The Orange Grove Recycling Center (OGRC)

The Orange Grove Recycling Center (OGRC) was created in 1988 when the community realized the pressing need to establish a local recycling network. Born of a unique contractual partnership between the Orange Grove Center for developmentally disabled people and the City of Chattanooga, the Center has become a highly successful home for recycling in a three-state region. Employees from the Orange Grove Center can learn valuable and marketable skills working at the recycling center, and the community at large benefits as well. The Center teaches basic concepts of sustainable living through an educational speakers' service that is available for churches, neighborhoods, and civic groups.

The goal of this program is to provide a much-needed recycling service to the City of Chattanooga and the surrounding area while providing jobs for developmentally disabled adults.

The ORGC has provided a place to take reusable products, created a recycling education program, and has given jobs to over 100 mentally-disabled citizens who would not otherwise be able to work. The Orange Grove Recycling Center also successfully diverts 1,000,000 pounds (5,000 tons) of waste from landfills per month, and adds to the overall quality of life for thousands in the Chattanooga region.