As one of the largest privately owned full service scrap metal recycling companies in Southern California, SA Recycling offers a wide variety of recycling services at 30 locations throughout the southern part of the state as well as Nevada and Arizona.  All of the company’s operations “utilize environmentally sound practices and meet the highest standards in quality control and environmental health and safety management,” according to the company’s website.

The company shreds, shears, torches or bales metals to steel mill specifications for shipment both domestically and abroad. The scrap they collect includes: busheling, charging clips, turnings, #1 HMS prepared/unprepared, plate and structural, non-ferrous aluminum, non-ferrous copper, and non-ferrous brass. Their customers include: stamping companies; wheel, steel furniture, steel bracket, machinery and pipe manufacturers; tooling companies and rebar cutting/fabricators.

SA Recycling is the industry leader in economically and environmentally recycling all types of appliances. They recycle refrigerators, stoves, washers, dryers, water heaters, and small electrical appliances at all of their locations. According to the company’s website, the typical appliance is about 75% steel by weight. More than 85% of all appliances in the United States are recycled. By just looking at the impact of recycling appliances, the impact of all recycling on the environment can begin to seen. By recycling one ton of steel from appliances, for instance, there is a real savings in compounds used for energy needs.

The certified destruction service involves destroying customer companies’ prototypes and products so they don’t end up in the secondary market or in the hands of competitors. SA Recycling shreds these products at their facilities and provides a certificate of destruction. The forklift or crane operator loads the products onto the shredder conveyor, and SA Recycling’s customers can witness the shredding of their products. The company provides video or digital photographs upon the customer’s request.

Carl says that SA Recycling recently purchased two JCB Teletruks from Steve Gannon at Cook Equipment to perform functions completed at their various facilities. According to JCB’s website, the Teletruk is “unlike any other industrial forklift in the world. It is a two-wheel or four-wheel drive hydrostatic machine that uses a telescopic boom capable of delivering a load capacity of up to 7,000 lbs.”

Carl says the company is trying out these new machines as a replacement to a skid-steer, which doesn’t have the same reach that the Teletruks have. “The Teletruks have a better reach into our containers which is good when the containers are being loaded and unloaded,” Carl explains. “We use them with the grapple bucket and it cuts down on injuries because the operator doesn’t have to physically get into the containers themselves.”

One of the biggest challenges recycling companies face today is dealing with the constant influx of new environmental regulations, Carl says. “It seems like every time we turn around there are new regulations.”

As a member of The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc. (ISRI), SA Recycling has access to services offered by ISRI to help them run a better, cleaner, safer and more profitable operation. ISRI provides member companies with educational materials and assistance aimed at helping them remain compliant with all new regulations.

(Top Left) SA Recycling using the grapple bucket to transfer scrap metal to bins. (Left) The telescopic boom is capable of delivering a load capacity of up to 7,000 lb. (Below) Carl Clark, Director of Purchasing.