Far West Recycling

What Far West Recycling does

Far West Recycling is a privately-held materials recovery company founded in 1980 and headquartered in Portland, Oregon. The company operates three facilities across the Portland metropolitan area — Northeast Portland (headquarters), Hillsboro, and Tualatin (operated under the Far West Metals sub-brand) — and runs a public recycling depot at the Hillsboro site that is open seven days a week. Its core business is the acceptance, sorting, processing and resale of recyclable commodities, with five core service lines: paper, plastic, metal, electronics and glass recycling, supplemented by add-on services such as hard drive shredding, drop boxes, commercial recycling, brokerage and baling, plus acceptance of white goods and cell phones.

Technically, the company operates a conventional Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) stack: belts, screens, magnets, optical sorters and labor are used to separate commingled recyclables into bales and grades for shipment. The glass line is described as a four-step process — crushing, cleaning, optical color sorting (flint, green, amber), and melting at approximately 1500°C — yielding cullet that the company states saves roughly 30% of the energy required when producing glass from virgin materials. The company also notes that producing aluminum from recycled scrap takes approximately 4% of the energy required to produce it from raw bauxite. Far West Recycling was the first MRF in the industry to achieve RIOS (Recycling Industry Operating Standards) certification.

Commercially, Far West Recycling generates revenue from a mix of streams: unit-priced drop-off fees for items such as electronics and solar panels, metal buyback spreads on ferrous and non-ferrous scrap (with daily pricing and a check-after-sale model for non-ferrous per Oregon SB 570), commercial and industrial recycling service contracts (drop boxes, bins, scheduled pickup, audit support, fast payment), and brokerage activity connecting suppliers and buyers of recyclable commodities. It serves two primary customer segments: residential and individual consumers using the public depot and curbside recycling, and industrial / commercial customers across high-tech, automotive, manufacturing, plumbing, alloys, electronic scrap, HVAC, electrical and industrial sectors. Distribution is purely physical and regional — the company has no app, no public API, and its geographic reach is the Portland Metro and Oregon. Marketing and demand generation are driven by community partnerships (United Way, Lewis & Clark College, Young Audiences), industry association membership (ISRI, ORRA, AOR), the Metro Recycling Information hotline, and a Facebook presence. The company is led by President/CEO Mike McCracken, with a distributed operations manager at each facility; ownership is private and not publicly disclosed.

Name

Far West Recycling

Legal name

Far West Recycling

Website

https://farwestrecycling.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Far West Recycling is a privately-held Portland, Oregon materials recovery company operating three facilities since 1980, processing paper, plastic, metal, glass and electronics for residential and industrial customers across the Portland Metro.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Recycling and Materials Recovery Services

NAICS

Materials Recovery Facilities (562920), Waste Collection (56211), Solid Waste Collection (562111)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953), Sanitary Services (4950)

akta.pro primary industry

Material Recovery Facilities (MRF) & Single-Stream Recycling Processing (IMAIAFAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Single-Stream MRFs (Residential Curbside) (EUAIADAA), Single-Stream MRF Operations (Residential Curbside Sorting) (BPALADAA), Post-Consumer Plastic Collection & Sorting (MRF/PRF, Bale Supply) (EUAIAKAA), Bulky Item & White Goods Collection (EUAIAAAH)

Keywords

• Scrap metal recycling
• Electronics recycling services
• Materials recovery facility
• Commercial recycling pickup
• Glass recycling processing

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Material Processing Fees: Charges drop-off fees for certain materials including electronics (e.g., $10 for flat screen TVs, $25 for tube TVs, $5 for flat screen monitors) and solar panels at $0.10/lb.
2. Metal Buyback and Sales: Purchases ferrous and non-ferrous metals from individuals and businesses, then processes and sells these commodities. Prices change daily. Cash payment for ferrous metals, check issued 3 days after sale for non-ferrous materials.
3. Commercial/Business Recycling Services: Provides complete recycling solutions for businesses including drop boxes, bins, quick pickup, competitive pricing, audit support, and fast payment. Specializes in high-tech, automotive, manufacturing, plumbing, alloys, electronic scrap, HVAC, electrical, and industrial sectors.
4. Brokerage Services: Acts as broker connecting suppliers and buyers of recyclable materials.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Far West Recycling operates Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) that collect, sort, process, and resell recyclable materials including paper, plastics (#1 and #2 bottles), metals (ferrous and non-ferrous scrap), glass, electronics, white goods (appliances), and cell phones. The company serves residential customers through public depot drop-off locations and commercial/industrial customers through scheduled pickups, drop boxes, and tailored recycling programs across the Portland Metropolitan area.

