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>>NARRATOR: The success or failure of any community can be easily tied to its economic
base. At the heart of Lansing’s Old Town neighborhood is a 125 year-old scrap yard.
Larry Bass is the current owner of Friedland Industries.
>>BASS: We're the original recyclers.
Without businesses like ours, nothing would be recycled. So when you hear about all these
municipal recycling programs, or for example the program at MSU
about collection and how they're going around and collecting materials to be recycled. Unless
they're processed
into materials that can then re-melted by either a steel mill, an aluminum mill, a copper
mill,
or in the case of fiber a paper mill, remade into new paper, nothing would be recycled.
>>NARRATOR: Bass says Friedland is the first step in that process. He says they buy from
various places,
separate it, and then sell it on the scrap market by the truck load. Friedland deals
mainly in what is called secondary scrap.
>>BASS: Secondary scrap is something that doesn't come off of a production line.
For example, a teardown of an old building.
The beams and electric wire, whatever it is that might come out of that demolition project
is what we would call secondary scrap.
>>NARRATOR: Old Town has undergone significant changes over the years. It’s now a vibrant
arts and cultural center. In 2009 local business owner David Such decided Friedland could be
a greater asset to the community by using its scrap in local artists work and Scrapfest
was born.
>>BASS:We are very active with the Old Town associations, the various associations that
they have down here. We try to be a good corporate citizen and a good neighbor.
And when Dave Such came up with the idea of Scrap Fest,
we naturally offered our participation along with him in that event.
We offer help to the area with any of our heavy equipment if they need it from time
to time,
especially during this festival.
When it comes time to handle these sculptures and so forth. And as you could see - you were
here when they were picking up materials - we have
lift truck drivers, operators, hand loader operators, crane operators. So we try to be
a good corporate citizen and do whatever we can for the neighborhood whenever we can do
it.
>>BASS: Friedland Industries is open to the public and also recycles paper and electronics.
For WKAR Public Media, I’m Rob South with reWorking Michigan.