What Quincy Recycle does

Quincy Recycle is a privately held, family-owned industrial recycling company founded in 1974 in Quincy, Illinois, and led today by President Bryan Stokes (second generation). The company solves waste-stream problems for manufacturers and industrial producers across the United States through eight owned-and-operated processing plants concentrated in the Midwest (Quincy IL, Chicago/Alsip IL, Fort Wayne IN, Indianapolis IN, St. Louis MO, Cedar Rapids IA, West Bend WI, Green Bay WI) and a coast-to-coast network of trading partners for commodity brokerage.

The core operating portfolio spans paper converting, plastic recycling (thousands of tons per month across all major resin types), metal recycling (hundreds of tons per month), cardboard/OCC, and Gaylord tote buy/sell/reuse, supported by a wholly-owned logistics fleet (QRP Logistics, founded 2015) and a food-byproduct-to-livestock-feed subsidiary (Quincy Farm Products, founded 2014). Adjacent services include secure product and document destruction (delivered via Cresswood shredders and Sweed scrap choppers), reverse logistics, waste-stream consulting, and circular-economy/ESG advisory. The company also distributes, rents, and leases recycling equipment — vertical/horizontal/auto-tie/two-ram balers, industrial shredders, compactors, Sweed choppers, and bale wire — through the Quincy Equipment division, with a national installation-and-repair service network.

Quincy Recycle earns revenue through a mix of transaction-fee commodity brokerage (buying materials at fair market value, reselling processed bales to end-users), one-time equipment sales plus recurring lease/rental streams, managed-services fees for food-byproduct processing, and professional services for product destruction. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales via location-based sales representatives, business development teams, and a national accounts program targeting manufacturers, food & beverage processors, warehousing/distribution operators, and companies requiring secure destruction (e.g., healthcare/pharma). Pricing is quote-based across all streams and is not publicly disclosed; the business carries no institutional or PE/VC backing and operates entirely under family ownership.

Name

Quincy Recycle

Legal name

Quincy Recycle

Website

https://quincyrecycle.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Quincy Recycle is a privately held, family-owned B2B industrial recycling company serving manufacturers and industrial producers across the United States with paper, plastic, metal, and cardboard recycling, food-byproduct processing, secure product destruction, recycling-equipment distribution, and in-house logistics from eight Midwest plants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Recycling & Waste Management Services

NAICS

Materials Recovery Facilities (562920), Waste Collection (5621), Recyclable Material Merchant Wholesalers (423930)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953), Sanitary Services (4950)

akta.pro primary industry

Source-Separated Recycling (Paper/Plastics/Metals/Glass) Processing (IMAIAFAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

On-site Recycling Programs (Single-Stream, Source-Separated) (BPABALAB), Post-Consumer Plastic Collection & Sorting (MRF/PRF, Bale Supply) (EUAIAKAA)

Keywords

• Industrial recycling services
• Paper converting
• Plastic recycling
• Metal recycling
• Waste management consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Quincy

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Industrial Recycling Services: Collection, processing, and brokerage of recyclable materials (paper, cardboard, plastic, metal) from manufacturing and industrial clients. Revenue generated through commodity sales and service fees. The company pays fair market value for materials and generates revenue by selling processed materials to end users.
2. Equipment Sales, Rental & Leasing: Distribution and sale of new and used recycling equipment including balers, shredders, compactors, and Sweed choppers. Equipment available for purchase outright, lease-to-own, or rental arrangements.
3. Bale Wire Sales: Sale of industrial bale wire including single-loop bale ties, box wire, and stump wire in various gauges for recycling balers.
4. Food Byproduct Processing: Quincy Farm Products processes food manufacturing byproducts into livestock feed, generating revenue through feed sales to agricultural customers.
5. Gaylord Box Trading: Buying and selling of Gaylord totes and boxes through commodity trading program, providing new and used options for industrial packaging needs.
6. Product Destruction Services: Secure destruction of obsolete, expired, recalled, or defective products with documented destruction and optional witnessed destruction services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Quincy Recycle is a B2B industrial recycling company that collects, processes, and markets recyclable materials—including paper, cardboard, plastic, metal, and food byproducts—from manufacturers and industrial facilities. The company operates eight Midwest processing plants, an in-house logistics fleet, and a national trading network to broker recyclable commodities to end users. Through its Quincy Equipment division, it also sells, rents, and leases recycling equipment (balers, shredders, compactors, Sweed choppers) along with installation and maintenance services.

