The Green Team
Curbside Recycling
Butte, MT
(406) 494-1380
RecycleButte.com
© Copyright 2010
Going curbside
Two new businesses in Butte pickup recyclables at your door
By Tim Trainor - 07/25/2009
Tim Trainor / The Montana Standard (Reprinted by permission of The Montana Standard)
 Kelly Ferriter of The Green Team sorts recyclables in Uptown Butte. Ferriter started the business with his wife, Summer, last November. |
Two curbside recycling companies are operating in the Mining City, and they offer door-to-door collection and sorting services.
The Green Team, which Kelly Ferriter and his wife, Summer, started last November, is a family business. Each Tuesday the couple teams with their children and other family members to drive around town to gather and sort the materials.
Kelly said it didn't take long for the business to pick up.
"It's been very successful," Kelly said. "We've already got 75 customers and it's been growing every week." The Green Team collects both No. 1 and No. 2 plastics, aluminum cans and foil, paper bags, bagged shredded paper, newspapers, metal cans, frozen food boxes, mail and magazines, paper and catalogs, cardboard and glass.
They take the loads to the nearest recycling center. The cost for the service: $9 a month for a residence or $15 for a business, with prices varying depending on the number and size of bins.
Customers are required to purchase a 32-gallon bin for $15; or a 49-gallon bin for $20.
Kelly said they began to think seriously about the business during last fall's election season.
"We noticed there was an interest in a curbside recycling program. People kept talking and asking about it," he said. "So we started to ask around the neighborhood and got a business plan together and decided to go for it." The Ferriters use large bins and a flatbed trailer to collect the items, and it doesn't take more than a few minutes at each location.
"We move pretty quick," he said.
Newest on the curbside-recycling block is local dentist Peggy-Cheman Lowney, who started a curbside collection service, called Evergreen Recycling, this month.
"I guess in this profession (as a dentist) you are taught to be conservative and save, save, save," she said. "I think this will be great for Butte as a community and people will be more conscientious of their trash." Cheman-Lowney said she gives her recyclable material to AWARE Inc., a local nonprofit.
"They get a lion's share of their money from recycling so I felt it was important to go through them," she said.
Her service is a little different than The Green Team's. She distributes specially designed bins n with a $30 deposit per bin — and asks that customers sort their own recyclables. She then charges $7 per pickup, and customers can decide how often they want pickups scheduled, from once-a-week to once-a-month. She said the collection dates will probably be Friday or Saturday, whichever is easier for the customer.
Cheman-Lowney said she will make the rounds with her daughter.
"I think kids are really the driving force behind a lot of recycling," she said. "I know in my case it is really them being aware of it and pushing it on their parents." Cheman-Lowney said her service recycles aluminum cans, glass, cardboard and various paper products.
"We've had a great response, we've got 45 people signed up already," she said. "I think that it will make recycling easier for people, and that's what's great about it." Reporter Tim Trainor may be reached via e-mail at tim.trainor@lee.net or call 496-5519.
Who to call For more information on the two curbside recycling businesses in Butte:
The Green Team, 494-1380, www.recyclebutte.com or e-mail greenteam(a)recyclebutte(dot)com
