Staff photo / Raymond L. Smith Jenny Lynn Smith stands in the new home of Clover Recycling on West Market Street. The family-owned, nonprofit recycling business is moving from Howland to the former Peerless Winsmith building.

WARREN — A family-owned, nonprofit recycling business moving from Howland to the former Peerless Winsmith, 1401 W. Market St., this summer will provide clean recycling opportunities for residents and area businesses.

Clover Recycling is operated by U.S. Army veteran Jenny Lynn Smith, whose father, Robert, ran Howland Recycling Center from 1986 until she purchased it from him in 2021.

“My father made sure it was a community-centered operation,” Smith said.

The younger Smith was an active duty soldier for 10 years. She was a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C. She now is a National Guard member.

The Warren Zoning Commission last week agreed to give the company a conditional-use variance, which will allow it to bale paper and plastics at the site, according to Eric Jennings, who is the planning coordinator for the city of Warren.

“Our goal is to do a soft opening of the business later this summer,” Smith said.

Smith said the company is moving from 3690 North River Road in Howland because it outgrew the location.

The company will provide clean recycling — meaning it only will accept material that already has been cleaned and ready to be recycled. It recycles glass, various types of plastic, metal, wire, paper, books and cardboard.

“We are not separating recycled material from garbage,” Smith said.

Having volunteers is key to the company’s operation.

“We are registered on VolunteerMatch, but also Trumbull Job and Family Services, at local high schools and even with area courts that allow some people needing to fulfill community service requirements,” she said.

The company will provide a recycling drop-off center for clean and sorted recycling for residents. It also will provide review for companies wanting to meet sustainability goals.

An upgraded sprinkler system must be installed and other investments will have to be made before Clover Recycling opens.

Smith said she changed its name to Clover Recycling because she wanted something that is catchy and easy to remember.

“The name reflects our four pillars: reusing, recreating, repurposing and recycling,” she said.

The former Peerless Winsmith closed its doors in 2016. It operated in the city for more than 122 years. A subsidiary of Dublin, Ohio-based HBD Industries Inc., the company reported business conditions warranted the shutdown.

Peerless was founded in Warren in 1893 and was acquired by HBD in 1989. It had been operating with a skeleton crew for several years before its closure.

At the time, Mayor Doug Franklin said he hoped a new company would purchase the 2.2-acre property and begin operations in a relatively short amount of time. Timber Creek Structures was at the site, but it moved.

The nonprofit Patriot Center LLC recently purchased the property. Clover Recycling is leasing a portion of the property for its new headquarters, according to Smith.

It will be open to the public on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Warren Safety Service Director Eddie Colbert said the city is pleased the company will be going in the site.

“Obviously, it is located on one of our main thoroughfares,” Colbert said. “We like to see businesses coming in. Having an operating business gives a good first impression of the city.”

The city does not have a traditional recycling program.

“There was some discussions about a recycling program when I was a councilman,” he said. “I think the cost prevented us from moving forward with it.”