Many appliances come into the Roseville processing facility, and many go out, mostly to South and Central America, along with Mexico. (Margo Ashmore)
Ever wonder where your old refrigerator, washer or dryer goes when the company that sells you a new one takes it away? A group of Columbia Heights folks found one example at a Community Education tour of Cloud Recycling in Roseville.
The group consisted of interested retirees, some who had gone through master recycling courses, city staff and others.
The company receives many types of used appliances, including air conditioners and dehumidifiers, mostly from retailers. They also have a “red door” dock where consumers can drop off for a $10 ramp fee. Fees are donated to Feed My Starving Children, a nonprofit organization focused on packing meals for malnourished people across the globe.
A first step in processing, explained Carlos Figueroa, owner of Cloud Recycling, is to prepare some of the units to ship to South America, Central America and Mexico, where wholesalers check them out and repair as necessary. Others are stripped for parts that can be sold through e-commerce. Cloud Recycling determines which units should be repaired and which should be sold in part with the assistance of artificial intelligence. This determination happens largely based on which brands allow resale. Higher-end brands tend to want to protect their price points and don’t allow resale.
In the e-commerce department, parts are cleaned and examined with electrical current and other measures to see that they work. If they don’t, parts are repaired if possible. If it’s been months that Samsung hasn’t been able to ship a new oven part, as in Connie Buesgens’ example, this might be the way to get it done quicker.
Anything extremely old, beat up or obviously broken that contains refrigerant is processed to remove it into a sealed tank that, when full, goes to manufacturers to be used again. There are several different kinds of refrigerant, especially for air conditioners, and they are kept separate. It is unlawful to allow this gas to escape into the atmosphere, where it would contribute to greenhouse gas-induced temperature rises. Even dehumidifiers and air conditioners that don’t dehumidify or cool anymore will contain a bit of leftover refrigerant.
The various types of metal from any appliances not destined for reuse are parted into categories and sold for scrap.
Another fun feature at Cloud Recycling is their machine that compresses Styrofoam packaging into what looks like giant pieces of chalk.
Cloud Recycling is also starting to accept mattresses — not from the public but from online sellers. They send most of those to Chicago to be refurbished, a process which involves stripping down to their wire and wood frames and covering them with new padding.
The company started in Milwaukee in 2018 and now has three locations: Roseville, Milwaukee and Chicago.
Attendees asked questions, many of which were answered above. One asked if smaller appliances, like coffeemakers and microwaves, are accepted. (Yes, they are.) Any size air conditioner, even central air? Yes — in fact, they are expanding to work with HVAC (heating, venting and air conditioning) companies and would appreciate referrals.
About 50 people, of a wide variety of skill levels, are employed at the company. Those who work with refrigerant are trained and certified. The company is working with an area tech school for electronics skills to staff the e-commerce functions. 350 containers of appliances were sent overseas last year.
An attendee asked what types of breakages most frequently cause people to throw away appliances. “We don’t keep track, but what we get is often working, but the owner just wanted a change,” so it would potentially be wasted, Figueroa said.
Three people from College Hunks, Columbia Heights’ contracted junk hauler, attended the tour. The first appliance hauled from each Heights home is paid for by the city. They and Figueroa commented that if something is put out for a junk hauler it’s likely not working and only good for scrap, not repair or reuse, but that it is nevertheless important to keep it out of a landfill.
For information about appliance disposal by municipalities (if not available or appropriate through a retailer), visit or contact:
Columbia Heights: https://www.columbiaheightsmn.gov/departments/public_works/refuse_and_recycling/appliance_electronics_disposal.php
Minneapolis: https://www.minn
eapolismn.gov/resident-services/garbage-recycling-cleanup/large-items/
St. Anthony: Contact Aspen Waste at 612-884-8008 to schedule an appliance or electronic pick up. Appliances/electronics are collected in St. Anthony on Wednesdays only and must be scheduled 48 hours in advance.
Hilltop: Waste Management, the city’s recycling hauler, collects appliances and electronics year-round at costs ranging from $5 to $40, and mattresses for $5 to $15.
Cloud Recycling owner Carlos Figueroa led a group tour of the facility on October 2. The Roseville plant sees a constant stream of items. (Margo Ashmore)