For a recycling organization, using the sun’s renewable energy to power operations just makes sense.
Sedona Recycles recently received an Arizona Public Service grant of $47,300 to install an 11.96 kilowatt photovoltaic system on the roof of the recycling center in West Sedona. Director of Community Development Meghan Kincheloe said the system will provide just under the center’s annual need.
“APS grants a maximum of 12 kilowatts so we got pretty close to the top allotted. It’ll save us more than $3,000 a year on our energy costs,” Kincheloe said.
The installation of the system is paid for through the APS Energy Assistance for Renewable Neighborhoods Program. The program offers financial contributions to APS nonprofit customers who add renewable energy systems to their operations.
The center will have approximately 50 photovoltaic panels installed on the roof by a Cornville solar power company. Sedona Recycles has looked at solar grants for three years.
“We have to have the installation completed by the end of August, so it’s going to whip up pretty fast here,” Kincheloe said. “Solar makes sense for a nonprofit with an environmental mission. It’s right along with our mission of reducing waste — it’s capturing that lost energy from the sun.”
Not long after Sedona Recycles received the APS grant, Kincheloe received word the center was awarded $3,000 toward the cost of a polystyrene, or Styrofoam, crushing machine from the Yavapai County Community Foundation, an affiliate of the Arizona Community Foundation.
Kincheloe thinks Sedona Recycles will have the first machine of its kind in the state at a community recycling center.
“What this means is we finally can move forward to take at least block polystyrene — the packing used for shipping equipment and coolers. It will be great for businesses and contractors who get this type of packing constantly,” Kincheloe said.
The cost of the machine is approximately $22,000, so Kincheloe applied for other grants from the Sedona Community Foundation and the city of Sedona. She expects to hear from them within the next few weeks. Kincheloe hopes to have the system ready by the end of the year.
“So then, with the new machine, we can start taking block Styrofoam and keep it out of the landfill,” she said.
Statistics show 1 pound of recycled polystyrene saves the manufacture of 1 pound of new polystyrene. Polystyrene can be crushed and remade into other products like clothes hangers, picture frames, cafeteria trays, CD cases and razors.
“It’s a matter of getting all of the air out — Styrofoam is 97 percent air — and down to just the plastic,” Kincheloe said.
Unfortunately, only the block-style polystyrene will be taken at the recycling bins throughout Sedona and the Verde Valley — no cups, plates or other items used for food or drinks. If any polystyrene product has had contact with food-type items it is considered contaminated, according to recycling guidelines, Kincheloe said.
“I hope at some point, soon, we can get the technology to take the cups and plates. It can be recycled into other products, but takes special treatment,” she said. “There’s a lot of that out there, and a lot of it ends up along the roadside.”
Sedona Recycling is at 2280 Shelby Drive in West Sedona. For more information, call 204-1185.
Lu Stitt can be reached at 282-7795, ext. 122, or email lu@larsonnewspapers.com
