A local recycling center has bought the Republic Services facility on the West End and plans to expand some recycling services across Billings. Earth First Aid owner Scott Berens bought the building at 458 Charles St. and will be taking over operations from Republic Services, which operated the facility for nearly 30 years. “There’s a lot of competition in the Billings market for the recycling side of it, so we decided to partner and sell the facility and they’ll continue to process all of our recyclables that we haul in from customers,” municipal service manager Chad Bauer of Republic Services said.
For Berens, it is a short move to the facility from his current shop at 451 Charles St., which he plans to sell. It also means he’ll be able to expand local recycling services. Berens is planning to place 10 to 15 more recycling bins across town where people can drop off certain recyclables.