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Green Dreams: Rosby Resource Recovery Making Cleveland Cleaner Send story to a friend Entrepreneur Bill Rosby owns five companies in Northeast Ohio, including Rosby Resource Recovery in the suburb of Brooklyn Heights. The company, which began as a berry farm and commercial greenhouse in the 1970s, ventured into recycling by way of composting. As farming became less profitable, composting became a greater part of the business and led to other types of recycling. Along the way, the company has introduced innovations from supplying the first no-sort recycling containers on Ohio construction sites to finding a market for materials like vinyl siding that had never been recycled before. Today, equipped with state-of-the-art technologies, the company recycles, reuses or resells 90 percent of the construction and solid waste debris and 100 percent of all organic materials it collects. As part of the Cleveland Green Building Coalition, Rosby Resource Recovery also helps companies qualify for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification points awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council. By pioneering new methods for reusing and recycling materials, Rosby has "reinvented the wheel," according to General Manager Scott Gordon. Like many ground-breaking enterprises, Rosby struck some financial institutions as a "risky business," he added. But where others might have raised a yellow caution flag, ShoreBank gave the green light. When Rosby Resource Recovery was just getting off the ground, John Schoeniger of ShoreBank Cleveland contacted Chris Warren of ShoreBank Enterprise. Warren recognized the young company’s potential and, just as importantly, the fit between Rosby’s business lines and the bank’s triple bottom line of sustainability, profit and social responsibility. "Our practices and goals are perfectly suited to what the bank stands for," Gordon agrees. Providing not only financing but also intensive technical assistance, ShoreBank Enterprise helped cultivate the recycling company’s growth. Additionally, the bank worked with Rosby to restructure the management of all his companies, bringing welcome insight, guidance and expertise that have enhanced their profitability. "Helping entrepreneurs invest in their neighborhoods is what banks should be doing," Gordon says. "I feel fortunate to have ShoreBank in our market."
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Rosby Resource Recovery had a goal: to make Cleveland a greener city by providing innovative, cost-effective solutions to waste disposal. But first, the company needed some green of its own. With the help of ShoreBank Cleveland and its nonprofit arm ShoreBank Enterprise, Rosby is promoting healthier communities and economic growth for the city.