Orange Grove Center

Orange Grove Center was established in 1953 by concerned community leaders and a grassroots group who were dedicated to offering educational programs to developmentally disabled children. As these children grew to adulthood and new youngsters took their places, the programs offered by the Center expanded to include various opportunities in vocational training. This training allowed these adults to lead independent lives and reach their maximum vocational potential.

In keeping with this goal, a community recycling program seemed to afford strong training possibilities. The Center entered the recycling market in 1988 with a staff of five developmentally disabled adults and one supervisor. The success of this new vocational training opportunity led Center administrators to explore expansion of the program.

In 1994 the Center entered into a contract with the City of Chattanooga to receive recyclables being picked up in Chattanooga's blue bag curbside recycling program. This contract called for expansion of the physical processing plant as well as a larger workforce.

The John F. Germ Recycling Center is a regional Materials Recovery Facility, which is often referred to as an MRF. An MRF manages the second step in the recycling process: the sorting of recyclables (the first step is the collection of recyclables and the third step is the production of items made from recyclables). The second step is very important because it prevents materials that could be recycled and used to create new materials from going to the landfill.

The Recycling Center accepts recyclables picked up from Chattanooga’s curbside program, area convenience centers, businesses and schools in the tri-state area. The Recycling Center processes more than 1.5 million pounds of materials every month in order to keep as much waste from local landfills as possible.

Over 100 developmentally disabled citizens and academically at-risk high school students are employed at the Recycling Center, which equips those citizens with the vocational skills they will need to seek future employment in the community.