Progressive Workshop Promotes Household Recycling Effort

by Jonathan Weaver

A new recycling effort could benefit those in need from here to the hurricane-stricken areas of Florida.

Progressive Workshop Vice President of Sales and Production explained flyers have been distributed so far from Oak Avenue to Water Street, but it will continue and spread if there is local support.

“Basically, all we are doing is going door-to-door. We are picking out sections of Kittanning, Ford City and flyering the area for two days in (homeowner’s) doors,” Ardeno said. “People stick it outside in bags and boxes with a Progressive Workshop sticker or even the (original recycling flyer).”

Ardeno said he hopes to collect about 4,000 pounds of clothing, small exercise equipment and kitchen supplies per month so a tractor trailer takes away all items regularly. In the first three weeks, recycled materials have filled about 16 cardboard pallet boxes.

“We don’t have to separate it – we don’t have to sort it,” Ardeno said. “It goes to a bigger recycling facility (mostly in Canada) where they separate guys` clothes from women’s clothes, guys’ dress clothes, guy’s blue jeans, women’s blue jeans – there’s all kinds of different markets out there for this.

“They separate it all out and what they do is they go back through and they distribute it to people in need. I’m not trying to take away from HAVIN (or) St. Vincent de Paul – I don’t want those businesses going out of business to help me – but they do turn away items and I would like those items instead of (those items) going into the garbage.”

Both local businesses do give overflow or unsellable items to the Progressive Workshop currently.

Items cannot be dropped off at the Armstrong Recycling Center, but must be picked up by Progressive Workshop staffers. He will even pick-up after neighborhood yard sales.

For more information, questions can be directed to Ardeno at 724-548-5664.