An Oregon native, Mark Thompson spent a year in Steamboat Springs and two years in the San Francisco Bay area before deciding that Colorado was a much better place to live. He set out for Boulder with plans to apply his recycling background and integrate into the recycling industry. However, a little exploring and little serendipity led to three days of couch surfing in Durango. That was all it took and Mark decided Durango was a much better place to be.
When Mark first arrived in Durango in 2000, the City provided a free recycling collection service for City residents, but there were no recycling services outside the City limits. All recyclables had to be separated back then and it was a real challenge for County residents to haul everything into town. With a pick-up truck and trailer filled with a dozen plastic carts to keep all the recycling separated, Mark founded Phoenix Recycling as an every-other-week recycling collection service for only $4.95 a month.
Phoenix Recycling has grown and changed over the years, but some things have remained the same. Phoenix tries to bring new recycling services to small-town Durango, but always takes the time to provide the quality, home-town service that people want. Fifteen years later and still growing, it’s a philosophy that works. We try hard to take care of our customers and we are very thankful for all the support. Together, we hope to accomplish more in the next 15 years than we have in the first 15 years.
Milestones
- 2001: Mark Thompson starts Phoenix Recycling in Durango, Colorado, offering semi-weekly recycling collection with a pickup truck in unincorporated La Plata County.
- 2002: Residential trash collection services are added and the recycling service is expanded to weekly collection. Phoenix also adds plastic bottles to the recycling program a year before it is available to Durango City residents.
- 2003: Phoenix Data Protection is founded to provide mobile paper shredding and recycling services to businesses in Southwest Colorado.
- 2004: Phoenix wins the "Green Business Leadership" award from the Durango Chamber of Commerce.
- 2006: Phoenix Construction Recycling is founded and opens the first co-mingled construction waste recycling facility in Colorado. Construction dumpsters are placed on job sites and contractors can place all of their waste inside without sorting. The dumpsters are then hauled back to our facility where over 75% is recycled.
- 2008: Phoenix Construction Recycling completes its first LEED-certified recycling project, recycling more than 75% of the building’s waste.
- 2012: The La Plata County Planning Commission and the Board of County Commissioners unanimously approve a conceptual development plan for a Resource Recovery Park which would expand local recycling opportunities even further. Unfortunately, the landowner backed out after the County approval.
- 2013: Phoenix Recycling launches single-stream recycling with Haul 'N One collection trucks. The trucks have two compartments so trash and recycling can be collected in one truck instead of two, cutting total truck emissions by 50%.
- 2016: We can’t publish it yet, but it’s going to be BIG! Stay tuned…
Curbside Recycling
Phoenix Recycling offers weekly curbside trash and recycling service. Taking advantage of weekly recycling service decreases the chance of recycling piling up at your house or garage. Our trucks are designed to keep liter from blowing out of the truck and do not use a robotic arm.Collection Routes run all year except for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year Day when service is delayed by one day. Phoenix Recycling asks that all trash and recycling containers be out by 7 a.m. for collection.For your convenience we offer three different sizes of rolling trash containers.
Phoenix Construction Recycling LLC
Phoenix Recycling provides 30yd Roll-Offs ‘Construction Site’ dumpsters to use for large amounts of waste and recycling.Roll-Offs are available throughout Southwest Colorado including:Durango, Bayfield, Ignacio, Pagosa Springs, Silverton, Mancos, La Plata County, Archuleta County, Montezuma County, Dolores County and San Juan County.Phoenix Recycling prides itself on hand sorting each roll-off that is received at the facility. On average we are able to recycle 75% of the materials collected. We offer competitive pricing and a 48 hour guarantee for delivery.
Commercial Shredding
Phoenix Recycling can provide an Executive Cabinet or Professional Cart for a monthly fee for you to use in your office. These locking containers have a slot that employees can easily slip confidential paperwork into. We recommend placing our shred containers close to the printers, copiers and fax machines to ensure an easy to use confidential receptacle to deposit unwanted documents. Regular service includes locking containers for your office. We offer "professional carts" and "executive cabinets" to meet your needs.
Professional Cart
Our cart holds approximately 200 lbs of paper (equivalent to six full copy-paper boxes). The cart is made of sturdy blue plastic with the security slot of top of it and has wheels for easy relocation.
Executive Cabinet
Our cabinets hold approximately 100lbs of paper(equivalent to three full copy-paper boxes). The professional grey melamine cabinet has a solid top that can be used as a platform for a printer or fax machine.
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