The Larrabee Recycling Center in Santa Maria closed its doors on Dec. 30, citing increased operational costs and decreasing profits and support from CalRecycle for shuttering the longtime recycling center.
CalRecycle, a state government program that aims to bring together recycling and waste management programs in California, announced in December that it would cut some funding for program payments and processing fees. A news release from the Larrabee Recycling Center said the reduced funding put “further stress” on recycling centers, after scrap rates for several materials had already plummeted.
“We are essentially in partnership with CalRecycle, and they have not been very good partners,” co-owner Shannon Larrabee said in the release. She said it would have been unwise to continue the recycling center after CalRecycle announced its funding reductions.
The release said Larrabee plans to absorb the recycling center’s five full-time employees into Central Coast Distributing, the family’s beer distribution company. The center had been open for more than 45 years, and its loss leaves the Santa Maria Valley with three recycling buy-back centers: the Santa Maria Area Recycling Terminal, Nexcycle, and HSS Recycling.
“The bottom line is that we were in the business of reclaiming potentially valuable materials from the waste stream while providing some of our community’s nonprofits and poorest citizens with a legitimate source of income,” Larrabee said in the release.
In 2016, more than 60,000 customers brought in 34 million beverage containers, which paid out $1.7 million in California refund value (CRV).
“We hope the city comes up with a solution to provide another option to serve the residents who wish to redeem their recycled beverage containers and collect their CRV,” Larrabee said.
This article appears in Jan 5-12, 2017.