Blue Star Recyclers opens Chicago facility

Blue Star Recyclers, headquartered in Denver, opened its first facility in Illinois in late November. The company recycles electronics for businesses and residents while also creating jobs for young adults with autism and other disabilities. It offers electronics recycling, secure data device shredding, pickup services, certification of services and client-site data shredding. The company also is a certified e-Stewards recycler.

According to a news release from Blue Star Recyclers, the company received financial support for the new facility from Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation, which is based in Washington.

Blue Star Recyclers is a 501(c)(3) social enterprise with a mission of providing certified electronics recycling services to create local jobs for people with autism and other disabilities. The company has been operating in Colorado for 10 years and currently employs 50 people in locations in Denver, Colorado Springs and Boulder. About 80 percent of the employees have a diagnosed disability or barrier to employment and six of those employees serve on supervisory, lead or senior leadership teams at the company. 

The company hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new facility on Nov. 20. According to a news release from Blue Star Recyclers, Mitsuharu Kiwada, senior general manager at Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Kevin Webb, senior director at Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation, and Keijiro Hora, president of the Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation and CEO of Mitsubishi Electric US Inc., were all present at the ceremony.

“Our foundation believes in empowering youth with disabilities,” Hora says. “We are proud to support the expansion of Blue Star Recyclers to Chicago as an employer of people with disabilities.” 

Bill Morris and Tony Fagnant, co-founders of Blue Star Recyclers, and Sam Morris, president of Blue Star Recyclers, were also present at the ceremony.