Product overview

Far West Recycling is a recycling company operating since 1980 with a unified service offering centered on material recovery and recycling. The company provides five core recycling services: Paper Recycling, Plastic Recycling, Metal Recycling, Electronics Recycling, and Glass Recycling. These core services are complemented by operational add-on services including Hard Drive Shredding, Drop Boxes, Commercial Recycling, Brokerage, and Baling. The company also accepts additional materials such as white goods (appliances) and cell phones. Far West Recycling serves both residential (public depot) and commercial/industrial customers across three Portland Metro area locations in Hillsboro, Tualatin, and Northeast Portland.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Far West Metals: Metal recycling division of Far West Recycling, located in Tualatin, OR. Handles metal buy back and electronics recycling services.

Products and services

• Paper Recycling Recycling services for cardboard, scrap paper, magazines, office paper, aseptic containers, and books, serving both residential and commercial customers.
• Plastic Recycling Recycling services accepting #1 and #2 plastic bottles from residential and commercial customers.
• Metal Recycling Recycling and buyback services for tin cans, copper, aluminum, and steel, including scrap metal buyback with cash for ferrous and check payments for non-ferrous materials.
• Electronics Recycling Recycling services for computers, monitors, printers, laptops, televisions, and other electronic devices, with per-unit drop-off fees for certain items.
• Glass Recycling Four-step glass recycling process including crushing, cleaning, optical color separation (flint, green, amber), and melting at 1500°C to create new glass containers, saving 30% energy versus virgin materials.
• Hard Drive Shredding Secure destruction of hard drives for data protection compliance, offered to businesses and individuals with e-waste disposal needs.
• Drop Boxes Container services for commercial and industrial recycling programs, with bins placed at customer locations across multiple sites.
• Commercial Recycling Complete recycling solutions for businesses of all sizes with tailored programs, including quick pickup, competitive pricing, audit support, and fast payment, with specialization in high-tech, automotive, manufacturing, plumbing, alloys, electronic scrap, HVAC, electrical, and industrial sectors.
• Brokerage Services Brokerage services connecting suppliers and buyers of recyclable materials and scrap commodities.
• Baling Services Baling services for processing and compacting recyclable materials into bales for shipment.
• White Goods Recycling Recycling services for household appliances including stoves, dishwashers, hot water heaters, washers, and dryers.
• Cell Phone Recycling Recycling services for cell phones, battery chargers, and related accessories.

Quantifiable outcome

• Glass recycling saves 30% energy compared to using virgin materials
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• ISRI (Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries)minorOthersWashington, DC based trade association representing more than 1,600 for-profit companies ranging from small family-owned businesses to large multinational corporations in the scrap recycling industry.
• Oregon Refuse & Recycling Association (ORRA)minorOthers200 member voluntary association of solid waste management companies founded in 1965 to advance efficiencies of collecting and processing recyclables and solid waste. Provides legislative advocacy, education, group insurance, and regulatory advice.
• Association of Oregon Recyclers (AOR)minorOthersNonprofit coalition of individuals, governments, nonprofit organizations, and businesses committed to encouraging waste prevention and recycling in Oregon.
• Metro Hot-lineminorOthersMetro Recycling Information provides recycling and disposal information and referrals in the Portland metropolitan area.
• United Way of the Columbia-WillamettecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-time supporter running annual company fundraising campaigns. Honored with Cascade and Pacesetter awards. Joined as Cornerstone Partner in 2007 to cover overhead costs so 100% of donations go to community needs. Founded Far West Fibers Classic Golf Tournament raising close to a million dollars over 17 years.
• Young Audiences of Oregon & SW WashingtonminorGTM or Marketing PartnerArts education organization founded in 1958 providing over 200 residency and performing artists with programs in multiple artistic disciplines. Far West helps inspire artists, audiences, patrons and creative citizens of the future through the Run For The Arts program.
• Lewis & Clark College Graduate School of Education and CounselingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEstablished Far West Recycling Math and Science Scholarship for preservice M.A.T. students in Mathematics or Science committed to serving low income recently immigrated Spanish-speaking communities. Six scholarships funded to date. FWR provides guest lectures and assists with interdisciplinary curriculum in Science and Math involving environmental, recycling and sustainability issues.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Market position

Strengths4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/farwestrecycling
• Xx.com/farwestpdx
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/far-west-fibers-inc

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Far West Recycling