Great Lakes Recycling

What Great Lakes Recycling does

Great Lakes Recycling is a Southeast Michigan-based recycling services provider, now operating under the PADNOS brand following the acquisition and reorganization of Great Lakes Recycling Advanced (GLR). The company runs six physical recycling center locations across the region (Ann Arbor, Howell, Livonia, Port Huron, Roseville, Whitmore Lake) and accepts a broad set of material streams from consumers and businesses, including ferrous and non-ferrous metals, electronics and e-waste, household appliances, auto parts, and miscellaneous scrap. Its primary customer segments are homeowners and DIYers, part-time and full-time scrappers, local trades and small businesses (auto repair, plumbing, electrical, tool & die), and industrial manufacturers seeking managed recycling programs. Walk-in suppliers are paid cash on the spot based on material type and weight, while business customers can set up accounts and arrange container service.

Beyond traditional scrap, Great Lakes Recycling has built an end-of-life EV battery recycling capability, processing battery packs through testing, shredding, and hydrometallurgy to recover critical minerals including lithium, cobalt, and nickel. It expanded into a larger permitted facility in River Rouge to scale this throughput, processing 463,597 pounds of EV battery pack materials during August-September 2024 while maintaining zero workplace safety incidents. The company is a participant in the NextCycle Michigan Recycling Supply Chain accelerator, which provides access to grants, OEM and industry partnerships, and regulatory positioning within Michigan's EV battery ecosystem.

Revenue is generated through a transaction-fee model: the company purchases recyclable materials at quoted prices tied to commodity conditions, processes them, and sells recovered commodities and components to downstream manufacturers. With 251-500 employees, the firm sits within the broader PADNOS platform headquartered in Holland, Michigan, leveraging the parent's corporate, logistics, and downstream buyer resources. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and varies by material, weight, and market conditions. The firm is a private subsidiary of PADNOS, a privately-held strategic operating company.

Name

Great Lakes Recycling

Legal name

Great Lakes Recycling

Website

https://glradvanced.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1927

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Great Lakes Recycling, now operating under the PADNOS brand, provides metal, electronics, appliance, auto parts, and EV battery recycling services through six Southeast Michigan centers and a River Rouge EV battery processing facility, serving homeowners, scrappers, trades, and industrial manufacturers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Scrap Metal and EV Battery Recycling Services

NAICS

Materials Recovery Facilities (562920), Waste Collection (56211), Hazardous Waste Collection (562112)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953), Sanitary Services (4950)

akta.pro primary industry

Lithium-ion Battery Recycling (Mechanical, Hydro, Direct Recycling) (EUAIAIAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

E-Waste & Electronics Metal Recovery (ITAD, Circuit Boards, Precious Metal Recovery) (IMAKAMAG), Precious & Specialty Metal Recovery (Smelting, Refining, Hydrometallurgy) (EUAIAIAD), Radiator, Cable & Wire Recycling (Copper/Aluminum Wire Chopping, Insulated Cable) (IMAKAMAJ)

Keywords

• Scrap metal recycling
• EV battery recycling
• Electronics recycling services
• Industrial scrap management
• Recycling center operations

Headquarters

HQ city

Roseville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Material Purchase and Processing: Great Lakes Recycling purchases recyclable materials from customers including metals, electronics, appliances, and auto parts. Revenue is generated through processing these materials and selling them to downstream manufacturers.
2. EV Battery Processing Services: Processing of EV battery pack materials with throughput measured in pounds of material processed, generating revenue from recovered critical minerals including lithium, cobalt, and nickel

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Core offering

Great Lakes Recycling operates physical recycling centers across Southeast Michigan (now branded as PADNOS Southeast Michigan Locations) that purchase and process scrap metals, electronics, appliances, auto parts, and end-of-life EV battery packs from residential, scrappers, trades, and industrial customers. The company processes materials to recover reusable commodities and critical minerals (lithium, cobalt, nickel from EV batteries) and sells recovered materials to downstream manufacturers.

