What does BARC actually do behind the scenes?
If you have visited our resale shop, dropped off an old mattress, recycled electronics at one of our many events, or worked with us through one of our other sustainability programs, you may already know a piece of the answer. But there is a lot more happening behind the scenes.
That is why we have been inviting businesses, organizations, community partners, and other groups to take a tour of BARC. A tour is an opportunity to see our work in action, learn where materials go after they leave your hands, and discover the many ways BARC can help keep valuable resources in circulation.
Schedule a BARC Tour to See it for yourself
Sometimes the best way to understand what we do is to see it for yourself. Our tours are designed to be educational, and tailored to the interests of the group visiting. Whether you are a business looking for new ways to handle materials, an organization interested in sustainability, or a current BARC partner who only knows us through one program, a tour can open the door to possibilities you may not have considered.
You might come to BARC because you work with us on electronics recycling and leave realizing there are opportunities for recycling, reuse, material recovery, or other services that could benefit your organization. A tour lets you see the bigger picture.
Start at the Resale Shop
During a tour, we can start there and talk about where those donations come from and what happens to them once they arrive. From there, we can take you behind the scenes and show you the many steps involved in sorting, preparing, reusing, and recycling materials.
It is a chance to see how the familiar side of BARC connects to the much larger system operating behind it.
See What Happens to E-Waste
Go Behind the Scenes of Mattress Recycling
During a tour, you can see the team cutting mattresses and learn what happens to the different materials we recover. Foam, fabric, metal, wood, and other components can all have different paths after they leave the mattress.
We can also show you our baler and explain how we prepare materials for transportation and recycling. From there, you can see the equipment that helps us process these materials and learn more about where they ultimately end up. It is one thing to hear that a mattress can be recycled. It is another thing entirely to stand next to the process and watch it happen.
From Materials to Their Next Life
A big part of every BARC tour is understanding what happens after materials leave our facility. There is a larger story behind every material. We want visitors to understand where those materials go, how they are processed, and how they can become part of something new.
That might mean recovering valuable metals, preparing materials for manufacturing, finding new uses for products, or creating opportunities for materials to stay in circulation rather than becoming landfill waste. We also have materials that can directly benefit our community. For example, wood left over from our recycling processes is available for free to community members who can put it to use!
See the Equipment That Makes It Possible
One of the most interesting parts of a BARC tour is simply seeing the equipment we use every day. We can show visitors our baler, shredder, and other equipment and explain what each machine does and why it is an important part of our recycling process. Seeing these machines in operation can completely change the way people think about recycling.
What may look like an old mattress, an unwanted electronic, or a pile of materials is actually the beginning of a much larger process.
A Tour Can Be Built Around Your Interests
No two BARC tours have to look exactly the same. If your business or organization is particularly interested in electronics, we can focus more time on e-waste. We can also work with groups that want to better understand the full range of BARC’s capabilities.
Our goal is not simply to walk you through the building. It is to help you understand what we do, answer questions, and explore where there may be opportunities to work together.
You May Know BARC. But Do You Know Everything We Can Do?
You may already work with BARC in one capacity, but that does not necessarily mean you know everything we have to offer. A tour can be a chance to step outside of that one relationship and see the bigger picture.
Maybe there is another material your organization has been struggling to manage. Maybe there is an opportunity for reuse that you had not considered. Maybe you have an idea for a future partnership but did not realize BARC had the equipment, resources, or expertise to help make it happen.
Sometimes, all it takes is seeing what is possible.
Come See What BARC Is All About
BARC is more than a place to drop something off. We are building systems that keep materials out of landfills, create opportunities for reuse and recycling, and connect resources back to our community.
A tour is one of the best ways to see that mission in action. Whether you are a current partner, a local business, a nonprofit, a community organization, or simply curious about what happens behind the scenes, we would love to show you around. Get in touch with us to schedule a tour and come see it for yourself!