benefited from it, so it intrigued me. Over the next couple of years, one thing led to another, and that’s how I got involved with recycling.”

The big red boxes lined up as if at attention at the recycling facility in Three Springs.

The couple started the recycling business literally in the living room of their home – prototypes of what ended up being the “critter-proof” trash receptacle filling the space. As Phoenix got underway, Thompson was literally driving the trash truck, with Arribau handling the business side. When the data shredding business was launched, Arribau also learned how to maneuver a truck – this time the mobile shredder.

The big jump in the business was moving into construction recycling in July 2006. Employees now drive “the trucks." Thompson oversees operations and Arribau is back to managing the business and marketing.

“We did a lot of research to figure out how much volume we would receive, and how much could be recycled and how,” said Arribau of developing the construction recycling division. “Then how we would set up the facilities – and finding a location. It was about two years total to get the construction recycling off the ground. But it all worked.”

Key to success was support of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, which leased seven acres of land in the Three Springs area to Phoenix. The resulting new recycling facility is the first of its kind in region.

Though not glamorous, the facility is impressive, sporting literally giant mounds of recyclable materials including wood, concrete, cardboard and metal – as well as the “unrecyclable” pile that must head to the landfill. Thompson and Arribau estimate, however, that 55 to 65 percent of the material collected from new construction is recycled.

For the average 2,000 square foot home construction project, Phoenix recovers some 600 pounds of cardboard, enough to save seven full grown pine trees. Nearly all new appliances, tiles, windows, cabinets and light fixtures are shipped in cardboard. According to Arribau, if La Plata County builders recycled all the cardboard in their projects, it could save more than 3,800 pine trees annually.

Concrete and brick blocks collected are crushed and used as aggregate for road construction. The metals are bundled, compacted and transported for recycling, saving energy and reducing pollution and the need for additional mining.

In the distance, behind wood scrap and mulch, is the waste metal to be compacted and transported.

The majority of new construction waste is wood, and Phoenix can turn more than 1.5 tons of scrap wood into 15 cubic yards of garden mulch. With Three Springs gobbling up the mulch as the 600-plus acre development continues, Phoenix is creating a ready supply.

“Education is a huge part of it,” said Arribau, noting that if all La Plata County builders had recycled new construction material this past year, more than 2 million pounds of material would have escaped the landfill and been reused in a new way.

Traditionally, recycling hasn’t been popular on construction sites as builders have had to train their workers to separate recyclable materials as well as find places that will accept it. With Phoenix, however, everything goes into the box and is transported to the recycling facility where it is hand-sorted.

Phoenix is providing construction recycling for Three Springs, as well as additional homes being built by Tierra Group, the tribe’s construction division. Phoenix estimates that more than 5,000 tons of waste will be recycled during the 20-year build-out of Three Springs alone.

The company is also recycling for significant commercial projects, including the new SkyUte Casino in Ignacio and the Durango Public Library. The entities, including Tierra Group homes, are pursuing environmental certification, either LEED (commercial) or Built Green (residential). Built Green only requires general recycling. For LEED certification, however, Phoenix maintains separate boxes and measures and documents all materials recycled for the builders.

“It is good because we do measure how much recycling we do for them, so it gives us some measure as well,” said Arribau. “It’s a lot of work for us to put everything in separate containers for the LEED, but it’s also good.”

In addition to Tierra Group and Three Springs, builders utilizing Phoenix’s services include Paragon, Okland Construction, Perigrine Point (at Durango Mountain Resort), Dyerbilt, Galbraith Builders, Tom D. Gorton Construction, Sachs Construction, Timberline Builders, Solid Structures, Mirador, Gene Fisher, Mantell-Hecathorn Builders, SDC, Habitat for Humanity and more.

Phoenix does not, however, handle demolition construction waste, which is, according to Arribau, a “totally different ballgame.” Demolition generates materials that are bound together, such as drywall and wood. Plus hazardous materials can be an issue.

“We have enough new construction that it works,” said Arribau, though she admits the company is at a growth crossroads. The big red boxes (that serve a duel function as billboards sporting the Phoenix logo) are in demand, with a builder waiting list in place.

“It’s interesting, the more that we have these red boxes everywhere, we get more and more business,” said Arribau. “We’ve kind of exploded. A year and a half ago we had one employee. But the business is running well and the customers are happy, so all that’s good. People in Durango care.”

To learn more or enlist any of Phoenix’s services, visit the website, www.phoenixrecycling.com.

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