Play it again

The Bruce Co. builds on recycling philosophy

By Janine Anderson

The Bruce Co.’s new recycling operation in Verona makes it easier for contractors to recycle the construction and demolition debris from their projects. Photo courtesy of The Bruce Co. of Wisconsin Inc.

Leland Bruce sees the evidence everywhere.

He saw it one day when he was removing material from a Janesville site.

He bent over and picked up a 25-year-old newspaper. In it was an article about a man in the recycling business who was making use of yard waste.

“It seems at every turn there’s more that says our industry and recycling are hand and glove,” said Bruce, the founder and chairman of the board of The Bruce Co. of Wisconsin Inc., a landscaping and home and garden firm based in Middleton. “About 75 percent of what we’ve been able to recycle and produce we use within our company. It’s fascinating, healthy, and, as I said to my wife, it makes me feel young again.”

Over the years, The Bruce Co. has found ways to recycle waste products into things it could use in its landscaping business.

“When [the company] first started out, [recycling] was a natural fit,” said Brian Mullen, recycling division manager for the company. “A lot of the products we recycle are used internally. It started up once people saw what was being generated as waste materials.”

Brush from 14 communities becomes compost, and, once it’s mixed with grass seed, it is spread on new lawns. Asphalt shingles become parking lot paving and golf cart paths. Wood fiber is dyed and used as mulch.

As the company’s internal focus on recycling grew, Bruce Co. leaders wanted to branch out to provide recycling options to others with whom they work. And, with that in mind, Mullen has been working since March to design the company’s new full-service construction and demolition debris recycling facility in Verona, which was scheduled to open by the end of November.

“It’s being a good citizen,” Mullen said. “Everybody should do what they can to recycle. And, quite frankly, it’s good business. It’s an all-around win for everyone.”

The Bruce Co. is putting up two buildings, covering 16,000 square feet, at the Verona site. Mullen said the hauling companies that already deliver material to the Bruce Co. for recycling will be able to use the new Verona location.

“It’s weighted more on new construction,” he said. “You take the waste from a home-built site — the metal, wood, cardboard, drywall and plastic. Instead of putting it in a landfill, we’ll recycle it.”

The Bruce Co. will bundle the cardboard and recycle that along with the metal and plastic. Drywall is used as a soil additive in the company’s nursery.

“We think we can recycle 80 percent of what comes in,” Mullen said. “There’s a value to recycled material.”

The method also brings convenience to construction crews, he said.

Since The Bruce Co. does the separating at the recycling facility, there is no need for multiple containers on construction sites.

“It’s less labor-intensive, less energy-intensive, and there are economic benefits to the builder to not sort it,” Mullen said. “We’ve talked to contractors directly, and the reception is just tremendous.”

Bruce said the company’s recycling philosophy simply makes sense because it was “in the green industry to begin with.”

And, beyond that, Bruce said he sees it as a way for him and his company to come full circle.

“The business started when I was 11 years old mowing lawns,” he said. “Here I am, just beyond retirement age, mowing lawns and using the by-products.”