Product overview

Quincy Recycle is a B2B industrial recycling company offering a comprehensive, integrated portfolio of recycling services and equipment. The core offering spans paper converting, plastic recycling, metal recycling, cardboard recycling, Gaylord box buy/sell/reuse, food waste management (via Quincy Farm Products subsidiary), product destruction, waste logistics, reverse logistics, and waste management consulting. Supporting the service portfolio is the Quincy Equipment division, which sells, rents, and leases industrial recycling equipment including vertical balers, horizontal balers, auto-tie balers, two-ram balers, industrial shredders, industrial compactors, and Sweed scrap choppers, along with bale wire supplies, installation, and maintenance services. The company also operates QRP Logistics (freight services) and Quincy Farm Products (food byproduct to livestock feed). All services are delivered through a national network with Midwest plants in Quincy (IL, HQ), Cedar Rapids (IA), Chicago (IL), Fort Wayne (IN), Green Bay (WI), Indianapolis (IN), St. Louis (MO), and West Bend (WI).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PaperGator: Recycling program partnership in Fort Wayne, IN that allows non-profit organizations to collect funds in exchange for donated paper products.

Products and services

• Paper Converting / Paper Recycling B2B paper recycling service that collects, processes, and markets scrap paper including cardboard, OCC, office paper, mixed paper, newspaper, kraft rolls, and more through Midwest recycling plants and nationwide trading networks.
• Plastic Recycling Industrial plastic recycling service processing thousands of tons monthly, handling all grades of post-industrial plastic scrap including PET, HDPE, PVC, LDPE, PP, PS, polycarbonate, ABS, engineering grade plastics, and mixed rigid plastics.
• Metal Recycling Commercial and industrial metal recycling service processing aluminum cans, stainless steel, copper, brass, tin cans, litho plates, and other scrap metals through refineries and trading partners.
• Cardboard Recycling Industrial corrugated cardboard recycling service accepting baled cardboard, chipboard, Gaylord totes, rolls, and old corrugated cardboard (OCC) from manufacturers and warehouses.
• Gaylord Totes (Buy/Sell/Reuse) National supplier and buyer of Gaylord boxes, offering new and used Gaylord totes for purchase, sale, or recycling, supporting the closed-loop reuse of industrial packaging.
• Food Waste Management (Quincy Farm Products) Food byproduct solutions provider and feed blender that diverts food waste from landfills, processing excess supply and off-specification materials into custom livestock feed blends and ingredients at the Quincy, IL facility.
• Product Destruction Secure, nationwide product destruction service for obsolete, expired, defective, or recalled products including documents, ensuring materials are never re-released into the economy, with letters of destruction and witnessed destruction options.
• Waste Logistics / Collections In-house fleet of trucks, tractors, and trailers providing nationwide waste logistics, collections, and transportation of recyclables, with custom commercial waste collection plans tailored to individual business needs.
• Reverse Logistics Reverse logistics service that moves products from consumers back into the supply chain, including product returns, reuse programs, rental returns, and end-of-life recycling to extend product value.
• Waste Management Consultants Recycling consultant service that evaluates waste output, identifies optimal buyers for paper, cardboard, plastic, and metal recyclables, and negotiates fair market value pricing through a nationwide network.
• Balers (Vertical, Horizontal, Auto-Tie, Two-Ram) Full line of industrial balers for sale, lease, or rent including vertical balers (up to 50 tons/month), horizontal balers (50-200 tons/month), auto-tie balers (200-5,000+ tons/month), and two-ram balers, with nationwide installation and repair services.
• Industrial Shredders Industrial shredders for sale, lease, or rent processing plastic, paper, metal, rubber, wood, fiberglass, fabric, and more, available in single-shaft, dual-shaft, and quad-shaft configurations with various horsepower options.
• Industrial Compactors Industrial compactors for sale, rent, or lease including stationary compactors for heavy-duty solid waste, self-contained compactors for liquid-producing materials, pre-crushers, and auger compactors.
• Sweed Scrap Choppers Partnered with Sweed to sell and distribute industrial scrap choppers capable of reducing banding and scrap material by a ratio of 20:1, available in various models with shredder, prechopper, or granulator systems.
• Bale Wire High-quality American-made industrial bale wire for commercial use, including single-loop bale ties (11-14 gauge), box wire (10-12 gauge), and stump/spool wire, available in galvanized, black annealed, and hi-tensile galvanized options.
• Equipment Installation & Maintenance Professional equipment layout design, installation, preventative maintenance, and repair services for balers, compactors, conveyors, shredders, and choppers through a national service technician network covering over 20 cities.
• Circular Economy / Sustainability Solutions Custom waste stream management and sustainability planning services focused on waste-to-energy systems, ESG evaluation, waste audits, and reporting on tonnage diverted from landfills, supporting the circular economy model.

