Recycling makes a difference

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Ashley Wolfe
  • 47th Flying Training Wing public affairs
LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  If you are environmentally friendly or just want to get rid of that stack of old magazines or soda cans in your garage, the Laughlin recycling center is the place for you!

Laughlin's recycling center takes all the recyclable materials that are dropped off at their door, compacts them and turns it into revenue that helps the base.

Annually, the center recycles around 90-95 tons of material. This is turned in to $8,000 to $9,000 that the base can use for other projects.

Money is not the only resource saved by the center.

"All the trees, kilowatts of electricity and all the water we save equals to thousands of dollars of savings," said Oscar Ozuna, Laughlin's recycling center project manager.

The center is also about giving back to the community. Goodwill Industries, the contracted company for the recycling center, provides jobs for less fortunate and handicapped people.

Goodwill's motto is "Change lives through the power of work".

The power of the recycling center's work is of such magnitude that for the past eight years, including 2010, they have been recognized with the Cooperative Teamwork and Recycle Association's rating of an "Outstanding" recycling center.

The incredible part about all the things Laughlin's recycling center has accomplished is that it does it all with only three employees.

Oscar Ozuna, Rolando Deleon and George Ramirez have a combined total of 35 years experience at Laughlin's recycling center. Together they process most of Laughlin's recycling and save the base resources and money.

The reason the center is so successful is because of the experience of the workers, said Ozuna. Simply, they know what they are doing.

Laughlin's recycling center workers are not only proficient, but incredibly safe at what they do.

"I'm proud of what we do," said Ozuna. "We've never had even a minor accident because we practice safety."

For any questions about the recycling center, contact Oscar Ozuna at 830-298-4230.