ARCA Recycling Steps Up

arca

ARCA Recycling recently launched seven major appliance recycling programs with utilities. Despite the launch landing on April first, this unprecedentedly large recycling initiative is no joke.

ARCA, which stands for Appliance Recycling Centers of America, Inc., owns the subsidiary ARCA recycling. According to ARCA Recycling’s President Edward R. (Jack) Cameron, the release of the seven enormous programs marked a new high in the company’s history:

washington“Since our company’s founding over 30 years ago, this was our greatest one-day operational accomplishment… I want to credit our outstanding team mebers who rose to the challenge to meet our utility clients’ timelines. ARCA’s infrastructure and capabilities developed over the years- including call centers, websites, proprietary software, on-the-ground logistics and state-of-the-art recycling centers- have enabled us to respond quickly to the increased demand for our services.”

The seven programs are mostly related to contracts announced in March and involving five states ARCA Recycling continues to move forward with the implementation of programs for utilities and has various programs scheduled to launch in May and June.

Cameron stated, “Our scalable solution has proven effective across the United States and we continue to respond to strong interest from utilities.” He claimed that ARCA’s boost in business was enabling the company to open additional recycling centers while boosting appliance volumes at existing facilities.

This boom in business shows no sign of stopping. According to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), utilities are continuing to move forward with energy-efficiency programs for the benefit of ratepayers and the environment: “Total spending for customer-funded electric efficiency programs and natural gas programs together amounted to more than $7 billion in 2014, more than five times what was invested in efficiency programs just a decade ago.”

Whether this increase is due to an expansion of environmental awareness or the development of energy efficient technology that is finally financially competitive with non-energy efficient appliances on the market is a subject of debate among business analysts and sociologists. Regardless, the process is occurring and appliance consumers can expect continued change towards green philosophies in the market.

ARCA itself has an interesting history. According to ARCA literature, its three business components “are uniquely positioned in the industry to work together to provide a full array of appliance-related services. ARCA Advanced Processing, LLC uses both state-of-the-art technology and corporate know-how to refine traditional appliance recycling techniques in order to maintain optimal revenue-generating and environmentally conscious benefits.

greenIn addition, ARCA is the only current distributor in North America for UNTHA Recycling Technology (URT), which as of late has become one of the world’s leading manufacturers of technology advanced refrigerator recycling systems and recycling facilities for electrical household appliances and electronic scrap.

So what does ARCA exactly do with your appliances once they have led a complete life? Don’t ask me, take it straight from the horse’s mouth:

“ARCA’s regional centers process appliances at end of life to remove environmentally damaging substances and produce material byproducts for recycling for utilities in the U.S. and Canada.”

In addition, ARCA facillitates the marketing and selling of energy efficient appliances: “Eighteen company-owned stores under the name ApplianceSmart Inc. sell new appliances directly to consumers and provide affordable ENERGY STAR options for energy efficiency appliance replacement programs.”

All in all, ARCA has become a green mogul and an example for other industries in terms of the potential success for green-leaning companies. The ability for a company like ARCA to expand, succeed, and genuinely enable an entire market to contribute to the development of environmentally friendly practices and mindsets. A company can truly be profitable and socially aware and powerful, as hopefully many businesses will demonstrate in the 21st century.