Michigan's recycling surge hits all-time high — and lawmakers are pushing for more
Recycling in Michigan is at an all-time high, and nearly $16 million in grants are being awarded this year for new projects to help residents and businesses expand the state’s recycling efforts, including in Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids and Alpena, officials said Monday.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) discussed the progress and new initiatives during a virtual briefing called “Recycling State of the State."
Here are some highlights:
How much is being recycled?
More than before. Officials said the state’s recycling rate was historically the lowest in the Great Lakes region. Prior to 2019, it was 14.25%. Michigan now appears to have a slightly higher recycling rate than Indiana, which is at 21%, according to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
Officials said the governor and Legislature are committed to raising the state’s recycling rate to 30% by 2029 and to 45% by 2050.
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They said residential recycled materials reported for fiscal 2022 was more than 620,000 tons, a record, with enough recycled materials to fill Ford Field, Spartan Stadium and the Big House. (The total is calculated by a formula.) Materials included paper products, metals, glass and plastic products.
Officials said 75% of the state’s population now has access to recycling services and nearly 48,500 new curbside recycling carts have rolled out since 2021.
Will this impact Michigan's 10-cent can, bottle deposit law?
“It’s a perennial conversation. I don’t think I’ve seen a legislative session that hasn’t had a bill to expand the deposit law to additional containers or even eliminate the deposit law. So, I think there’s always going to be that conversation. … I think those conversations will continue,” said Matt Flechter, EGLE’s recycling market development specialist.
More: All Michigan stores selling bottles, cans with 10-cent deposits must now take returns
Will the new initiatives cost residents, businesses?
Flechter said costs are growing to put trash into the ground, to bury something forever. He said officials want to shift those costs, instead of spending money on liners or inspecting landfills so they don’t leak forever, to spending that money on recycling opportunities.
“There’s a cost to get something picked up at the curb,” he said. “Our goal is to make those costs as low as possible with the most efficient programs possible. And so that’s one of things we’re investing in through these grants.”
How will grant money be spent?
Through public-private partnerships. Here are some of the new efforts:
WM (formerly Waste Management) is planning a $35 million recycling processing facility off Interstate 94 in Detroit, in part with a $465,000 EGLE grant. It plans to process up to 40 tons per hour and receive recycled materials from residential, industrial and commercial properties. Then, it plans to activate existing facilities in Traverse City, Kalamazoo, Tawas, Saginaw and Lansing, allowing the possibility of curbside recycling for residents. Outside major metro areas in the state, officials said, most businesses only have cardboard recycling. They should be able to recycle more items with the new model.
Flint is getting a $1 million EGLE grant to provide all 34,000 households with a free, 96-gallon recycling cart. Residents will not have to pay for the carts. Mayor Sheldon Neeley said this will increase recycling and eliminate blight as residents currently have a smaller bin with no lid that they had to pay for to contain recyclables at the curb.
Alpena County, with federal and state grants, is to have a new $5.4 million facility that will process recyclables from that county and northeast Michigan. The facility will have the capacity and capability of bringing materials from a six-county area. Recyclable material will be sorted and sold to Michigan manufacturers for use as recycled content in packaging or products.
VMX International in Detroit will receive a $100,000 grant to help build a new $50 million lithium-ion battery recycling facility in Detroit, opening in 18 to 24 months. Founder and CEO Vickie Lewis said the operation will create 50 to 75 high-paying, high-tech jobs, and the company will look to returning citizens or those who have been involved in the justice system. The facility will separate, dismantle and shred materials by separating out rare earth materials from the old batteries to be repurposed into new ones.
More: Michigan's poorer, minority neighborhoods become 'sacrifice zones' for increased pollution
More: Michigan sucks at recycling. Blame plentiful and cheap landfills
Multiple grants for Kent County
Kent County is receiving millions of dollars in EGLE funds for several projects to support efforts in western Michigan. County Public Works Director Darwin Baas said the county has a “bold goal” of reducing waste going to the landfill by 90% by 2030.
Grant projects there include $4 million for infrastructure improvements, such as utilities, roads and stormwater, to prepare for tenants at a $350 million Sustainable Business Park in Kent and Allegan counties.
Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @challreporter.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan is recycling more, grants for new projects to boost rate
