Lewis-Clark Recyclers - Lewiston
For Mark Armstrong, coordinating the myriad waste disposal issues he encounters each day in his recycling business is a lot like his passion for working jigsaw puzzles — it can take a creative mind to see how all the pieces fit together. But Lewis-Clark Recyclers, the company Armstrong founded in 1989, has made a successful business out of turning one company’s garbage into another’s treasure.
A key to that success is Armstrong’s desire to find a reconstructed use for waste materials otherwise headed to local landfills. Lewis-Clark Recyclers currently logs over 15,000 visits to its collection sites each year. Last year alone those visits produced over 4,600 tons of plastic, cardboard and office paper. It is now Idaho’s third largest "stand-alone" privately owned collector and processor of secondary fiber and plastic.
As garbage disposal costs continue to rise, several companies have been spun off to produce and market Armstrong’s innovative solutions to waste disposal. A large portion of his business involves brokering a variety of waste products, often through contacts established only after hours of Internet research.
For the past 11 years, Armstrong has relied heavily on the Idaho Small Business Development Center for assistance with business planning and support. In addition, the center has helped with research in developing other markets and products for recycled goods, and is currently helping develop a new marketing plan for value added paper and sheet plastic products.
