Work / Day Services

Anaconda Recycling and Hope Thrift Store

AWARE operates recycling plants in Butte and Anaconda.
AWARE moved its Anaconda operation, long a staple of the corporation, into a new 12,000-square-foot steel-sided building on the east edge of town in the fall of 2007.

The move allowed AWARE to to install a new horizontal baler with a 20-foot conveyor belt that runs along the floor, leading to a larger compactor. The old vertical baler the company formerly used to compact recyclables sometimes took as long as six hours to form a load. Now, with equipment that had been used in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, the time it takes to generate a bale is reduced to a mere 20 minutes, and it can be done more safely. Where the vertical baler required loose product to be loaded by hand into a hydraulic compartment, the new horizontal baler boasts a 20-foot conveyor belt that runs along the floor, leading to a larger compactor. This allows for recyclables to be swept directly onto the belt, where the machine takes over. The recycling operation, which recycled more than a million pounds of product in 2006, allows better access for recyclers.

The move also has allowed the adjacent Hope Thrift Store and AWARE’s Day Activity Center program to spread out.

AWARE Recycling - Anaconda

200 North Polk St.
Anaconda, MT 59711
406/563-5229

New Expanded Hours
Operating Hours
Hours – 8:30-4:30

Drop-off Hours
Mon. - Fri. 8:30 A.M. To 7 P.M.
Sat. And Sun. 10 A.M. To 5 P.M.

AWARE Recycling accepts newspaper, aluminum, No. 1 and No. 2 plastic (milk jugs, pop bottles, etc.) tin, and white (office) paper

No glass or metal, please.

Hope Thrift Store

Hope Thrift Store, now in its eighth year of operation, provides a work and retail environment for people with disabilities.

Hope Thrift Store
200 North Polk St.
Anaconda, MT 59711
406/563-7712
Hours – 10-5 Monday through Friday
Closed Saturday and Sunday

The store accepts clothes, shoes, belts, toys and most furniture. We do not accept sofa sleepers or white goods such as washer, dryers, and refrigerators.

AWARE Recycling – Butte

640 S. Arizona
Butte, MT 59701
406/723-3406
Hours – 10-4 Sunday through Friday

AWARE Recycling accepts newspaper, aluminum, No. 1 and No. 2 plastic (milk jugs, pop bottles, etc.) tin, and white (office) paper.

No glass or metal, please.

Billings Auto Detailing Shop

1050 S. 25th St. W., Ste. 2
Billings, MT 59102
406/656-0935

The crew at AWARE Auto Detailing in Billings can finish two vehicles in a day, making them shine from bumper to bumper. On a recent Thursday morning, Nick Spelts, Vyeron Foote, Tim Knutson, Colleen Coe and Deborah Battleson, under the supervision of Joe Lucero, went to work on a dark green Dodge pickup truck. When they finished, the truck gleamed inside and out. It had that new car smell, too. The auto detailing shop operates out of a high-ceilinged warehouse at 1050 S. 25th St. West. The shop is attached to AWARE's administrative offices and Day/Work Services. AWARE details vehicles for the Used Car Factory, a car dealership on State Avenue in Billings.

"They've been very pleased with the job we do," said Lucero, who has worked for AWARE for four years.

Wallace Sutter, work services manager, oversees auto detailing while Lucero supervises the employees. Lucero, who had experience in auto detailing from a former job, first suggested the notion of opening a shop for AWARE consumers in 2005. Since AWARE already had the warehouse, it was a natural fit. AWARE staff put together a business plan and then visited local car lots during the summer of 2005 announcing the opening of the shop.

Since then the detailing crew has done hundreds of vehicles. They provide full service to their customers: an exterior wash, interior cleaning, including a carpet and upholstery shampoo, engine cleaning, and waxing and buffing. They use the same equipment and soaps and solvents that any commercial shop would use. They also take walk-in requests. "Word of mouth has brought in a few customers off the street," Lucero said.

The price is right. A full-service detail on a sedan is $78. For a pickup, van or SUV, the cost is $80 to $85. The shop also offers volume pricing. But volume isn't the most important thing. "Right now, it's not about the number of vehicles we can do," Lucero said. "It's about giving consumers opportunities for employment. The Auto Detailing Shop has been an excellent way for our consumers to learn work skills and be employed."