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Candice Villacaña: Her passion is recycling

Turning dollar bills into pencils and soda bottles into shoelaces gets Candice Villacaña excited.
We aren’t talking magic here. It’s simply recycling.
Villacaña and her father, Louie Villacaña, own Revive Recycling.
The company specializes in collecting recyclable materials from other businesses and has been around since June 2004.
Currently, Revive Recycling serves 45 businesses and collects about 3.5 tons of recyclable materials a day.
Villacaña handles everything from completing paperwork to getting down and dirty and sorting out the paper from the plastic.
We spoke to Villacaña to find out a little more about where her passion for recycling comes from.
Here is what she revealed to Más:

Q: Tell us a little about your background?
A: “I grew up in Tehachapi and graduated from Tehachapi High School in 1988. I am single mother and available. My two children are Montana, 15 years old, and Sebastian, 13 years old.”

Q: Why did you decide to get into the recycling business?
A: “I’ve always been into recycling ever since my father got me a can crusher when I was young. At Wasco Prison, where I was an administrative assistant, I was in charge of the recycling program and helped reduce the amount of waste by 100 tons a month. I realized that this could be done for other businesses as well.”

Q: What has been the hardest part of starting the business?
A: “I don’t know of it ever being hard. The business is about making recycling convenient for people. I think one thing that has to be overcome is the old reputation of recycling where people expect money in return.”

Q: What is a typical day for you?
A: “I drop Montana off at high school, then go grab a Jamba Juice and head into the office and check the messages. After that, the day is mostly about sorting through the materials. Occasionally, I have to go to one of the businesses and train them.”

Q: Why do you think some people don’t recycle?
A: “I don’t think they know the importance of it. They don’t know what becomes of material after it has been recycled. Most paper materials are washed and then remade into other paper products. Plastics and glass are melted down and made into other things and sometimes people don’t realize that bottles don’t just get recycled back into bottles. They sometimes become shoelaces.”

Q: What are you hoping to accomplish?
A: “I want recycling to be everywhere from schools to malls. I want recycling to happen throughout Bakersfield. It would be good for Bakersfield to be known for something positive like this.”

Q: How does it feel to own a business with your dad?
A: “You know how you always want to make your parents proud? Well, it is even better when you can share it with them. I feel very lucky. My dad was my coach when I was playing basketball. He’s always been supportive and there for me. It is nice to share this experience with him.”

Q: What do you do for fun?
A: “Let’s see. What makes me happy? I love to eat! I love eating sushi. I love Mexican food like fajitas. I also love Chipotle.”

Q: Anything else you do to relax?
A: “I love running. I also enjoy plays and going to Flicks at the Fox Theatre on Friday nights.”

Q: What is your motto in life?
A: “Stick to what you believe in because that is when you are rewarded. Also surround yourself with positive people and make things happen.”

Q: Who is your role model?
A: “For Bill Clinton to have gone through all he has gone through and still be successful, I admire that. He is a leader and a survivor. He has taught me that you can survive anything. You just have to want to. Bill Clinton is my man.”

Q: What is your greatest accomplishment?
A: “My greatest accomplishments are my children definitely. They don’t come with a manual. I put a lot of work into being a good parent and hope to be a good example and show them they can do anything they want to.”