Business t entrepreneurships Zoned for Recycling from page A39 The Meade Lexus Ownership Experience C4 Largest selection of new and Pre•Owned Certified Lexus in the state of Michigan (4) Three year or 100,000 mile warranty on every Pre-Owned Certified Lexus a) A select collection of premium pre-owned competitive makes assembled from Lexus lease returns and purchased from private parties maintained at all times (4 Test drives provided by appointment at your preferred time and place Customer lounge offering a selection of coffees, teas, soft drinks and snacks in addition to wide-screen television and WI-FI connectivity % Express early morning drop off and evening pick up C4) Complimentary Lexus loaner vehicles with pick up and delivery available (4) Car wash provided with service C4)24/7 Lexus Roadside Assistance Service provided (4 Michigan's only full-service Lexus Collision Center 41[ .....- 28300 Northwestern Hwy, Southfield, Ml (248) 372-7100 wwwiexusolsouthfield.com October 9 m 2008 Customer Take Walker Printery, Inc., of Oak Park is both a supplier and customer of GLR. The 84-year-old firm prints thousands of business forms a year for GLR and also drops off waste paper, plastics and scrap metal. "We've been doing business with them for 15 years and it's a great operation; the Rosens are a wonder- ful family:' said Steve Traison of West Bloomfield, vice president of Walker. "It's a pleasure to work with such an honest company." GLR's six buildings include the corporate office, two buildings for metals, and one each for electronics, paper, and foam and plastic. Huge pieces of equipment, like a Sweed chopper, which is a heavy-duty granulator that rips through plastic materials, and a wire chopper, grind cables and dry-separate copper or aluminum from plastic or rubber. "The machines are soundproofed and equipped with a dust-collection system, keeping dust emissions from getting into the environment:' Dr. Rosen pointed out. "I know our grandfather, Henry, would have been proud of our expansion program that includes acquiring a recycling plant in North Tonawanda, N.Y., a new facility in Flint Township, and building a state-of-the art structure in Huron Township:' said Bischer. "The latter will allow us to double our capac- ity for single-stream recycling. It also will have a tour mezzanine for school groups and others to learn how important recycling is to the environment." Other features of GLR Recycling's operation include stringent safety measures, with a full-time safety and security director; Dale Carnegie courses that enhance self-improve- ment for employees; volunteer clean- up efforts by employees who helped de-litter parts of Goesbeck Highway; and a quarterly employee newsletter, Recycling Matters. "GLR Recycling is the most honor- able company we do business with:' said David Kaufman, president of United Plastics of Flint, which has been in business for 32 years and has been working with GLR for 15 years. United, a plastics processor, picks up close to 3 million pounds of scrap plastics a year from GLR for recycling and sale as plastic raw materials to companies around the world. ❑ What's In Your Trash Can? met:1[3e 1...)C.L1 A40 Neisner Brothers department stores and many other well-known Detroit businesses. We then sold the materi- als to the larger scrap yards." GLR's most popular area is the Recycling Zone, a public drop-off center for residential and office recycling, which accepts most types of consumer and office recyclable materials, including paper, card- board, plastics and metal. In some cases, GLR even will pay cash for large quantities of various materials. "We let people turn some of that old stuff in the garage or basement into cash:' said Jim DeMarco of Clarkston, head of marketing and new business development. In general, acceptable items include newspapers, magazines, catalogues, phone books, computers, laptops, copiers, fax machines, CD players, cell phones, circuit boards, copper tubing, air conditioning compressors, radiators, fans, trans- missions, auto scrap, lawn mow- ers, snow blowers, gutters and roof vents, sinks, pots and pans, carpet padding, all types of plastic materi- als and, probably most importantly, junk mail. Recycling conserves natural resources, helps prevent overcrowding of landfills and protects the environment, say members of the Rosen fam- ily who operate GLR Recycling Solutions. They say residents should look inside their trash cans to see how much of the contents should actually be recycled, and they should keep a recycle bin in their homes — where they can see it so they won't forget to use it. Recycling efforts in the United States have grown seven percent in the past five years. Contents of a typical trash can are: 35 percent organic; 30 percent paper; 12 percent construction materials; 9 percent plastics; 6 percent metal; 3 percent glass and 5 percent miscellaneous materials.