DeWITT — Residents and businesses looking to get rid of old appliances and a variety of other recyclable items have a new option since Disposal Alternatives Organization opened its doors about a month ago at 6361 Thompson Road in DeWitt.

The Indianapolis–based company is in growth mode and a Syracuse–area location was a perfect fit, says CEO Calvin (Cal) Hultquist. He formed Disposal Alternatives Organization (DAO) with Dana Eveland in 2008.

With just $4,000 and a box truck, the two men launched the business providing home pickup service for unwanted and broken appliances. The business quickly grew — not only in services by accepting a variety of recyclable items from cardboard to metal, but also in size. Today, DAO employs 220 people at nine plants in Chicago, Indianapolis, Nashville, Atlanta, Tampa, Charlotte, Richmond, Rhode Island, and now Syracuse. The company will soon open a 10th location in Pittsburgh.

Hultquist credits the company’s growth to several different factors. First, the business is a social enterprise, a business that addresses a social or environmental need and reinvests its profits back into the community or business. Hultquist describes the business model as a self-sustaining business somewhere between a not-for-profit entity and a for-profit business. The company, which does not receive any sort of government funding, makes all of its money by selling the recyclable materials it collects. This year, Hultquist says gross revenue should be about $30 million.

The other factor behind DAO’s success is that it provides a necessary service and makes it accessible and affordable for people. In most cases, Hultquist says, DAO does not charge customers for the recyclable items they dispose of with DAO. The company charges a small fee for certain items, like televisions, that are a little more complicated to break down before recycling.

“Our model is very unique,” Hultquist says.

In the Syracuse area, the company currently has 12 employees including recycling technicians, general laborers, and truck drivers. “We’ll probably grow upwards of 20 employees” as the business takes off, Hultquist adds. He expects DAO will handle a recycling volume of between 400 and 500 tons of material a month.

Going forward, Hultquist says he hopes to expand the Syracuse–area operations to include programs it offers at its other locations, including community-wide recycling days.

DAO doesn’t really have direct competition in the market, Hultquist says, and the company does its best to work in partnership with other recyclers. Everyone seems to carve out their own niche, whether its appliances like DAO or another product such as electronics. Often, he says, the businesses can work together and the end result is that businesses and residents have all of their recycling needs met.

“We think there’s enough trash to go around for all of us,” Hultquist says. People want to recycle, he contends. It’s DAO’s job to give them that option while keeping it cheap and convenient. “Then we found the participation naturally follows,” he adds.

DAO does not spend any money on marketing, relying instead on word of mouth. The company also drums up interest through being involved in the community and benefits from a national contract with Lowe’s to pick up customers’ old appliances after new ones are delivered. DAO has a similar contract with appliance-manufacturer Haier.

“The formula’s working, and we’re creating jobs,” Hultquist says. “As long as it keeps working, we’re going to keep growing.” There are plenty of areas across the nation in need of good recycling providers, he says.

Headquartered in Indianapolis, DAO is online at www.daorecycling.org.

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