Quantifiable outcome

• $30,000 annual savings for NSK Americas on one waste stream
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered preferred and core.

• Recycling Equipment Inc.preferredChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnered manufacturer for recycling equipment distribution. Quincy Recycle sells and distributes Recycling Equipment Inc. products as part of their equipment inventory.
• Max-PakpreferredChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnered manufacturer for balers and compactors. Quincy Recycle distributes Max-Pak equipment for recycling and waste management applications.
• Midwest Bale Ties, Inc.preferredChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnered supplier for industrial bale wire products. Quincy Recycle distributes Midwest Bale Ties products alongside their own bale wire inventory.
• SweedcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorQuincy Recycle has partnered with Sweed to sell and distribute scrap choppers. These devices help dispose of and manage banding by reducing scrap material size and volume.
• PaperGatorcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with PaperGator recycling program where Quincy Recycle Fort Wayne location collects and processes donated paper recyclables from non-profit organizations (churches and schools) to generate funding for those organizations.
• Quincy Farm ProductscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWholly-owned subsidiary of Quincy Recycle that processes food manufacturing byproducts into livestock feed and feed ingredients. Operates from the Quincy, IL facility and specializes in organic materials including cereals, grains, vegetable and dairy proteins, sugars, and starches.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves13 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cascades Recovery: Cascades Recovery is the recycling division of Cascades Inc., a major North American paper and packaging recycler. It directly competes with Quincy Recycle in paper/cardboard collection and processing, and serves similar industrial customers with brokerage and processing services.
• Sonoco Recycling: Sonoco Recycling is a division of Sonoco Products, providing paper recycling and sustainability services to manufacturers and industrial customers. Comparable in serving industrial paper waste streams and offering sustainability solutions to similar customer segments.
• Iron Mountain: Iron Mountain provides secure document and product destruction services that overlap directly with Quincy's Product Destruction offering. While Iron Mountain is much larger and more focused on information management, the secure destruction service line is highly comparable.
• Balcan Engineering: Balcan Engineering manufactures and distributes industrial balers, compactors, and shredders — directly comparable to Quincy's Quincy Equipment division offering of new and used recycling equipment for sale, lease, and rental to industrial customers.

Broad incumbents

• Waste Management Recycle America: Waste Management is the largest U.S. waste and recycling services company, operating Recycle America for materials recovery. As a broad incumbent, WM overlaps with Quincy's paper, plastic, and metal recycling services but operates at vastly greater scale and geographic breadth.
• Republic Services Recycling: Republic Services is one of the largest U.S. environmental services companies, with recycling operations handling paper, plastic, metal, and cardboard. It competes with Quincy at the national account level and offers similar industrial recycling services as part of a broader portfolio.
• GFL Environmental Services: GFL Environmental is a major North American waste management and recycling company offering solid waste, recycling, and organics services to industrial customers. Comparable as a broad incumbent with recycling capabilities serving similar manufacturer segments.
• Schnitzer Steel Industries: Schnitzer Steel is a large metal recycling and finished steel products company. It overlaps with Quincy's metal recycling services for industrial scrap, though at much greater scale and with integrated mill operations rather than a regional service focus.

Regional players

• Casella Waste Systems: Casella Waste Systems is a regional solid waste, recycling, and resource management services company primarily serving the Northeast U.S. It competes with Quincy's recycling and waste services model but in a different geography, making it a comparable regional peer rather than direct competitor.

Emerging players

• CarbonLite Recycling: CarbonLite is a PET plastic recycling company that processes post-consumer bottles into food-grade rPET. While more focused on consumer plastic streams and at smaller scale than Quincy's industrial plastic operations, it represents an emerging player in plastic recycling adjacent to Quincy's core services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/QuincyRecycle

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries3 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 Quincy Recycle