Mighty River Recycling

What Mighty River Recycling does

Mighty River Recycling, LLC is a privately held, vertically integrated scrap metal recycling company founded in 2010 and headquartered in Alton, Illinois. The company operates two physical sites: a public walk-in yard at 116 State Street, Madison, IL, and a 40-acre industrial ferrous yard and corporate office at 121 Chessen Ln, Alton, IL, with direct rail access to Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific railroads. Its core offering is the purchase, processing, and resale of ferrous and non-ferrous scrap (appliances, plate and structural, sheet iron, cast iron, aluminum, copper, brass, stainless, titanium, catalytic converters, radiators, high-temp alloys, and more) sourced from public walk-in customers and industrial accounts whose monthly volumes range from 20 to 2,000+ tons.

The business monetizes across four streams: (1) spread-based scrap purchase and resale to anchor end-buyers, including an exclusive ferrous supply arrangement with Alton Steel Inc. since 2021 (succeeding an Amsted GC exclusive from 2010-2023); (2) metal brokerage commissions via a claimed 50-state buyer/sourcing network; (3) industrial services such as on-site mobile shearing, mobile torching, mobile scrap handlers, and site cleanup; and (4) container provisioning and customization (roll-off, lugger, gaylord, steel tote, self-dumping boxes, 55-gallon drums) through an in-house full-service maintenance shop. The go-to-market is sales-led and direct: industrial accounts are assigned dedicated buyer representatives, while public customers transact at the Madison yard during business hours. Marketing is light, relying on a Wix website, Facebook, YouTube, Google Reviews, and inbound contact forms rather than paid digital acquisition.

Technically, the platform is operational rather than software-based: a fleet of tractors, roll-off and lugger boxes, van and gondola trailers, mobile shears, mobile torching units, and mobile scrap handlers, combined with dual-rail-served yard capacity, anchors the value chain. The team is described as having over 100 years of combined recycling experience. No software product, API, integrations, or AI/ML capabilities are disclosed; Mighty River Recycling is fundamentally a physical-asset, relationship-driven commodity recycling business serving a captive regional mill and a long tail of public sellers and mid-to-large industrial accounts.

Name

Mighty River Recycling

Legal name

Mighty River Recycling, LLC

Website

https://mightyriverrecycling.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Mighty River Recycling is a privately held Illinois-based scrap metal recycler operating a public yard in Madison, IL and a 40-acre rail-served industrial yard in Alton, IL, serving walk-in sellers, industrial accounts, and an exclusive supply arrangement with Alton Steel Inc.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Scrap Metal Recycling

NAICS

Waste Collection (56211)

SIC

Wholesale-Metals & Minerals (No Petroleum) (5050)

akta.pro primary industry

Scrap Collection, Brokerage & Trading (Dealers, Aggregators, Exporters) (EUAIAJAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Ferrous Scrap Processing & Recycling (Steel/Iron) (EUAIAJAA), Metals Recovery & Sorting Facilities (Ferrous/Non-Ferrous) (EUAIADAG), Metals Recycling & Processing (Ferrous/Non-Ferrous) (BPALADAF)

Keywords

• Scrap metal recycling
• Ferrous metal processing
• Non-ferrous recycling
• Industrial scrap collection
• Mobile scrap processing

Headquarters

HQ city

Alton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Scrap Metal Purchase and Resale: Core revenue stream: the company purchases ferrous and non-ferrous scrap from public and industrial customers, then processes and resells the material. Industrial accounts handle 20 to 2,000+ tons per month. Material is sold onward — including an exclusive ferrous scrap supply arrangement with Alton Steel Inc.
2. Brokerage Services: Metal brokerage services where the company connects buyers and sellers, leveraging contacts in all 50 states to source material and help customers get the most for their metal.
3. Industrial Services / Container Leasing & Customization: Provision of roll-off boxes, lugger boxes, trailer services, freight services, and customized indoor/outdoor containers (55-gallon drums, gaylord boxes, steel tote boxes, self-dumping boxes) to industrial accounts for scrap storage and transport.
4. Material Cleanup and Mobile Processing: On-site material cleanup and processing services (mobile shears, mobile torching, mobile scrap handlers) billed as industrial services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Mighty River Recycling purchases, processes, and resells ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metal from both public walk-in customers and industrial accounts, operating yards in Madison, IL (public) and Alton, IL (industrial, 40-acre, rail-served). The company also provides on-site container leasing, mobile shearing and torching, freight/trailer services, metal brokerage across a 50-state network, and exclusive steel-mill supply services for Alton Steel Inc.

