The Alpco Recycling facility on Route 31F in Macedon is, and has been, the premier site for household recycling on the west side of Wayne County for decades. Owner Al Plumb instituted a drive around circle where residents could bring not only recyclable materials, but household garbage and deposit bottle and cans for redemption.
On the commercial business side, Alpco was well known throughout the area for taking in huge quantities of metal, cardboard, paper, plastics, anything that could be recycled from large corporations to smaller local companies.
Hundreds of residential and business customers take advantage of the facility, with tons of material passing through Alpco on a daily basis.
Markets began to change as recycling became more commonplace. Soon, once lucrative markets for recyclable products swelled with materials. The margins for selling recyclables tightened. Restrictions on what, and in what condition, recyclable materials could be taken in soon changed.
Plumb and Alpco fell on hard times. State and Federal tax liens followed. Still, the company continued to operate daily, but it was obvious there were fewer employees to service the lines of customers.
Alpco once took in electronic materials such as TVs, computer monitors and computer central processing units (cpu) for no charge. There were markets that accepted the various electronic devices for dismantling and component retrieval. Then, when markets tightened, Alpco charged fees, as high as $50 per unit for taking in electronics. The Company transported the materials to a recycler specializing in electronics salvaging.
On Thursday (8/18) a team of DEC officers conducted a search warrant of the facility and records that took almost the whole day. Any customers, including commercial trucks and residential drop-off customers were questioned as they entered the facility. Name and address were required using customer’s vehicle licenses and everyone was clocked on how long they were at the facility. Agents were assessing the situation, collecting ground samples, gathering business records, taking pictures, and obtaining other evidence.
According to the DEC’s (Department of Conservation) Captain John Burke, Chief Environmental Officer for Region 8 out of Avon, the DEC received tips that the electronic waste materials were not being handled, or dismantled according to regulations. Based upon information the DEC received, they believed that Alpco had been improperly handling “e-waste,” primarily old television sets with the big tubes and old computer monitors. These electronics have CRTs – which contains high levels of lead and other metals that release toxins into the ground. These metals need to be disposed of properly, or they can cause serious damage to the environment.
Captain Burke reported that samples were taken at the site and sent to the lab where they will categorize and analyze all of the evidence. Tests will verify any findings to determine where and what – if any – punishment will be handed out. If any laws were being broken, Alpco, employees, or Plumb could be facing possible felony criminal charges involving jail time, or fines.
Plumb, for his part, believes the raid was due to a job the company did at an abandoned building in Geneva, where a bankrupt company left behind a quantity of electronic materials. “I think the Geneva job brought it to a head,” said Plumb. He added that this is a case where the defendant seems guilty until proven innocent. He maintained that everything was handled in a safe manor.
As far as questioning customers using the Alpco facility on Thursday, Plumb believes it was meant to protect the people on site. One man with a permit to carry a gun was asked to surrender it until his business that day was completed at the recycling facility.
Plumb said the DEC officers and lab technicians were just doing their jobs and did so with dignity and respect for customers and employees. He was told any lab results would take 4-6 weeks.
He stated that when the $50 fee was instituted, angry customers would leave monitors and electronics dumped along nearby roadways.
He announced that, until the DEC clarifies the results of their investigation, Alpco has suspended taking in any electronic recycling.
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