Spenser Villwock is his own boss at his company Second Generation Recycling. Second Generation Recycling is an on-bike recycling service serving the residential Ames community.

Second Generation Recycling is separate from Fresh Aire Delivery, the on-bike recycling company that serves Iowa State students on campus.

Villwock said he and a friend started the company last February by taking the residential customers that Fresh Aire Delivery was no longer serving.

“We took the residential side of Fresh Aire Delivery, and we inherited some of the customers that they used to have,” Villwock said. “They discontinued the service, and then we approached them and purchased some equipment and then went from there.

“I wasn’t affiliated with Fresh Aire Delivery, but we owe a lot to them for helping us out,” he said.

Villwock said he purchased bicycle trailers and bins for sorting from Fresh Aire Delivery.

Second Generation Recycling employees not only pick up the recyclables, but Villwock said he also sorts them himself at his home.

Villwock said he is serving 200 homes and businesses in Ames.

“It’s set up like a regular trash service where people are either on a weekly routine or a bi-monthly routine,” Villwock said. “You set your stuff out in the morning like you would the trash, and I’ll come by during that day and pick it up and leave you with an empty bin.”

Second Generation Recycling charges $4 dollars for each pick-up, Villwock said.

Villwock graduated from ISU last December in English and decided to get involved in the recycling business after working in construction. His job, he said, takes him all day to complete.

“I felt that it was somewhat of a necessity that needed to be revitalized, and so I just jumped into it. And before I knew it, I was submersed in it,” Villwock said.

He said he is not a competitive biker but enjoys riding for recreation. Villwock also said that he got used to riding in winter weather by riding to class year-round at ISU.

“I put studded tires on and take it a little bit slower. Not all the bike paths are scooped off regularly, so I have to ride on the street sometimes,” Villwock said. “I don’t like riding on Lincoln Way or any of the streets any more than some of the drivers.”

Despite some weather difficulties, Villwock gives ample reason for using a bicycle instead of an automobile. He said that it is “somewhat of a spiritual thing,” and he has a good time doing it.

“There’s a lot of fulfillment you get by doing this by bicycle,” Villwock said. “It starts to get things turning in people’s minds of saying that there is not just one way of doing anything, and it promotes recycling as well in that way.”