State environmental law spurs recyclers' growth; but glut of recyclable products reduces material prices.

Crown Disposal Co. Inc., which touts itself as the first Los Angeles area company to be involved in every stage of recycling -- from waste pickup to the manufacturing of recycled products -- sits in the No. 1 spot on this year's List of the largest recycling companies, ranked by the size of its recycling work force.

Crown Disposal last year increased the number of its recycling employees by 50 when it purchased Reprocell Pulp & Paper Co., a paper mill in Vernon, said Alex Dmitriew, recycling coordinator for the Sun Valley-based company.

Crown spent over $1 million retrofitting the mill to produce a cardboard product from the mixed paper it collects from office buildings, Dmitriew said. It then sells the product to cardboard manufacturers, he said.

Dmitriew said Crown, which began as a waste hauler, is now "in a good position to be a long-term player in the recycling business." Because it has diversified it won't be as vulnerable to changes in the recycling market, he said.

Crown surpassed Hugo Neu-Proler Co., which was No. 1 on last year's List and which downsized its recycling force by 35. Hugo officials did not return a phone inquiry.

Big waste hauling companies Western Waste Industries and Browning Ferris Industries both added employees and moved up on The List this year. Houston-based BFI, the second-largest waste hauler in the U.S., added 100 recycling employees and moved from No. 25 on last year's List to No. 5 this year.

Gardena-based Western Waste Industries, primarily a waste hauler, increased the number of recycling employees while downsizing the size of its overall work force, said Richard Widrig, vice president of investor relations. Thus, Western Waste moved from the No. 5 spot on last year's List to No. 4 this year.

Western's overall workforce decreased by 119 employees, while there were 13 employees added to recycling operations, according to information provided by the company. "A lot of our business this past year has come from waste diversion operations," Widrig said.

Because of a state law mandating California cities must recycle 25 percent of their waste stream by 1995 and 50 percent by 2000, recycling is booming, Widrig said. Now 40 percent of all of Western's garbage contracts include a recycling pact, compared to 30 percent last year, he said.

Western has upgraded its recycling facilities in Redondo Beach and has begun to offer recycling for yard waste or green waste, he noted.

But all is not well in the recycling business, according to Widrig and Dmitriew. Because of the boom in recycling, there is a glut of paper, aluminum, metal and other recyclable products, and the price companies are getting for materials has dropped dramatically.

"Mixed waste paper, now it's a negative $10 a ton," groused Dmitriew. "After I spent money collecting it, then I've got to pay the guy to get rid of it."

Newcomers to this year's List include Petroleum Recycling Corp. at No. 7, SOS Metals Inc. at No. 12, Potential Industries Inc. at No. 16, Bonded Document Destruction Inc. at No. 20, Global Equipment Inc. and State Salvage Co. Inc. at No. 23.