Sunday, February 20, 2005

Recycling Manufacturers: What do they need?

What does a manufacturer who uses recyclable materials need? Does Pueblo have it?

A few weeks ago I wrote a piece about the need for manufacturers who will use recyclables in their manufacturing processes.

Now, what do the manufacturers need and does Pueblo have those resources?

First, manufacturers need employees, the kind who think work means getting their hands dirty. Luckily, Pueblo has those. We do not have an attitude problem about making things for a living, unlike certain other communities in the state who think that washing tourists’ dirty bed sheets and cleaning their dishes is somehow “nicer” and “cleaner” than manufacturing the beds and the cooking equipment, or the steel to build the motels and the restaurants.

Second, manufacturers need plants and equipment. Pueblo has some plants and plenty of land available for others. Equipment may have to come from out of town, depending on what it is, but that’s normal.

Manufacturers need a product to produce. That is strictly their problem.

Manufacturers need raw materials. Now here’s an interesting question. Will Pueblo set out on the curb enough Number 1 and Number 2 plastic bottles to keep a pellet producer in operation? (Plastic pellets are the most often used feed stock for plastics manufacturing.) Will Pueblo put enough newsprint out on the curb to get a paper recycler interested in locating here? How about glass? Tin cans? Let’s start crunching some numbers, people. How many tons of each are we talking about?

Manufacturers need utilities: water, energy, sewage, etc. When we talk about recyclables, we’re talking about somebody’s trash and to a greater or lesser degree it’s got to be cleaned before it can be re-used. That means water, but unfortunately, Pueblo has been signing away its water rights. Does it have enough left to wash the newsprint, cool the melting pots and sanitize the bottles?

And we also have to look at the other end of water usage: wastewater treatement. I have no idea if Pueblo is adequately prepared, through public works or through ordinances mandating on-site treatment by manufacturers, to deal with this.

Manufacturing also uses energy: electrical and fuel-based. But Pueblo has one of the highest energy utility rates in the state. (Source: 2004 Data Book. Don’t be fooled because the number is less than 100. It’s still the highest of the six communities in the comparison.) But some Puebloans fought an expansion to the Commanche Power Station.

Despite a few shortcomings, I believe Pueblo could be an attractive location for manufacturers using recyclables, but we’ve got to start putting the numbers together and we’ve got to start seeking them out.