Rocco Rizzuti owns and operates a new redemption center at 202 E. Main St.
By Susan Thompson | Lake Panorama Times
Iowa is one of just 10 states that requires a deposit on some types of beverage containers. The Iowa law, passed in 1978, means customers buying beer, wine, liquor, soda and mineral water in containers made of glass, plastic and metal pay an extra 5 cents for each container. Deposits are fully refundable if customers take the containers to a redemption center.
A new redemption center opened April 1 in Panora. Rock Redemption is located at 202 East Main St. and is owned and operated by Rocco Rizzuti.
Much of Rizzuti’s former work life was spent in a family business in Des Moines. In 1952, his father and uncle started what evolved into Artistic Iron Works. The company designs, manufactures and installs custom staircases, railings, fencing, gates, signage and more.
Rocco was a part owner of the business, along with two brothers, beginning in 1986. In 2017, one brother offered to buy him out.
“I wasn’t getting any younger, and the work wasn’t getting any easier. I decided to take him up on the offer,” he says.
For the next few years, Rizzuti owned and operated a vending machine business. He sold that last year and found himself at loose ends.
“I don’t really have any hobbies,” he says. “I don’t golf or fish or hunt. I needed something to do, at least part-time.”
Last October, Rizzuti started working for Scott Calmer at his beverage container redemption business north of Panora along Highway 4.
“This spring, Scott told me he was interested in selling the business. I already owned this building in Panora and had been thinking about what kind of business I could open. I decided having a redemption center here would be a convenient location for people,” Rizzuti says.
Redemption centers receive 3 cents for each container processed.
Customers who bring their cans and bottles to Rock Redemption receive 5 cents for each container. If they have already counted the containers, Rizzuti trusts the count and pays them on the spot.
For customers who haven’t counted their containers, he will, and they return to get their refund. Sometimes he estimates how many containers he thinks they have, and if they agree with the estimate, he pays without them having to return.
Rizzuti does regular pickups of beverage containers at a few businesses, such as the Owl’s Nest, Prime Time and The Port. He pays these businesses 4 cents per container, and keeps the extra penny to cover his additional costs for the extra service.
The trailer near the recycling bins on the north side of Panora allows people to donate containers for the Panorama High School baseball team. It also is a fundraiser two months each year for Women for Panora’s Future, and another two months for the Panorama junior class. These groups receive 5 cents for each container.
Tori’s Angels Foundation had an agreement with Scott Calmer that beverage containers donated on the foundation’s behalf would result in a $300 check every two months. Now the Tori’s Angels metal enclosure is located in front of Rock Redemption and Rizzuti provides the same financial support.
Rizzuti says it is clear collecting and redeeming beverage containers can be a good moneymaker for nonprofit groups.
“I recently had a 4-H club drop off 11,000 containers. So, at 5 cents each, they earned $550,” he says.
The next step for Rizzuti is to get the huge bags of sorted and counted containers out of his building. Each Wednesday, trucks come to pick up Pepsi and Coke containers. Each Friday, beer cans and Dr. Pepper containers are picked up.
Glass containers for beer, wine and soft drinks go into large cardboard boxes. These are picked up weekly by CRINC, a Des Moines company that serves redemption centers across Iowa.
Rizzuti likes working with glass containers.
“Quite often, I come across interesting bottles that might be of interest to others. If someone has a specific need for a certain style of bottle, I could save them on request. I also have access to wine bottle corks if anyone is interested in those,” he says.
Not surprisingly, Rizzuti often finds things in bags that don’t belong there.
“I get a lot of plastic bottles that no one paid a 5-cent deposit on. Water bottles, soap bottles, food containers. All that I have to just dispose of,” he says.
Rocco and his wife, Melissa, married in 1993. They both worked in Des Moines but were tired of the city and wanted to live in the country. Melissa suggested looking for property on a lake, which brought them to Lake Panorama. They purchased a waterfront lot in 2000, and moved into the home they built in 2002. They sold that home in 2021 and moved into a Promontory Point townhome on Karen Drive.
The couple has two children, both adopted as infants. Zach is 22 years old, and Juliana is 19. Melissa had been working in a Des Moines law firm but became a stay-at-home mom when Juliana was 8 months old. She now works at Panorama Elementary School.
Unfortunately, Rocco broke his right arm on the first day he opened the new business.
“It was April Fool’s Day,” Rizzuti says. “I brought the high school baseball trailer to my building to unload. I had emptied this trailer many times before when I was working at Scott’s. It’s usually slick and sometimes I thought I might fall. This time, I did. I tried to catch myself with my right hand.”
Rizzuti was in a cast from his hand past his elbow for six weeks. He is still working to get full mobility in his hand, but he continues to improve.
When things are slow, Rizzuti spends time doing the one thing that is as close to a hobby as he gets.
“I’ve always liked working with metal,” he says. “I grew up doing it, and I enjoyed it. From the beginning, I thought if I had free time here during the day, I could play around with some metal art pieces.”
Rizzuti has a small forge for heating iron and other metals. So far, he has created a few pieces including hearts, flowers, a cross and a frustrated golfer.
“I’m not looking to sell these, but if someone walks in and likes something, it’s probably for sale,” Rizzuti says. “Or if someone has an idea for something they’d like, I’m willing to give it a try.”
Sorting and counting cans and bottles is messy, Rizzuti admits.
“But it’s a good business, and it provides a service to the community,” he says. “I’ll process close to one million cans and bottles each year here. It’s nice Iowa has a program that offers an incentive to recycle beverage containers.”
Rizzuti says he’s always looking for new opportunities to partner with businesses, groups and individuals on ways to increase the number of beverage containers recycled in Panora and the surrounding area.
There is a vending machine in front of the Rock Redemption building, filled with golf balls for sale. The machine is owned and managed by another individual, with Rizzuti receiving a small percentage of sales.
A banner on the building shows the business name, phone number, and the fact it is Veteran owned. Rizzuti joined the Army National Guard in November 1979 and served until 1993. His training included heavy equipment operations and fuel system supply and distribution. He was activated for Desert Shield/Desert Storm in 1990.
Rock Redemption is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays, and closed Sundays. Rizzuti says he is often there more than those set hours.
“If my truck is parked on the west side of the building, I’m here and the door is open,” he says.
This photo was taken on a Monday with Rocco Rizzuti standing beside bags of beverage cans and bottles that arrived that morning to be sorted and counted. Rizzuti expects to process one million beverage containers annually at Rock Redemption.
Rocco Rizzuti and his son, Zach, stand for a photo in front of their beverage container redemption business. Zach works with Rocco as needed. He was especially helpful in the beginning after Rocco broke his arm the first day the business was open.
Rocco Rizzuti shows a few pieces of iron artwork he created when not busy sorting and counting beverage cans and bottles.