The well-utilized Routt County business D&D Enterprises has reopened, collecting recyclable scrap metals from the public, and has already baled and shipped 250,000 pounds of metal during the first three months of the year.

“We need to be here; this is a necessity for Routt County,” D&D co-owner Joe Duksa said at the facility on Friday.

Co-owners Joe and Emily Duksa have operated the recycling business located along U.S. Highway 40 several miles west of Steamboat Springs since July 2005. Because Monday is the 54th annual Earth Day, Duksa likes to say he is helping the planet one pound at time.

The business diverts an average 1.9 million pounds, or 2,300 cubic yards, of metal from the landfill each year. The company bales and ships scrap metal to a recycling plant near Salt Lake City.

One of the most unusual items the business has recycled is a giant metal rooster. Joe Duksa smiles when he recalls the fond stories that sentimental car owners tell him when they drop off old favorite vehicles. Some recycled nonfunctioning cars, which the recycle business owners pay for at a small rate by weight, are set aside for Jaws of Life extraction practice by area fire departments

The majority of the metals, from wagon wheels to broken bicycles, are dropped off by area residents for free. However, the company is no longer operating a 24-hour, seven-day a week metals drop-off service because that was being abused by residents, according to Emily Duksa.

Now the metal recycling drop off is monitored behind a gate and currently is limited to a 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. window on Monday through Friday.

In August, the Routt County Planning Department issued a “cease and desist” order to D&D Enterprises because the business needed to complete a special use permit with specific stipulations. To reopen their service, the Duksas decided to take out a business loan with the property as collateral to pay for required upgrades. Several upgrades are still underway, including construction of a stormwater pond and building a handicap accessible ramp to the front office with a bathroom.

D&D has a July 1 deadline to construct the stormwater pond and complete all the building permit requirements, according to Planner III Alan Goldich with Routt County. The owners say they are in line to complete the work by the deadline.

Although the previous tall, feather-style flags calling attention to the recycling service are no longer flying because they are restricted by county sign ordinances, the business has been reopened for recycling since early January. Recyclers now need to drive past the front office, where signs direct customers into the yard and note where to drop specific items.

On Friday, a materials handler machine was swinging a claw with a large electromagnet attached, sucking up nails and other small bits of metal off the ground. Near the back of the D&D property sat bales of beverage cans the business collected from the WinterWonderGrass festival. A metal cutting shear on a large track hoe and a grappler stood at the ready.

Information on which metals are accepted for recycling can be found at DDmetalrecycle.com. Metal items recycled for free include: aluminum brass, copper, cans, cars, dishwashers, drums and barrels, dryers, washers, electrical cords, furnaces, iron cast tubs and stoves, hot water heaters, kitchen ranges, metal hoods, metal farm scrap, microwaves, auto or baseboard radiators, wood stoves, and metal door frames and fireplace inserts.

Recyclers pay $110 to drop off refrigerators with Freon and $60 for small a motor with oil and gas. Staff members are available to help recyclers offload items. The owners say if a metal artist or resident would like to buy something from the pile for reuse, they should come to the office and ask first.