We know recycling benefits the environment, but can it be therapeutic?

It has been for 13-year-old Alexandra Sanchez. The Rocklin resident was born with right-side hemiplegia, a form of cerebra palsy. She was born with a clenched right fist and through the repetitive motion involved in sorting recycled materials, she has been able to grasp a can or bottle with her right hand – something she wasn’t able to do less than a month ago.

About five months ago, the Sanchez family began a business, Sanchez Recycling, which has helped pay for music therapy for two of their three children.

Although the business is new, the family has big plans – they hope to eventually fund music therapy for other families, in addition to their own.

“I know other kids can benefit from music therapy,” said Chad Sanchez, Alexandra’s father. “It is amazing. It does motivate people to move, process information, be more attentive, smile; it makes them feel good.”

To date, the family has been able to collect recyclable aluminum cans, plastic bottles and glass bottles from neighbors, friends and relatives and at community and sporting events, Chad said.

Over the summer they placed bins at the annual Hot Chili & Cool Cars event in Rocklin, where they were able to gather 500 gallons of recycling in one day. They’ve also been given the opportunity to set up bins at weekend softball tournaments this spring. They hope to eventually partner with businesses to collect their recycling and set up bins at more sporting and community events.

Chad said he tries to make it as easy as possible for someone to help. Residents can drop off their recycling at the Sanchez house, or leave it outside their house for pick-up.

It’s a family affair for their recycling business.

Eight-year-old Jason Sanchez’s role is to help Chad pick up the bags at neighbors’ homes and throw it in the truck, Jason said. He’s also helped collect cans under the bleachers at peewee softball games, he said.

Once the cans are collected, they’re placed in a large bin, unsorted. Next comes Alexandra’s role. With three large trash bins in front of her, she takes the unsorted cans and bottles and sorts them into different bins. She is able to grab a hold of the cans and bottles with her right hand and drop it into the correct bin.

Chad said Alexandra gets really excited about recycling.

“She’s really motivated by recycling,” he said. “I think that she just believes that it’s something good to do.”

It’s somewhat of a mystery as to what attracts Alexandra to recycling. Even she has a hard time explaining the connection.

“I think it’s just because my right hand started picking up stuff,” she said.

She admitted she was scared at first, because her hand wasn’t able to move that way before.

After the cans and bottles have been sorted, the family treks them over to the Roseville Materials Recovery Facility for recycling.

The family has raised enough money to partially pay for music therapy, but are optimistic it can turn into a larger recycling business because music and recycling are the two therapies Alexandra has responded to most.

Before the family could afford music therapy, Chad said the children would play karaoke with Beatles songs. And although Jason and Alexandra have been in music therapy for months now, karaoke is still a daily routine. It’s the first thing Alexandra does when she wakes up on Saturday mornings, when she returns from music therapy and comes home after school, Chad said.

“Music changed everything,” he said.

For more information on Sanchez Recycling, e-mail sanchezrecycling@gmail.com.

Contact Lauren Weber at laurenw@goldcountrymedia.com.