The Willow Glen Resident

Photograph by Skye Dunlap

Making Change: Besides helping out the environment, recycling is an easy way for kids to earn some money, says Ranch Town Recycling manager Saulman Valani.

Recycling center shows off its own unique style

Family has been in the business since 1935-- starting out in Bombay

By Michelle Ku and Rebecca Wallace

Sunlight reflects off a tall tower of aluminum cans and bounces off the dented silvery storage tanks nearby. Heaps of metal and tires huddle on the ground, in the company of pickup trucks and the large "Ranch Town Recycling" sign with its bright yellow and green letters. The look is strangely attractive--late-'90s urban sculpture farm.

Ranch Town, located at 775 Lincoln Ave., isn't your typical recycling center. For starters, manager Saulman Valani has more experience in the business than the average customer might expect. His family has helped people in India recycle since before World War II--and now he's doing the same thing for Willow Glen residents.

"I love it. This is something I know about--experience counts," says Valani. "I'm having fun sharing ecology with others."

In 1935, Valani's grandfather opened Valani's Metals in Bombay, India, specializing in metals. The business gradually expanded to recycling cardboard, paper and other materials. Valani's father took over the business in 1965, but when the family immigrated to the United States in 1990, they closed it.

Valani and his father have owned and operated Ranch Town in a corner of the Glen near Interstate 280 for the last year and a half. Many Willow Glen and Santa Clara residents drop off cans and bottles at Ranch Town, which then sends them to recycling plants.

When the Valanis opened Ranch Town, they wanted it to be distinct from other centers and gave it a kitschy menagerie feel with antique statues of horses, deer and giraffes. A windmill completed the look.

Then El Niño stepped in, knocking down the windmill and breaking it with strong winds. Many of the other statues have been broken as well. But a tower of cans still stands tall as cars fly by along 280 behind it.

Now the Valanis focus on service and educating about recycling's benefits.

Environmentalism, Earth Day and all things green have grown in popularity over the past few years in the U.S., but melting down metal and glass for reuse is nothing new to Indians, Valani says. "People in India have been recycling for a long time, much longer than here. They recycle everything," he says.

Ranch Town is what Valani calls a 7-Eleven of recycling centers. "We have very competitive rates and are in a convenient location. Our place is nicer and neater than any other place that I know of, and service is fast," he says.

All types of materials, from aluminum cans and plastic bottles to glass and all kinds of metals, pass through Ranch Town. "Anything can be recycled--anything from water heaters to washers to car batteries," Valani says.

Ranch Town pays $1 a pound for aluminum cans, 5 cents a pound for glass and 40 cents a pound for plastic. By comparison, Recycling Depot in Santa Clara offers 91 cents a pound for aluminum, 5 cents a pound for glass and 41 cents a pound for plastic.

While business is a bit slow right now, Valani expects it to pick up soon. Summer is usually the best season for the center because of the hot weather, out-of-town guests and kids out for summer vacation.

"Summer is usually when any liquor store or grocery store gets busy. When they are busy, we are busy," Valani says.

Valani says Ranch Town is open seven days a week and until 6:30 p.m. on weekdays. Most centers are closed on Sundays and close by 4:30 p.m., he adds.

In addition to helping the environment, recycling is a good family activity, he says.

"Kids save their money from the recycling for their college education, they say. Grandparents who recycle say they will give the money to their grandkids," Valani says. "The more you recycle, the better it is for nature and ecology. Every penny counts."

[ Back to Contents Page | Willow Glen Resident Home Page | Archives ]