Published: August 25, 2008 01:07 pm         

ReStore recycles metal

Stillwater’s Habitat for Humanity has gotten into the metal recycling business.

Well, more specifically, Habitat is helping fund projects by recycling scrap metal, with the aid of Northern Oklahoma Metals in Perry.

Dorinda Gouw, manager of Habitat’s ReStore at 505 E. 18th, credits volunteer John Andrews with starting the metal recycling effort.

“He started with small things, like the houses at OSU,” Gouw said, referring to the structures being removed to make way for the athletic village. “We go in there and take out everything we can use. Some of these houses had copper in them and John started taking the copper out of them.”

Andrews would then haul the copper to John Boone at Northern Oklahoma Metals, who would buy it, then Andrews would bring the money back to Habitat in Stillwater. Though Andrews has only been doing this for six months, Gouw said the business has grown so much that Boone drops dumpsters at the ReStore and picks them up when they are filled.

“We fill them in one week and (Boone) comes and picks them up,” Gouw said, adding the ReStore has seen about $8,500 from metal recycling already and is hopeful of reaching $20,000 for the fiscal year, June to June.

Last week, two scrap automobiles were donated.

“That’s about $200 to $300 apiece,” Gouw said.

The money goes to help build houses for people who otherwise couldn’t afford one, but the recycling also lessens a problem for ReStore by providing a use (of sorts) for the broken-down appliances and other pieces of equipment that previously had to be hauled to the landfill.

“We don’t need to be dumping this stuff in the landfill,” Gouw said. “It needs to be reclaimed and re-used and in the process if we can raise some money for Habitat, even better.”

The amount of work has grown to the point that Andrews now has other volunteers helping him and they work out of the ReStore, located behind the Mission of Hope.

“People are bringing farm scrap, old tools, equipment that’s been in the yard for 20 years,” Gouw said, adding that a church group raised $480 by spending three hours clearing scrap from an old farm.

P&K Equipment, the John Deere dealer in Stillwater, also is collecting scrap metal from its operation on East Sixth Avenue and donating it to ReStore. And, with the beginning of the school year, Habitat will begin collecting aluminum cans at Oklahoma State University as part of a Habitat International program.

For information, Gouw can be reached at the ReStore, 372-8100.

     

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