Michigan unveils statewide recycling education campaign

Michigan unveils statewide recycling education campaign
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The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), Lansing, Michigan, has announced the launch of Know It Before You Throw It, the first statewide education campaign to better inform Michigan residents on what can and cannot be recycled, and how to recycle those items correctly.

EGLE’s goal is to promote awareness of cleaner recycling practices and to reduce the amount of contaminated materials improperly going into recycling bins. The state also wants to double Michigan’s recycling rate to 30 percent by 2025 and ultimately reach 45 percent annually. Michigan’s current 15 percent recycling rate is the lowest in the Great Lakes region and ranks among the nation’s lowest.

The Know It Before You Throw It campaign launches as communities across Michigan and the U.S. are struggling with international market shifts, that result in higher costs for some local governments who fail to meet new industrywide cleanliness standards for recyclable materials.

“We want to inform and inspire more people than ever before in Michigan about how to recycle better,” says EGLE’s Materials Management Division Director Jack Schinderle. “This campaign is a first of its kind for Michigan that offers multiple benefits. Increasing recycling and improving the quality of materials we’re recycling saves energy, reduces water use, decreases greenhouse gases, conserves resources and translates into local jobs.”

“We thank Gov. Whitmer, the Michigan legislature and EGLE for their leadership and for working together to develop a strategy that will help improve and sustain Michigan’s environment now and throughout the 21st century,” says East Lansing Mayor Mark Meadows.

Recycling in Michigan is receiving a major boost as state legislators in an overwhelmingly bipartisan move have increased EGLE’s funding for recycling from $2 million last year to $15 million in 2019, according to a news release from EGLE. The extra funds will support recycling markets development, increase access to recycling opportunities and reinforce planning efforts to grow recycling at the local level.

“What’s really great about EGLE’s campaign is that we’ve spent the past decade or more stressing the importance of putting more resources into recycling education and supporting local communities’ programs,” says Michigan State Sen. Curtis Hertel Jr. “Michigan is now putting words into action.”

To kick off the campaign, EGLE introduced the Michigan Recycling Raccoon Squad, a six-member team of recycling champions who serve as EGLE’s education ambassadors. EGLE research shows that education is key for residents to learn how to properly recycle. For example:

• Fifty percent of Michigan residents mistakenly believe they’re allowed to recycle plastic bags in their curbside recycling, which is prohibited by most municipalities.
• Seventy-six percent of Michigan residents are unaware that failing to rinse and dry items before putting them in the recycling bin poses a risk of contaminating everything in the bin.

“Some of the material being disposed of through landfills and incinerators could be recycled or composted in most metropolitan communities without great difficulty,” says Michigan Waste and Recycling Association Board Chair Kevin Kendall.

Michigan recycles more than 90 percent of bottles and cans, but bottles and cans represent only 2 percent of all the waste Michigan residents recycle every year, EGLE reports in a news release. Almost 53 percent of the state’s municipal solid waste goes to landfills instead of recycling facilities. Lansing and East Lansing, for example, recycle nearly 7,500 tons of waste annually. While the cities have a relatively low contamination rate of 8 to 10 percent, that number is on the rise, according to data provided by both municipalities.

“By encouraging people to focus on the basics and think about what they’re recycling before they toss it, we can improve our environment and build stronger communities,” says Lansing Deputy Mayor Samantha Harkins.

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Source: Recycling Today
Michigan unveils statewide recycling education campaign
<![CDATA[The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), Lansing, Michigan, has announced the launch of Know It Before You Throw It, the first statewide education campaign to better inform Michigan residents on what can and cannot be recycled, and how to recycle those items correctly.EGLE’s goal is to promote awareness of cleaner recycling practices and to reduce the amount of contaminated materials improperly going into recycling bins. The state also wants to double Michigan’s recycling rate to 30 percent by 2025 and ultimately reach 45 percent annually. Michigan’s current 15 percent recycling rate is the lowest in the Great Lakes region and ranks among the nation’s lowest.The Know It Before You Throw It campaign launches as communities across Michigan and the U.S. are struggling with international market shifts, that result in higher costs for some local governments who fail to meet new industrywide cleanliness standards for recyclable materials.“We want to inform and inspire more people than ever before in Michigan about how to recycle better,” says EGLE’s Materials Management Division Director Jack Schinderle. “This campaign is a first of its kind for Michigan that offers multiple benefits. Increasing recycling and improving the quality of materials we’re recycling saves…