Recycle Force

A cleaner environment. A stronger workforce.

RecycleForce, a 501(c)3 organization, is a social enterprise offering some of the most comprehensive and innovative recycling services around while providing life-changing workforce training to formerly incarcerated individuals.Taking the electronic waste and other recyclables provided by residents and corporate partners, RecycleForce deconstructs these items, recycles the materials and disposes of the waste safely and cleanly. The scrap metals and other reusable materials collected in this process are then sold to help pay for job training programs and employment opportunities for formerly incarcerated men and women in order to support their re-entry back into society.

RecycleForce: A History of Success

RecycleForce has experienced tremendous growth both in its recycling services and its job training programs. After launching in 2006, RecycleForce (formerly known as Workforce, Inc.) has gone from two workers and 600,000 pounds of processed materials to more than 75 employees and 6 million pounds of processed recyclables annually.While RecycleForce began specializing in recycling electronic waste, it has expanded to offer recycling collection for a whole host of materials, including plastic, aluminum, paper and cardboard. Since its inception, RecycleForce has helped clean up our environment by processing a total of 11 million pounds of recyclable material.As its recycling operation grew, so did RecycleForce’s capability to employ and train hundreds of ex-offenders, successfully guiding their re-entry back into the community.

Formerly incarcerated individuals have the odds stacked against them upon their release. Most have no job and no home to return to. Without these foundational elements, the rate of reoffending and returning to the criminal justice system is incredibly high. In fact, more than half of all ex-offenders returning to Indianapolis/Marion County in 2009 ended up back in the prison system.RecycleForce’s workforce program, focused on transitional jobs, employability skills training and supportive services, has successfully placed more than 360 ex-offender workers in full-time paid employment. The recidivism rate for these workers has been only 25% -- significantly less that the local and national averages.This statistic lends credence to RecycleForce President Gregg Keesling’s belief that “Once we give a man a fighting chance to do the right thing, many, in fact most, will.”

Recycling Services

RecycleForce provides a wide array of comprehensive recycling services to numerous clients and partners across Indiana. Whether you’re a resident looking to get rid of that pile of junk that’s been sitting in your basement for months or a business that needs comprehensive waste disposal services, RecycleForce can meet your needs in a timely and cost-efficient way.While RecycleForce specializes in recycling electronic waste, we offer recycling collection for a whole host of materials, including plastic, aluminum, paper and cardboard. And all our services are low or no cost.Because we’re a non-profit recycler, it’s possible some of your e-waste items may qualify as a donation that can be applied to your tax return. So you not only get rid of that stuff that’s been gathering dust for years—you get a tax benefit too.

Schedule a Pickup

Due to loss of funding support, effective immediately, RecycleForce is no longer able to offer pick up service for household electronics recycling.We deeply regret that we must take this action. This measure is necessary that we may have the best opportunity to serve the men and women on our workforce who are striving to successfully transition to society from incarceration.Consumers are invited to bring electronics to our consumer recycling dock. Drive-through recycling is available Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm and Saturdays from 9 am to 1 pm.RecycleForce provides free electronics recycling and asks a donation of $10 for Cathode Ray Tube bearing devices (old model TVs and monitors) and $20 for refrigerant bearing devices.You may also take your old electronics to the Indianapolis City Tox Drop. Times and locations: City Tox Drop.