Ark Regional Services will shut down its recycling center officially in May. After adding numbers and assessing its true mission, Ark feels that it cannot justify putting money into the program when that money can go into other mission driven services.
“At the core of things, I want people to know that what we do is facilitate opportunities for folks with disabilities,” said Ark Regional Services President and CEO Shirley Pratt. “But [recycling] that we’ve done for so long, that’s why people know us.”
Pratt said that the mission of Ark is to facilitate those with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live, learn, work and play.
“When the recycling center started losing money, that meant in order for us to keep it running, we had to put money into it,” said Pratt. “That means we’re taking money away from our mission driven services; there is no way to justify that.”
When Ark started its recycling program over 30 years ago, it began as a way for the people it supports to gain interaction with other community members, Pratt said.
“A lot of the jobs then were things that the folks we support could do,” said Pratt.
In the 1980s, Ark had to create jobs for people who wanted them, said Pratt.
“We are in a more enlightened time now, so what our focus really is, is to put our energy toward getting the community involved and find new places for people we support to work and volunteer,” said Pratt.
She said it is not Ark’s responsibility to make jobs for the people they serve, but help them find the jobs.
When the recycling program began, they only collected aluminum. People with disabilities were able to work in the facility maneuvering palette jacks and small bailers, said Pratt.
“It was a great job opportunity,” said Pratt. “Then it turned into a revenue stream and the revenue stream grew and we were able to expand and grow.”
As the program grew with taking in multiple recyclables and having to use new and more modern technology many of those important, meaningful jobs for people with disabilities went away, said Pratt.
Ark’s website states that Ark has researched ways to make the recycling program profitable, but the math does not add up.
Even though the math made it clear what is best financially, Pratt said it was an extremely hard decision to make.
“This is an incredibly hard decision,” said Pratt. “Its one that my leadership team and I have lost a lot of sleep over trying to determine what the best thing to do is.”
She said there are jobs that are being lost in addition with the jobs Ark provides for people with disabilities. The recycling foreman and truck driver jobs will be lost. Pratt said it is devastating that they are going away.
Pratt said she has confidence in the city of Laramie’s recycling program, even as Ark’s recycling center is discontinuing to operate. She said she thinks their curbside operations are working very well, but does have a concern when it comes to commercial cardboard recycling. Ark is researching options for commercial cardboard recycling, according to the statement on its website. Until the city picks up the commercial cardboard recycling or they find an option the cardboard will have to go to the landfill in the interim, said Pratt.
Pratt said, even though recycling has gone away, Ark is still here and they still need support from the community.
“At the end of the day we have to make sure we are financially solvent for our mission driven services,” said Pratt.
