rePlanet Recycling Centers Close

Recycling center operator rePlanet LLC has closed all its recycling and processing facilities in California, including locations in the San Fernando, Santa Clarita, Conejo and Antelope valleys. The company notified the state Employment Development Department on Aug. 5 of the closures and elimination of about 750 employees. The company operated its recycling centers at grocery stores, including Ralphs, Vons, Albertsons and Stater Bros., and staffed them with recycling specialists that worked with consumers in redeeming their deposits. In the greater San Fernando Valley region, the centers closed in Agoura Hills, Burbank, Canoga Park, La Crescenta, and Woodland Hills. Additionally, centers closed in Lancaster, Saugus, Valencia, Newhall, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks and Moorpark. In total, 27 employees lost their jobs with those closures. In a release, rePlanet, based in Ontario, said that depressed prices of recycled aluminum and polyethylene terephthalate plastic and the rise of operating costs associated with the increases in the minimum wage and required health and workers compensation insurance “have made operation of these recycling centers and supporting operations unsustainable. “We regret that these site closures will negatively impact our employees, grocer partners, customers and the recycling community at large,” the company statement said.