He Will Not Be Stopped!!

By Nancy Ogburn
Tomato Palms LLC, Commercial Recycling Services

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It was an instant connection.  Like hearing from an old friend!  That is what happened the day I received a call from a senior citizen who had recently retired to Irmo, SC.  He said he was going to need recycling services but there were no services available to him.  He said he lives in the Columbia City limits.  His plan was to walk to a bus stop with his recyclable material and take a city bus to a downtown recycling drop-off location.  He was going to do it.  He was serious.  The question was how he was going to carry the material and where was the best place for him to get off the bus.  He needed help with his plan.

I told him to wait one minute!!   There must be something I could do to help.  The Tomato Palms LLC office isn’t that far away from where he lives.  He then decided he could start walking to my office with his materials.  Well I wasn’t having that either.

I received a call from another man around the same time asking if we could provide recycling services for individual apartment or condominium dwellers on Lake Murray.  At that time my answer was no as we only recycled for businesses.  But now here I was with this determined elderly gentleman whom I spoke with often as the weeks went by and he was settling into his new apartment.  We typically talked for an hour or so enjoying a conversation with someone who was also committed to keeping materials out of the landfill.  We also found we had common ground in how our faith in God plays a big part in our lives.  He volunteered to go with me to The State House when the RecyclonomicsSC council talked with our State officials about the need for recycling education.  I was ready to stomp my foot to get their attention and he offered to stomp with me.

Photo: Mr. Bob Fitch

I found myself for the first time considering putting a recycling program in place to help individual apartment dwellers.  Could we do it?  The answer is YES and he is my first individual client.  Amazingly in his first three months recycling with Tomato Palms LLC he recycled over 70 pounds.  This one elderly gentleman in his little apartment produced 70 pounds of recyclables.  I am so proud of him.  Yes he signed a contract and yes he paid me in full up front.   He wasn’t going to be a charity case and I do have a business to run.

I am honored to walk beside my new friend, Mr. Bob Fitch, in our quest to make South Carolina better, one pound of recyclables at a time.

Nancy Ogburn
Owner/Founder Tomato Palms LLC, Commercial Recycling Services

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