In just 24 months of operation, J. P. Mascaro & Sons’
ultra-modern TotalRecycle single stream recycling facility has received
national acclaim. The 85,000 square foot
facility in Birdsboro, Pennsylvania, managed by Mascaro’s Director of
Sustainability, Joseph P. Mascaro, has been heralded as a “cutting edge
facility” for processing single stream recyclables.
The Journal for Waste
and Resource Management Professionals touted the TotalRecycle facility in
its September 2017 issue. TotalRecycle
was the cover story in that issue, with the byline titled “Inside the Mega Material Recovery Facility.”
A month later, in October 2017, an article in Waste Management World, a leading
industry publication, highlighted the TotalRecycle facility. That article focused on the operational efficiencies
and the sophisticated sorting equipment utilized at TotalRecycle’s state-of-the-art
facility.
Van Dyk Recycling Solutions, a leader in automated recycling
equipment, provided the top of the line automated sorting system equipment that
is in place at TotalRecycle. Referring
to the exceptional quality of Van Dyk’s equipment in a recent publication,
facility General Manager, Joseph Mascaro, emphasized that “a little better is a lot better”
Mascaro also spoke to his optimism for processing production
at TotalRecycle in calendar year 2018.
“I anticipate that TotalRecycle will process more than 200 million
pounds of recyclables in 2018, after totaling more than 160 million pounds in
2017,” said Mascaro.
Mascaro added that, “Our existing customers, especially the
80-plus municipalities J. P. Mascaro & Sons serves under contract, are a
great and continuing source of recyclables.”
In that regard, J. P. Mascaro & Sons, in conjunction
with TotalRecycle, is looking at upgrading its resident recycling awareness
programs in the municipalities it serves, with the goal being to remind
residents of their contract recyclable packaging and placement responsibilities
and to maximize community-wide recycling in general. The company is also looking at upgrading the
Quality Assurance Program for Mascaro employees who collect curbside
recyclables under municipal contracts.
Upgrades in resident recycling education awareness programs
and employee quality assurance programs sere to make certain that all of the
residents Mascaro serves under municipal contracts are placing recyclables
curbside in accordance with contract requirements and municipal ordinances, and
that Mascaro employees are following contract performance requirements and
company policies.
By staying on top of these programs, Mascaro and the
contracting municipality can avoid the type of isolated incident that occurred
in Mascaro’s Borough of Emmaus contract, where residents were putting out
recyclables in a haphazard fashion and contrary to contract requirements, which
made it difficult for collectors to determine recyclables from trash, and
where, on one occasion, a Mascaro collector was seen mixing some recyclables
with trash, which the contract and company policy prohibit, and which resulted
in the employee being fired.
Given the many variables and the human element involved in
municipal waste collection and recycling contracts, there can be such an
isolated incident, but good faith communication and cooperation between the
service provider and the contracting municipality diminishes the likelihood of
such an incident and assures that if one should occur, it is quickly and
properly addressed. Mascaro strives for
such good faith communication and cooperation in its municipal contracts, and
educational awareness programs and quality assurance programs are a great help
in that regard.