Threshold Services, Inc. was a 2017 grant recipient of Kodiak Community Foundation and utilized those funds to repair an existing baler. According to Chris Lynch, the President of Threshold’s Board of Directors, the baler is an important part of Threshold’s operation.
“When plastics, paper, and aluminum are brought to the facility and sorted, they must be baled to go into a 40-foot van for shipping to maximize space in the van,” said Lynch. 
Lynch said the sorted product is dumped into a bin and fed into a conveyor that carries the product to the baler hopper, where it is compressed into a cube and wrapped in baling wire. She said this is an integral part of the process, and also the part of the baler that needed repair. It was the portion of the baler that holds the materials in place that broke.
Lynch said the grant enabled Threshold to buy the necessary parts and install them to get the baler operational again. Because of the funds from Kodiak Community Foundation, the organization was able to continue working and shipping products efficiently off the island for recycling.
In addition to its environmental focus, Threshold provides jobs to people with barriers to employment through their core program – recycling.