The recycling industry is thought to be for big players, but one family has searched throughout the state to find the right spot to put a new customer service benchmark in place for can and bottle collections.
As people take advice from “Ten-cent Tom” and see can and bottle redemption as a viable way of making money, whether it be for themselves, their school or charity, Browns Plains Bottles and Cans is looking to make life easier.
Andrew Lambert, partner Julie and daughter Chelsea are paying customers cash for their recyclables.
And because they’re counting the bottles and cans manually, it means they’re able to take crushed cans – something an automated system can’t do.
Mr Lambert, a signwriter whose business came to a grinding halt off the back of Covid-19, looked at about 200 potential sites for the drive-through service. He says he was lucky to find the perfect venue at Browns Plains.
Daughter Chelsea had spent 18 months working for another depot, and knows the ropes.
Mr Lambert built a model of what he thought the depot would look like, and the final result in Jude Court looks remarkably similar.
“We are very fortunate that I received a call from a real estate agent I knew. He told me about the warehouse, and we’d signed a deal within 24 hours of looking at it,” Mr Lambert said.
The depot counts about 1 million bottles and cans each month and is working with schools and charities to help with fundraising.
“We’ve built a consumer-friendly layout here, and there are no queues here,” Mr Lambert said.
“People here love the fact that this is a full-service drive-through, and they know they’ll get service with a smile. Getting to know our customers means we can educate people, particularly about taking their lids off their bottles.”
