Start-up recycling company

Commercial venues soon may participate in the recycling options currently available only to homeowners. And Terry Benge of Aaron Green Recycling LLC plans to pay companies for their trash.

Benge and co-founder Don Robertson formed the company in January and started pick up operations this month. Initial clients include two casinos Circus Circus and Siena Hotel Spa Casino but Benge has contracts in the works to add Fitzgerald's and the apartment complex Arlington Towers, plus several

restaurant supply and furniture firms.

And unlike firms that charge to pick up recyclables, Aaron Green pays for the privilege.

The company sells the waste paper, cardboard, plastic and aluminum to Sacramento-based Smurfit-Stone.

Rising gas prices are top of mind in many industries, but Benge has no worries in the short-term. He holds a 24-month contract that calls for Smurfit-Stone to transport the trash from Aaron Green's facility in Sparks.

And there may be lot of it.

Within a year, Benge expects to be recycling full bore.

"I plan to cover every industrial property here," he says. "I can see 50 trucks and twice that number of employees."

Aaron Green occupies an 8,000-square-foot dock facility on Deming Way in Sparks, but Benge plans to expand this year, either into empty space adjacent to his present site, or elsewhere. Ultimately, he says, he wants to site the company on a rail line.

The idea, the former owner of a California trucking company says, came easily.

"I was walking around town, seeing all the trash cans full of plastic bottles," he recalls. He took special note of casinos and other properties with large volumes of trash, which translates into pick up efficiency.

But there were obstacles.

"I never realized how many agencies you have to go through to start a business in Nevada," says Benge, citing everything from taxation to health departments. Conversely, in California it's fast and easy to get a license, but the costs kick in later. Plus, he adds, "It's hard to get good help there."

In future, the challenge he faces is growing too fast. "I don't want to say no to anyone," says Benge.

Meanwhile, he needs to acquire the equipment necessary to expand, such as collection trucks and roll-off bins for retrieval.

However, he doesn't expect any problems in finding that equipment. "There's plenty of used equipment," he says. "And in a down market, good prices on used equipment."

The venture, self-funded by the two founding partners, took on two more partners and hired Adam Andrino to handle sales.

Chris Fairchild, associate at Industrial Properties of Nevada, worked with Aaron Green to find space. Fairchild was particularly interested because he had been seeking a recycler to serve Arlington Towers, at which he had started a recycling committee last October.