Nothing glamorous here but garbage is a reality. Coming from a big city where we have the luxury of weekly garbage pickup where it magically disappears, it's not so easy out in the north woods of Michigan. For one, you are mainly responsible for your own garbage. While food and compost-able items can be tossed into the woods for the raccoons to enjoy, other garbage has to be hauled to a local dropoff site run by Waste Management, where you pay by the pound. So what do you do when you got scrap metal like an old charcoal grill, fence posts, and buckets of rusty screws accumulated over decades? Well, this place pays you. Nothing major but coming out with $7 for a small van-load of steel and aluminum scrap is better than paying for the same amount of stuff going in WM's garbage pile in Iron River. And the folks are friendly there. A crew of guys sorting scrap will gladly unload the car for you so you don't have to get dirty hauling it yourself. Then you go inside a small building overlooking the scrap yard and there's the stereotypical run-down looking office with a lady who dispenses the cash for your trash. TruRecycling is off of Highway 424 in Caspian, just south of Iron River, but off the beaten path by the golf course. Nothing glamorous like I said, but good to know if you're living in the UP. read more

The drive in to and around the place is mostly mud, bumps, big potholes, etc. Kind of hesitant to even drive in some areas for fear of getting stuck or flat tires from so much junk not cleaned up in places like where they want you to go to unload. Kind of tough trying to figure out what to do and where to go for what. So many signs all over just make it more confusing. You aren't allowed to go where they take your metal and cans. So don't get to see the scale and when they weigh things for some reason. Very dirty and unorganized inside and out. From the yard area to the office, etc. Even for a recycling place. Before you walk in the door their is a tray with hundreds of cigarette buts in it. A deal of them overflowing on to the ground. Only place to talk to the person in the office is in a weird, cramped kinda little hall area between two doors. No window or anything. Was trying to talk to the secretary person but another employee in the room kept interrupting. Place could use a good top to bottom overhaul. read more

I feel fortunate that Tru Recycling is in business. Not only does it provide employment, it also supplies the vital service of being a place where all sorts of stuff that might wind up in landfills gets a new lease on useful life. I have recycled everything there-- from wire and tiny odds and ends of metal to piles of aluminum window sashes and vast piles of metal roofing scraps--even an old cast iron stove. You can recycle car bodies here, engines, engine oil, you name it. Everyone is courteous, professional, kind and helpful. they always help us unload, but frankly, a little honestly acquired grime doesn't hurt anyone, so I pitch in and do my part. I think you can also buy some car parts here. There is usually a wonderful collection of antiques that have been thrown away that are fun to look at. And many of the buildings appear to be interesting historical structures from the old days. Getting paid for your scrap is a bonus--I am just glad the place is here. Thank you John and everyone else who keeps "Tru", as my husband and I affectionately term it, up and running. read more