Product overview

Mighty River Recycling (MRR) is a single, vertically integrated scrap-metal recycling business rather than a software platform — its offering combines yard-based core services (Ferrous Recycling and Non-Ferrous Recycling) with a fleet of mobile/container/logistics services (Rolloff Boxes, Lugger Boxes, Trailer Services, Mobile Shears, Mobile Torching, Mobile Scrap Handlers, Freight Services, Boxes & Skids, Material Cleanup, Metal Processing, and Brokerage) and customer-segment-specific service lines (Industrial Services for 20–2,000+ ton/month accounts, Public Services at the Madison IL retail yard, and Steel Mill Services performed exclusively for Alton Steel Inc.). The supporting Full Service Maintenance Shop underpins the rolling-stock and container offerings, while the company's geographic footprint — Madison IL (public yard) and Alton IL (corporate office / 40-acre industrial ferrous yard with NS and UP rail access) — hosts the operation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Ferrous Recycling Accepts and processes iron and steel-bearing scrap (appliances, bushling, cast iron, heavy melting steel, plate and structural, sheet iron, machine shop turnings, motor blocks, etc.) from public customers and industrial accounts for resale.
• Non-Ferrous Recycling Accepts and processes non-ferrous metals including aluminum, copper, brass, lead, stainless steel, nickel alloys, high-temp alloys, zinc/die cast, radiators, catalytic converters, insulated wires, and ACSR for resale.
• Roll-Off Box Services Rental of roll-off boxes in all sizes for temporary scrap collection at customer sites, with customization available through the in-house maintenance shop.
• Lugger Box Services Rental of lugger boxes in all sizes for scrap collection, delivered and picked up via lugger trucks.
• Trailer Services Fleet of tractors, van trailers, and high-side/low-side gondola trailers for hauling scrap and rolling stock across all 50 states.
• Mobile Shears Deploys mobile shears to customer sites to size and process scrap metal on location.
• Mobile Torching Provides mobile torching crews for on-site cutting and demolition of large or oversized ferrous scrap at customer locations.
• Mobile Scrap Handlers Provides mobile scrap-handler equipment and operators for on-site scrap management at industrial customer sites.
• Freight Services Coordinates freight and logistics for moving customer scrap material, leveraging the in-house fleet and direct NS and UP rail access.
• Material Cleanup Site cleanup services to remove scrap and debris from customer facilities, supplementing container-based collection.
• Metal Processing Centralized metal processing at the Alton yard, including steel processing capabilities supplied under the exclusive arrangement with Alton Steel Inc. (a local SBQ mill).
• Brokerage Scrap-metal brokerage connecting buyers and sellers, leveraging the company's claimed contacts in all 50 states to help customers get the most for their metal.
• Industrial Services Dedicated service line for industrial accounts with monthly volumes ranging from 20 tons to 2,000+ tons, including on-site equipment, dedicated buyer representatives, container provisioning, and logistics.
• Public Services Walk-in/retail scrap-buying services for the public at the Madison, IL public yard (116 State Street), Monday-Friday 8:00AM-4:00PM.
• Steel Mill Services Steel-mill supply services performed exclusively for Alton Steel Inc., supplying all of their ferrous scrap needs and providing steel processing capabilities at the Alton, IL facility.
• Boxes and Skids (Gaylord, Steel Tote, Self-Dumping, 55-Gallon Drums) Bulk-material containers supplied to customers for organized scrap storage, including Gaylord boxes, steel tote boxes, self-dumping boxes, and 55-gallon drums, with customization available.
• Full-Service Maintenance Shop In-house maintenance shop that services the rolling-stock fleet and customizes indoor and outdoor scrap containers to customer specifications.

