Car Shredder Wins Approval in South Bend

The South Bend, Ind., Common Council has voted in favor of allowing Gertrude Street Metal Recycling to build an auto shredder in the city. The approval follows heated debate as some citizens complained about the repercussions that the shredder could have on their neighborhood. (To read an earlier story on the project, click here – Company Seeks Permit to Build Auto Shredder.)

According to published reports, Randy Schlipp, owner of Gertrude Street Metal Recycling, has promised to work closely with residents to ensure that the shredder would not be a problem. Before the vote, Schlipp took a number of people on a tour of a facility that operated the same type of shredder that Gertrude Street plans to install. 

Published reports estimate the cost of the shredder at $6 million. It will be sited at a location where Schlipp already crushes cars. Schlipp estimates that the shredder will process around 300 automobiles per day, far fewer than the controversial auto shredder that Sturgis Iron & Metal operated in Elkhart several years ago. Schlipp says the Elkhart shredder processed more than 1,000 cars per day and was located less than 450 feet from homes. That shredder, a 10,000-horsepower model, featured 1,300-pound hammers.

Meanwhile, Gertrude Street’s shredder will be located more than one-third-of-a-mile away from the nearest home in an area zoned for industrial use. The shredder itself will feature a 4,000-horsepower motor and uses 350-pound hammers. The shredder will have the capacity to process between 200 to 300 cars per day.

The installation of the shredder, scheduled to be complete by the first half of 2011, could provide about $100,000 in tax revenues to the city per year, according to published reports.