Encyclopedia Dubuque
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
DITTMER RECYCLING, INC.
DITTMER RECYCLING, INC. Scott Dittmer entered the recycling business in 1989. (1) The global economic slowdown that year cut aluminum prices to a two-year low and copper to a three-year low.
In 2015 Dittmer Recycling collected the majority of recyclable material within a 60-mile radius of Dubuque. The company processed seven to eight tons of recycling hourly and planned on increasing this to between twelve and fourteen with new equipment. For every ton of material brought to the company, four percent was sent to the landfill. The national average was between 15-20%. Bi-County Disposal picked up curbside recycling and separated out the sold the corrugated cardboard. All other materials were trucked to Dittmer Recycling where it was processed, separated, baled and sold. Glass was hauled to the landfill where it was crushed and made into road base. (2)
Dittmer Recycling, Inc. in 2018 faced a another very difficult market for recyling. China, once the world's major imported of recyclable scrap, had limited its imports in an effort to reduce pollution. The passage of the National Sword Policy effectively banned all imported plastic. The result in the United States was a drop in the value of many recyclable materials including paper, cardboard and plastic. Dittmer estimated that his revenue had dropped fifty percent. The changing market also affected the City of Dubuque. Prior to 2016 the city sold recyclable materials to Dittmer Recycling. In 2018 in its second year of a contract with the company, the city was paying Dittmer to take the materials. The cost to the city in July, 2018 was $5,000. (3)
Dittmer saw the current situation in 2018 as a transitional period. As American processing plants were constructed, he expected profits to return. (4)
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Source:
1. Reber, Craig, "Heavy Metal," Telegraph Herald, November 2, 2008, p. 21
2. Towers, Lisa, "Where Our Recycling Goes," Dyersville Commercial, February 18, 2015, p. 59
3. Kruse, John. "Recyclers Face Market Downturn," Telegraph Herald, August 6, 2018, p. 1A
4. Ibid.