Michigan’s Department of the Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) awards nearly $ 1.6 million in infrastructure grants to six public and nonprofit beneficiaries in Washtenaw County, Michigan.
According to a press release from EGLE, the grants are part of EGLE’s strategy to support recycling infrastructure, improve the quality of recyclable materials, and fuel market development through the state’s Renew Michigan Fund, which was established in 2019 to boost the state’s recycling efforts.
Western Washtenaw Recycling Authority (WWRA) has received $ 458,370 in infrastructure grants to purchase sorting equipment and a new truck to increase processing and collection capacity. According to EGLE, the WWRA will be able to take on new commercial and municipal customers with these funds. A new automated truck increases workplace safety and enables WWRA to add 3,000 households per week, while the new sorting equipment doubles the capacity to sort plastics. WWRA is subsidized by five communities that work together to provide recycling programs for households in the townships of Dexter, Lyndon, Manchester and Lima, and in the city of Chelsea.
Washtenaw Regional Resource Management Authority (WRRMA) will receive US $ 118,605 to continue WRRMA efforts to increase the amount of high quality recyclable materials in member communities. WRRMA members are the charter communities of Ann Arbor, Pittsfield and Ypsilanti, Scio Township and the cities of Dexter, Saline and Ypsilanti. According to EGLE, WRRMA will use the funds to complete the “Feet on the Street” program of the recycling partnership in single-family homes in WRRMA communities from spring 2021. This program provides residents with recycling training and roadside feedback through cart identification efforts and metrics through a sorting process in material recovery facilities (MRFs).
Ann Arbor Public Schools will receive $ 112,716 to improve recycling access by installing recycling bins and promoting food recovery activities on campus and in the district’s buildings that serve approximately 20,000 students. According to EGLE, a refrigerated vehicle purchased under the grant will transport approximately 100 pounds of unused groceries to grocery distribution agencies every day.
The city of Ypsilanti will receive $ 73,440 to expand recycling of public spaces by purchasing recycling bins for downtown, Depot Town and 12 public parks, according to EGLE. As soon as the containers are installed, the city estimates that around 11 tons of recyclable materials will be diverted from Ypsilanti’s public waste containers.
Dexter Community Schools are receiving $ 17,608 grants from EGLE to expand canteen recycling and set up food waste collection programs across the district, EGLE reports. The grant will help schools recycle more items in the canteen and achieve cost savings as less rubbish is picked up.
“The aim of the EGLE recycling infrastructure grants is to increase processing and collection capacity in Washtenaw County, improve access to community recycling programs, and increase participation of the constituencies they serve by helping them purchase equipment and others Items are supported, ”says Elizabeth Browne, Deputy Director of the Materials Management Department at EGLE. “Additionally, several of these projects will have a direct impact on reducing the spread of infectious diseases through the increased use of automation, in line with Michigan’s efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19.”
In addition to the $ 1.6 million infrastructure grant, EGLE awarded $ 800,000 to Recycle Ann Arbor on November 18. This grant will help the Ann Arbor-based nonprofit rebuild and reopen their MRF, which has been closed since 2016. The new facility will be owned and operated by Recycle Ann Arbor.
EGLE reports that its grants to Washtenaw County will help build on the state’s awareness campaign launched in 2019 to recycle Know It Before You Throw It. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and state lawmakers have also said they want to double the state’s recycling rate by 30 percent by 2025, eventually reaching 45 percent annually. The state’s current recycling rate of 15 percent is the lowest in the Great Lakes region and, according to EGLE, is one of the lowest recycling rates in the country.
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