Product overview

Great Lakes Recycling operated as a recycling facility, now integrated into PADNOS under the branding 'Formerly Great Lakes Recycling Advanced (GLR)'. The company provides EV battery recycling processing services, handling end-of-life electric vehicle battery packs to recover critical minerals. Additionally, it offers general metal recycling (including copper, aluminum, brass, steel), electronics recycling, appliance recycling, auto parts recycling, and industrial recycling programs. The services are delivered through multiple Southeast Michigan locations (Ann Arbor, Howell, Livonia, Port Huron, Roseville, Whitmore Lake) with a focus on providing competitive pricing for scrappers and managed solutions for industrial customers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• EV Battery Recycling Processing Processing and handling of end-of-life electric vehicle battery packs, involving testing, shredding, and hydrometallurgy capabilities to recover critical minerals including lithium, cobalt, and nickel. Offered to EV manufacturers, automotive OEMs, and advanced industry partners needing permitted-capacity, safety-compliant battery processing.
• Metal Recycling Services Acceptance and processing of various metals including sheet iron, stainless steel, copper (#1, #2, bare bright), brass, bronze, aluminum (extruded, cast), cast iron, and structural steel from residential, commercial, and industrial sources. Customers are paid cash on the spot at walk-in centers or receive contracted pricing for managed industrial accounts.
• Electronics Recycling (E-Waste) Acceptance and processing of electronic waste including computers, TVs, mobile devices, tablets, servers, POS equipment, and other e-waste components for responsible recycling. Premium pricing paid for separated components such as RAM, motherboards, and heat sinks.
• Appliance Recycling Acceptance and processing of household appliances with power cords including microwaves, hair dryers, lawn equipment, and similar items, with free refrigerant removal whether intact or broken down.
• Auto Parts Recycling Acceptance and processing of metal auto parts including rotors, starters, alternators, radiators, and electric motors for scrap recycling.
• Industrial Recycling Programs Managed recycling programs for manufacturing and industrial operations, processing manufacturing by-products, obsolete inventory, defective parts, production overruns, facility remodel metals, and enterprise multi-site programs with on-site container service. Designed to support customer operations, sustainability goals, and revenue recovery from industrial scrap.

Quantifiable outcome

• Processed 463,597 pounds of EV battery pack materials in August and September 2024
• +1 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• NextCycle Michigan Recycling Supply Chain AcceleratorcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGreat Lakes Recycling is an alumni of or participant in the NextCycle Michigan accelerator program, which supports Michigan-based companies developing EV battery recycling, refurbishment, and second-life energy storage solutions. The program provides access to grants, industry expertise, and collaborative opportunities with other recyclers.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Retriev Technologies: North American battery recycling company handling lithium-ion and other battery chemistries. Comparable scope of operations centered on processing end-of-life batteries to recover usable materials.
• Cirba Solutions: Battery materials and recycling company managing end-of-life battery logistics, processing, and recovery. Directly comparable in scope (battery + e-waste) and processing approach to GLR.
• Heritage Battery Recycling: US battery recycler operating collection and processing infrastructure for end-of-life batteries. Comparable in the regulatory and processing dimensions of battery recycling that GLR also targets.
• Ascend Elements: Lithium-ion battery recycling company producing cathode precursor materials directly from end-of-life batteries. Overlaps with GLR on feedstock type and downstream hydrometallurgical mineral recovery.
• Li-Cycle: Public lithium-ion battery recycling specialist using shredding and hydrometallurgy to recover critical minerals. Directly comparable to GLR's EV battery processing capabilities via overlapping technology approach and target feedstock.
• Electronic Recyclers International (ERI): Large US e-waste and electronics recycler with ITAD, shredding, and downstream material recovery operations. Highly comparable to GLR's electronics recycling and appliance/auto-parts processing lines.
• Redwood Materials: Well-funded battery recycling and cathode-active-material producer focused on end-of-life EV batteries. Comparable as a high-growth EV battery recycler targeting critical mineral recovery with a similar hydrometallurgical pathway.

Emerging players

• Battery Solutions: Battery recycling and reverse logistics provider covering consumer and industrial batteries. Comparable as a regional recycler with overlapping battery feedstock streams though narrower in critical mineral recovery scope.

Broad incumbents

• Schnitzer Steel Industries: Public metals recycling company operating one of the largest US scrap metal and recycled product platforms. Comparable in the broader metal recycling, auto parts processing, and downstream commodity sales model that anchors a large portion of GLR's volume.
• PADNOS: The parent company and direct operator of GLR's Southeast Michigan locations. PADNOS is a multi-generational metal recycler with comparable scrap intake, e-waste, and industrial recycling services across Michigan, making it the most operationally comparable peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/greatlakesrecycling
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/louis-padnos-iron-&-metal-company
• Instagraminstagram.com/lpadnos
• Xx.com/GLR_GOGREEN

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 Great Lakes Recycling