Quantifiable outcome

• Handles industrial accounts ranging from 20 to 2,000+ tons per month
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, major, core and minor.

• Alton Steel Inc.flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Exclusive arrangement under which Mighty River Recycling holds steel processing capabilities and supplies all of Alton Steel's ferrous scrap needs. Alton Steel is described as a local SBQ (Special Bar Quality) mill and a key consumer partner credited with much of MRR's success. Exclusive arrangement in place from 2021 to present.
• Amsted GC (Amsted Rail)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010Exclusive arrangement with Amsted GC from 2010 to 2023, listed as a historical anchor relationship in the company's timeline.
• Norfolk Southern (NS) RailroadcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDirect rail access to NS at the Alton, IL facility (40-acre site with NS and UP rail access), enabling inbound and outbound movement of scrap metal.
• Union Pacific (UP) RailroadcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDirect rail access to UP at the Alton, IL facility (40-acre site with NS and UP rail access), enabling inbound and outbound movement of scrap metal.
• United Healthcare (UHC)minorOthersUnited Healthcare is referenced via the Transparency in Coverage link on the Careers page, indicating UHC is used as the company's health plan provider for employee benefits.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• SA Recycling: Major U.S. non-ferrous and ferrous scrap metal recycler operating yards across multiple states. Closely comparable to Mighty River Recycling in core activity (ferrous/non-ferrous buying, processing, container services, brokerage) with overlapping end-buyer relationships to steel mills.
• PSC Metals: U.S. regional scrap metal recycler with yards across the Midwest and South. Comparable to Mighty River Recycling in yard-based ferrous and non-ferrous buying, industrial account service model, and rail-served processing for downstream mills.
• Liberty Iron & Metal: Regional scrap metal recycler with yard and processing operations serving industrial accounts and downstream mills. Comparable to Mighty River Recycling in core activity and customer mix, though concentrated in a different Midwest region.
• Ferrous Processing & Trading: Mid-Atlantic and Midwest ferrous scrap processor with rail-served yards and industrial account service model. Comparable to Mighty River Recycling as a regional recycler with rail access, brokered sourcing, and mill-offtake relationships.
• General Iron Industries: Chicago-based scrap metal recycler and demolition services provider with both industrial account and walk-in yard operations. Comparable to Mighty River Recycling in the dual industrial/public-yard model and Midwest geographic footprint.
• Metalico: Formerly a publicly traded U.S. scrap metal recycler with yards across multiple states (assets largely acquired by SA Recycling and others after bankruptcy). Listed as a peer based on prior operating history; the company may not exist as a standalone comparable today.

Broad incumbents

• Radius Recycling (formerly Schnitzer Steel Industries): Large publicly traded scrap metal recycler and steel producer with extensive yard network across the U.S. and globally. Directly comparable to Mighty River Recycling as a multi-yard ferrous/non-ferrous scrap operator serving both industrial generators and mills, but at vastly larger scale and with integrated steel mill assets.
• OmniSource (a Steel Dynamics company): One of the largest U.S. ferrous and non-ferrous scrap recyclers, owned by Steel Dynamics as a vertically integrated mill-supply platform. Directly comparable to Mighty River Recycling in core scrap-buying and processing activity, with the structural difference of a parent EAF mill guaranteeing captive demand.
• Commercial Metals Company (CMC): Vertically integrated steel manufacturer with in-house scrap procurement operations. Comparable to Mighty River Recycling's downstream mill-counterparty model (e.g., Alton Steel) and demonstrates the vertically integrated mill-plus-scrap model against which regional recyclers compete for supply.
• The David J. Joseph Company (DJJ, a Nucor company): One of the largest U.S. scrap metal recyclers, operating as the scrap-procurement arm of Nucor, the largest U.S. steelmaker. Comparable to Mighty River Recycling as a mill-anchored ferrous scrap platform, but with vastly broader geographic reach and a parent EAF steel mill guaranteeing demand.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@mightyriverrecycling658
• Facebookfacebook.com/mightyriverrecycling

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Mighty River Recycling