March 29, 2024

Baxter couple opens industrial recycling business

H&W Recycling to accept old appliances, electronics

While Tom and Tonda Hulbert, both of Baxter, officially opened H&W Recycling on Saturday morning, they don’t accept the typical soda cans and water bottles that immediately come to mind. In fact, the Hulberts chose to take on recycling on a slightly larger scale, accepting everything from old cell phones to broken refrigerators.

“Recycling keeps things from going in the landfills and the ditches,” Tonda explained. “You break them down for each metal and then we sell them to Alter (Metal Recycling) in Des Moines.”

“There’s money in scrapping, so we thought why not do it in a professional setting?” Tom added, explaining that H&W operates in compliance with all Environmental Protection Agency and Iowa Department of Natural Resources guidelines.

The business, which is located along County Blacktop F-17 on Baxter’s south side, consists of a warehouse already brimming with old appliances, ready for breaking down and subsequent recycling.

“We had a rough estimate of the space that we would need in terms of square footage,” Tom said of H&W’s warehouse, a building he and Tonda built and now own. “Right now we can collect, but we can’t take anything apart until our licenses come though,” he added, noting that they’d likely be licensed to begin breaking pieces down within two weeks.

As the only industrial and large-scale recycling business in Baxter, the Hulberts were grateful to receive support from the city.

“We’ve had 100-percent support from the City of Baxter and BEDCO (Baxter Economic Development Corporation), both have been very supportive,” Tom said. In addition, he and Tonda have received positive support from residents of Baxter. “They’re excited that this has come to town and that people have a place to bring these types of things now – it’s very convenient for the residents,” he said.

H&W Recycling is open weekdays from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and will accept most appliances and electronics with the exception of TVs, monitors, chemicals and paint at their warehouse. For more information, email questions to HWrecycling@hotmail.com.