Dive Brief:
- In 2007, two friends with physical disabilities started an electronics recycling business after both were unable to find work in the Wheeling, IL area.
- P.J. Flaherty and Greg Campone founded Recycling Avenue, a company that collects e-waste from bins located throughout the community and directly at the firm’s warehouse. Electronics that still have value are sold through eBay.
- Recycling Avenue was born from a shared desire to find work and help the community in some capacity.
Dive Insight:
The business has been touted a financial success and currently employs six people who work at the recycling center. The firm sells items to vendors across the country and provides employment opportunities for those seeking work.
The unemployment rate for those with disabilities is significantly higher than the average unemployment rate, according to the director of Avenues to Independence, a non-profit that supports people with disabilities.
Flaherty said he would like to see the company expand in order to create more positions for those in need of work, and to better serve the environment.