Can redemption possible despite NPI’s can closure

When Nishna Productions announced the closing of its redemption center at the end of 2021, it wasn’t welcome news in the area.
In fact, two Red Oak organizations that rely heavily on the redemption center, the Optimists and Rotary Club, began scrambling to find alternative plans.
The Optimists and Rotary share a can donation area in the Red Oak Fareway parking lot. On even months, the Optimists redeem the cans and during the odd months, the Rotary redeems the cans. Both organizations use the funds from the can redemption as a way to support various school and community-minded events.
Tom Bronk heads up the can redemption for Red Oak Optimists, along with Doug Tye. Bronk said they have made plans to work with the Glenwood Resource Center for can redemption with NPI’s closure.
“They bring a big truck and get whatever they can in there,” Bronk said. “We weren’t surprised when NPI announced they’d be closing; it was in the makings for years.”
He added the annual pork chop supper and the can redemption are the two main ways the Optimists obtain funding.
Red Oak Rotary Club President Tim Fridolph said they have yet to come up with a concrete plan for can redemption.
“We’ve tried to get in contact with the Glenwood Resource Center, but we also don’t want to overwhelm them,” Fridolph said. “There’s talk of a can redemption center in Shenandoah as well, so we will look into that avenue as well.”
Considering the refund from redeeming cans, Fridolph said their decision has to make financial sense logistically.
He added the funds from the can redemption played a big role in the purchase of the Red Oak Rotary Welcome LED sign near the Law Enforcement Center.
“The donation we made toward the Red Oak Grand Theatre ticket booth came from can money. It is essentially our lifeblood. The events we hold, like the Daddy-Daughter dance, they aren’t fundraisers, but more of a wash. Everything we do is solely based on theses cans.”
Like Bronk, Fridolph said Rotarians weren’t surprised by the NPI redemption center closure, either.
“This is a conversation that has been taking place for a long time. We all knew it was going to happen at some point, we just didn’t know when.”
“Over the years, Nishna Productions, Inc. has had a great working relationship with both the Rotary and Optimists Clubs in Red Oak,” said NPI Development Specialist Emily Martin. “The Rotarians, especially, were generous in donating their time when the Redemption Center was full and the can sorting process was backed up. When NPI had to close the Redemption Center for a few days to get caught up, a group of five or more Rotarians could be found on Saturday afternoons sorting cans to help NPI staff sort cans.”
Martin added Container Recovery, Inc. from Des Moines has offered an alternative process for redemption in Red Oak.
“Doug Webb, CRINC CEO-President, met with Sherri Clark, executive director of Nishna Productions, Inc., and Shawnna Silvius, Red Oak mayor, last month. Webb would like to bring in a building where community members can drop off their redeemable items. This building would be an unmanned site,” Martin explained. “Here’s how it would work: Community members would register on CRINC’s site and be assigned a barcode. The barcode would then need to be printed and attached to any bags of cans and bottles. The barcode would be required to unlock the door at the redemption building and would allow the community member to drop off their bags. The bags will be taken to Des Moines on a regular basis where they will be scanned, counted, and redeemed. The money due to the community member would then either be deposited into an account associated with that individual’s barcode or a check would be mailed to the address given with that barcode.”
Martin said NPI has been asked to empty the drop-off building and store the bags of cans and bottles in between loads to Des Moines in exchange for the standard one-cent per item handling fee. Since the special redemption deposit buildings are made in Norway, Martin said CRINC is awaiting their arrival before finalizing any arrangements for installment in SW Iowa.

The Red Oak Express

2012 Commerce Drive
P.O. Box 377
Red Oak, IA 51566
Phone: 712-623-2566 Fax: 712-623-2568

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