Patagonia Recycles Fundraiser

Why are we fundraising for the Patagonia Recycling Center?

Our small town lost its recycling center in 2020 for a number of reasons, but in 2023 it came back! However, it’s a huge undertaking to keep it going. The yearly cost for recycling in our small town, including haul fees and labor, is $66,960!

Santa Cruz County used to have recycling bins in Patagonia.  People had access to them 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Unfortunately, the county pulled them because they were not being used correctly. 

Did you know it only takes 20% of garbage to contaminate an entire 20-yard bin?

Mayor Wood and Town Manager Robinson feel strongly about offering recycling to our local community so Bob Brandt, a community member and recycling guru, reached out to Republic Services in 2023 and connected them with the Town of Patagonia. Thanks to them, Patagonia Recycles began in December 2023. 

This program is operated by 2 public works town employees, one recycling coordinator who is also a town employee, and a group of passionate volunteers.  I believe that the success of this program is because our local government supports this endeavor, our local recyclers who care, and our top-notch team. 

The people of Patagonia are enthusiastic about placing materials back in the stream to be reused and minimizing what goes into our landfills.  That is one of the reasons we partnered with Republic Services.  The materials they receive go directly back into what it was.  So, if you recycle a water bottle it will, after the recycling process, become another water bottle. Our program thrives to keep current with the how-to of recycling.  It is always evolving and as Patagonia Recycles grows and learns, so does our community. 

We are so grateful to our participants and those who donate.  It is a privilege to recycle when so many communities are closing the lids to their recycling programs because of cost.  Not Patagonia. We are finding new lids to open and more materials to recycle.  Our program is less than one year old.  After about 7 months with our program open, we had to add a third bin to our service.  In less than a year Patagonia Recycles has kept 41.70 tons of material from entering the landfill and the materials have been given a second chance for use.

Donations help offset the yearly cost of $66,960.00 and cover approximately 12% of our costs, so we appreciate your generous donation and keeping these materials out of the landfill.