Lenawee County recycling programs collect tons of waste
ADRIAN — Lenawee County’s recycling programs through its solid waste department saw much success in 2022.
The recycling drop-off site underwent an overhaul. The site's three compactors were rebuilt and a fourth one was added. The chutes and receptacle openings were modified to deter oversized items from being deposited. The site was closed for 26 days, 25 of which were due to the upgrade project.
The Lenawee County recycling drop-off site (DOS) is at 307 River St. in Adrian. It is the only recycling drop-off site open to all Lenawee County residents.
Approximately 1,988 vehicles passed through the DOS each week, or around 284 a day in 2020.
A total of 242.42 tons of mixed fiber materials and 171.22 tons of rigid materials were collected at the DOS in 2022. There were 71 loads shipped with no contaminated loads being diverted to the landfill.
The cost of shipping was $18,030 and the cost for processing the material was $30,719. The cost of shipping has doubled for 2023, and the processing cost continues to climb as well.
There is a rebate for corrugated cardboard. This rebate started out in 2022 at $90 per ton, which paid for the processing of fibrous materials. By the end of 2022, the rebate was a negative $5 per ton and a fuel surcharge was tacked on. In January 2022, the county earned $5 per ton to process fibrous materials and by year end, the county was charged $98 per ton.
The amount of materials collected at the drop-off site in 2022 was lower than in the previous two years, but the city of Adrian had initiated curbside recycling in July, which accounts for 20% of the county’s population with curbside service.
Residents of Blissfield have the option to subscribe for curbside recycling, while recycling is included in trash service for the residents of the city of Adrian, the village of Clinton and the city of Tecumseh.
Lenawee County residents recycled an average of 44.06 pounds per person in 2022. Scrap metals reported from OmniSource of Toledo and R & M Recycling Inc. of Toledo totaled 10,240 tons.
There are local businesses and charitable organizations that collect recyclables but are not considered commercial haulers and therefore are not required to report monthly tonnage rates to the county.
Charities such as the Salvation Army, Neighbors of Hope, Habitat for Humanity, Goodwill and other organizations are all sources for repurposing or recycling. There are also other recycling opportunities offered through businesses such as Wholesale Battery, auto shops, agricultural stores and grocery stores as well as municipal composting sites.
Lenawee County partnered with the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments to prepare for transitioning from solid waste to materials management. This partnership is not to create regional plans but to initiate conversations. SEMCOG offers guidance, oversight, consistency and collaboration.
In 2022, the Lenawee County solid waste program organized two tire collections and one community collection day (solid foams, packing materials, batteries and document shredding). Wacker Chemical Corp. and the Anderson Development Co. held one household hazardous waste collection event.
During the two tire collections, 34.11 tons of scrap tires were collected, or 2.5 semitruck trailers worth, or approximately 2,500 tires. During the spring community collection, 408 pounds of solid foams and a gaylord of packing materials, batteries and secure document shredding was collected. These are community-based events supported by local businesses, volunteers and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Lenawee County recycling programs collect tons of waste in 2022
