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TAYLORSVILLE — There are all sorts of things that end up at Redwood Recycling in Taylorsville every day.
Spencer Martinez, the general manager of the facility, has seen it all.
"We see a lot of washers and dryers," he said. "Water heaters. Yellow brass. Silverware. Stuff like that, that people don't want anymore."
However, he is about to see more of something he normally doesn't see people bringing in here.
"Not very often," he said with a laugh. "No, not many leaf blowers."
Yes, leaf blowers.
Specifically, he is talking about gas-powered leaf blowers.
"We all want clean air. It is the air that we all breathe," said Kim Frost, executive director at the Utah Clean Air Partnership.
Start of an exchange program
On Wednesday morning, with help from a $375,000 donation from Union Pacific, Frost announced the start of an exchange program outside Redwood Recycling.
Anyone with a gas-powered leaf blower can turn it in for a voucher toward an electric powered leaf blower.
"People don't understand that their lawn and garden equipment is actually putting out a huge amount of pollution, and so this actually helps address that," said Frost.
She also says replacing a machine as little as a leaf blower can make a big difference when it comes to air quality, especially during the winter months when the dreaded inversion is easier to see.
"Using your two-stroke gas-powered leaf blower for just one hour is the equivalent of driving from Disneyland to Ogden," said Frost.
Several locations participating
The Redwood Recycling facility off of 6235 S. Redwood Road in Taylorsville is just one of many drop off spots along the Wasatch Front.
Other locations are:
- Metro Group, 3150 W. 900 South, Salt Lake City
- Wasatch Metal Recycling, 205 W. 3300 South, Salt Lake City
- Metro Recyclers, 555 W. 12th Street, Ogden
- Valley Metal Recycling, 145 N. 1000 West, Logan
There are only 500 vouchers available for this exchange program and UCAIR had registered more than 500 interested participants as of Wednesday night.
To get on a wait list for a voucher, visit the UCAIR website and register by submitting a brief form. You will be notified if you are next in line to exchange your leaf blower, the website says.
If you do get a voucher, after registering, UCAIR will send you an email with instructions on how to drop off your gas-powered leaf blower.
At the recycling facility, you will receive a ticket with a unique identification number.
You then scan the QR code on that ticket or enter the ticket number on the UCAIR website voucher request form.
Once that voucher is processed, you will get an email with details on when and where to pick up your new electric-powered leaf blower.
"I bet we're going to see a lot of them," said Martinez. Even for a guy who has seen it all, he is happy to now be seeing this.
"It gives us some exposure to let people know we were here and it is super important. It brings carbons down," he said. "We are doing good. Yes."
