Recycle Livingston says hello to new building, goodbye to leaky trailer
HOWELL — Recycle Livingston has come a long way since its beginnings in a grocery store parking lot, and later a "run-down, leaky trailer" without heat or air conditioning.
The nonprofit drop-off recycling center has constructed a real building at its longtime location at 170 Catrell Drive, thanks to a grant from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy and a funding match from the Kellogg Family Foundation.
The building will be used for office, education and meeting space, plus a garage with a new cardboard bailing machine and an area for confidential document shredding.
Executive Director Julie Cribley is excited to be out of the old trailer, which has been torn down. She expects to be fully moved into the new office soon.
The mostly volunteer-run organization will celebrate the upgrades during an open house 4-6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 30.
Cribley said she hopes the building provides a nicer space for volunteers and part-time employees, and perhaps attract more of them.
It will also provide space for educational offerings, like a composting class expected to be held in the spring and fall.
Owning their own cardboard bailer, Cribley said, should help the center become more financially independent.
"We've been compacting cardboard, but we needed a middleman for compacted materials, so then we have to pay people to pick it up, process it, and then actually get it recycled, whereas bailed is market-ready."
The center also plans to expand the types of plastics they accept soon.
Cribley said the construction project came in over budget, thanks to rising costs. She said EGLE expanded its grant — originally $282,000 with a $171,000 match from the Kellogg Family Foundation — to cover some of the difference. She estimated the total cost was around $700,000.
"By the time it's done, 100 percent will be paid for, but our surplus funding has dwindled," she said, emphasizing the need for the organization to continue fundraising.
Recycle Livingston started decades ago in the VG's Grocery parking lot in Howell Township. The city eventually purchased the land on Catrell Drive and began leasing it to the organization for $1 in 1991.
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Cribley said their membership program has grown to more than 2,000.
Anyone can drop off materials 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Wednesdays and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays, whether they're a member or not. Non-members pay a $10 fee for residential or $35 for commercial drop-offs. Memberships range from $30 (senior) to $130 (business). Members receive additional perks, including the ability to schedule special large drop-offs.
Other funding comes from donations and revenue from selling materials.
A list of items accepted is available at recyclelivingston.org/accepted-items.
— Contact reporter Jennifer Eberbach at jeberbach@livingstondaily.com.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Recycle Livingston says hello to new building, goodbye to leaky trailer
