Tampa Facility Overview
Contributing to Tampa and the Nation
Gopher Resource has been a leading provider of recycling services to the battery industry for over 75 years. Since 2006, our Tampa employees kept an estimated 75+ million lead batteries out of landfills. We are committed to protecting our communities by keeping the lead battery life cycle in motion and delivering clean, reliable, high quality solutions. Recycling facilities like Tampa are essential to keeping the over 130 million spent lead batteries out of landfills in the U.S. every year. More than 90% of lead batteries’ three main components are infinitely recyclable. We’ve also:
- Added nearly 250 well-paying local jobs (from 80 to nearly 300 employees)
- Added $40 million in local spending (annual, 2019)
- Increased recycling to nearly 12 million lead batteries annually at the Tampa facility
- Since Gopher Resource’s acquisition of the site, we have improved air quality in the area significantly, helping Hillsborough County achieve ‘attainment’ status against EPA’s toughest air quality standard
Protecting People and Communities Is Our Overriding Core Value
We are proud of the Gopher Resource workforce and the commitment of our plant and our people to our core value of protecting our employees and the Tampa community. We are singularly focused on ensuring our lead battery recycling process is continually managed in a safe, clean and environmentally responsible way and keeping as many batteries as possible out of landfills.
Gopher Resource worked with Hillsborough County EPC to install multiple layers of high-tech air quality monitoring systems surrounding the plant. Gopher Resource’s operating buildings have advanced air filtration systems to both protect the environment and its workers.
Since 2006, we have invested more than $230 million to modernize the Tampa facility, which included installation of state-of-the art pollution control, and health and safety measures including filtration and ventilation that are more stringent than regulatory standards.
Our Comprehensive Health and Safety Program
- Providing 8,000 hours of employee training annually, most of which is safety focused
- Making substantial voluntary investments in progressive safety training, comprehensive on-site hygiene program and protocols, sophisticated safety and environmental equipment, and advanced engineering controls
- Using advanced high-efficiency air filtration systems to ensure a safe workplace
- Spending $3 million annually at the Tampa facility for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), uniforms, hygiene monitoring and training
- Implementing regular workplace cleaning protocols and maintaining equipment and supplies
- Devoting 25% of our operating budget to health, safety and environmental stewardship
- Dedicating personnel devoted to ensuring employee health, safety and environmental protection and conferring with outside experts, including testing labs
- Blood lead management policies that are significantly more rigorous than required by OSHA including testing with twice the frequency as required
Positive Results and a Dedication to Continuous Improvement
Due to the hard work and dedication of our entire Tampa team, we have made tremendous advancements in our safety program. Blood lead levels of workers is the ultimate measure of the effectiveness of our efforts. They have resulted in a 15-year downward trend. The average blood lead level of Tampa employees is:
- 50% lower than when Gopher Resource acquired the plant in 2006
- Less than half of many state and federal standards for workplace safety. This includes the National Emphasis Program target for OSHA of 25 ug/dL, as well as the American College of Governmental and Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) whose standard is 20 ug/dL
- We strive to continually advance our practices, equipment and engineering controls to protect our workers, our community and the environment
