Giving Packaging a Second Life: Elkhart RV Parts Partners with Tri-Power Recycling

At Elkhart RV Parts, we obsess over value. Not fake value. Real value — the kind that comes from running a tighter operation, cutting waste, and passing the savings on to the customer.

That’s why we’re excited to announce an exclusive partnership with Tri-Power Recycling in Elkhart, Indiana. Instead of sending usable packaging materials straight into the crusher or the recycling stream, we’re now working together to give those materials a second life by using them to fulfill orders to RV owners and mobile service technicians across the country.

This is one of those moves that checks every box: it’s practical, it’s environmentally responsible, and it helps us stay laser-focused on what we care about most — delivering the best value on the internet for all things RV.

Why This Partnership Matters

Tri-Power Recycling has been operating in Elkhart since 2010 and has deep roots in commercial recycling, waste diversion, cardboard recovery, plastics processing, and EPS foam recycling. They describe themselves as the largest independently owned Styrofoam™/EPS foam recycling center in the United States, and they work directly with businesses to keep useful materials out of landfills and in circulation.

That makes them a natural fit for Elkhart RV Parts. We ship a lot of parts. That means we use a lot of boxes, inserts, padding, and other protective materials. When quality second-use packaging is available, reusing it is simply smarter than treating every shipment like it needs a brand-new box straight off the line.

Fun Ways to Think About It

• Boxes With a Second Shift — a good box did its first job already. Now it gets to protect one more order before retirement.
• Less Crush. More Cargo. If a packaging material still has life in it, we’d rather put it back to work than send it straight to be broken down.
• Recycled Is Good. Reused First Is Better. Recycling is valuable, but getting another full use out of a material before recycling it is even better.

That’s the kind of practical sustainability we like: not performative, not wasteful, just smart.

How the Environment Benefits

Every packaging material we can responsibly reuse is one less material that has to be crushed, reprocessed, remanufactured, or replaced with something brand new. That means:

• less waste headed toward landfill or lower-value disposal channels,
• less energy required to manufacture replacement packaging from scratch,
• better use of materials already circulating through the regional supply chain, and
• a more local, more efficient loop between two Elkhart-area businesses.

Tri-Power’s whole model is built around waste diversion and responsible reuse. You can learn more about their commercial recycling services here and their company background here.

How Lower Packaging Costs Help Our Customers

There’s a bigger idea behind this partnership too: cost discipline matters.

There’s a famous Rockefeller story about reducing the amount of solder used on an oil can by just one drop. Tiny change, massive scale, real savings. That’s the mindset. If we can make thousands of smart, unglamorous decisions across purchasing, packaging, fulfillment, and operations, those savings compound — and that helps us keep prices sharp for our customers.

We put a lot of effort into keeping costs low because lower overhead gives us more room to deliver better prices, better shipping economics, and better overall value. This packaging partnership is another example of that philosophy in action.

For RV owners, dealers, and mobile service technicians, that matters. When you order from Elkhart RV Parts, you’re not paying for unnecessary fluff. You’re paying for the right part, shipped carefully, by a team that is constantly looking for better ways to do things.

Built in Elkhart. Benefiting Customers Everywhere.

One of the advantages of operating in Elkhart, Indiana — the RV capital of the world — is proximity. We’re close to the manufacturers, close to the supply chain, and now even closer to a smarter reuse loop for packaging materials thanks to Tri-Power Recycling.

This partnership helps us reduce waste locally while shipping better value nationally. That’s the kind of win we love.

About Tri-Power Recycling

If your business is looking for a better way to handle cardboard, plastics, or foam waste streams, check out Tri-Power Recycling. They’re based at 1240 Anderson Street, Elkhart, Indiana and work with businesses on drop-off, pickup, and commercial recycling programs.