Spotlight On: The Fanwood Recycling Center

Founded in 1986, the Fanwood Recycling Center is arguably the gold standard of recycling in New Jersey.

A model of efficiency and quality control, the center not only sells a higher percentage of recyclable materials than most, but it also subsequently recycles the profits back into the town. All of this ultimately benefits Fanwood residents, who must save up their materials, drive them to the center and go out of their way to recycle each week.

In 2008, the Fanwood Recycling Center received $90,000 for 2 ½ million pounds of recyclables, which is not too shabby for a small outfit in a small town. Even more impressive, 100 percent of the money was given back to the community: the Fanwood Rescue Squad, the Fanwood Fire Department, the Fanwood Recreation Commission, the Fanwood Department of Public Works, and other various civic organizations all benefit from the center's revenues.

The non-profit center is run by a few paid individuals, volunteers (who either simply want to give back to the town or who are earning scouting merits or church advancements), and the Fanwood Recycling Association, a compilation of 25 churches, scouting troops, and other local civic organizations. Each organization provides a dozen workers to man the center during its Saturday hours in exchange for a little under $300 a day.

And work it definitely is. Even though Fanwood regulations require its residents to recycle and pre-sort their waste (glass by color, paper by type, etc.), the center’s workers must transport bins, crates, and bags of recycling from residents’ cars, hand-sift through bottles one-by-one to remove plastic rings and metal sleeves, crush and stack plastics into palettes, and complete a variety of tasks in order to prepare the recyclables for resale.

Because of the center’s militant preparation efforts, its recycled goods are more attractive to buyers who would rather purchase Fanwood’s materials than other towns’ mixed recycling that has sat out in the rain and mud.

The center also acts as a community service outlet for almost 60 people who must volunteer their time and labor to pay back a debt to society. Participating in the program are low-risk, minor offenders from Union County’s probation courts, pre-trial intervention, and its youth and family services, as well as from the Garwood, Scotch Plains, and Fanwood court systems, and the Scotch Plains and Fanwood police departments. Even the school system utilizes the recycling center as a detention site.

“That forms a work force that you couldn’t afford to pay for,” said Alan Ebersole, site manager for the Fanwood Recycling Center and a Fanwood resident. “It accomplishes an awful lot and makes this program a success. It’s also a way for people who have made poor choices to pay back society. There are not many places in the state or the county who are willing to supervise, motivate, discipline, and guide people like this. We couldn’t do this without them.”

Mike McCrea, a 19-year-old resident of Westfield, was court-ordered to perform 90 hours of community service at the center for an underage DUI.

“I’ve been in a lot of trouble in my life,” McCrea said. “But working here is constructive. I can do something good. I think it’s one of the best ways to pay my debt. But it smells awful!”

While the center is located in Fanwood, residents of any town are welcome to drop off their recycling. The Fanwood Recycling Center is open year-round and accepts more types of materials than most towns’ recycling services will collect, including electronics, liquids, solid plastics, and even plastic shopping bags. Because Fanwood’s cash base is so small, every dollar counts.

“The recycling center is open for anyone who has recyclables and doesn’t know what to do with them,” said Bob Sommerich, who at the spry age of 94 is vice president of the recycling center. “Bring them here. The more we get, the more we can sell. The more we sell, the more income we have.”

The Fanwood Recycling Center is the only operation in the county totally reliant on its townspeople for bringing in its recyclable materials. Its residents are not taxed for curbside pick-up, which according to Ebersole, results in a savings of over $200,000 per year.

Sommerich credits the success of the center to the support of the community. He should know, having been a Fanwood resident since 1967 and involved with the center since its inception.   

“On the one hand, the center is an enormous savings to the town and its people,” Sommerich said. “On the other hand, it’s inconvenient. But the people of the town have been remarkable. If they didn’t cooperate, it would be a flop.”

While the recycling center does generate money for the town, its core mission is to help the environment. The center holds classes for grade schools, youth groups, and senior citizens to educate them on the importance of recycling.                    

“There’s no other planet that we can live on,” said Ebersole, who was recently named Fanwood’s “Volunteer of the Month” for his 23 years of service. “We’ve got to do a better job than we are doing. This is an important message, and you’ve got to start with the young people who are going to be here. We’re the only ones who collect all of this. There’s nobody in the state who does better or more. Our recycling is not going to the landfill, and that’s the main thing.”

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Fanwood Recycling Center

North Avenue & Westfield Road, Fanwood

Open Saturdays from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Open Wednesdays (self-service) from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.