Michiganders increased the amount of waste sent to recycling centers instead of landfills before the onset of the pandemic, according to state regulators. The state reached a 19.3 percent recycling rate in 2019, according to a one-page analysis from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE). The increase was announced alongside an effort to boost recycling around Michigan through $7 million in grant funding to businesses and local governments. The announcements were made to coincide with Earth Week.
Michigan, which has cheap and plentiful landfills, has struggled for years to increase the amount of solid waste that’s recycled, with a rate that’s been the lowest among Great Lakes states and well below the national average of about 34 percent. The state attributed the increase, up from 14.3 percent in 2014, to improvements in the recycled materials supply chain, increased consumer access and greater volumes of overall waste being disposed of. EGLE adjusted that number downward from 15 percent after an analysis. “It’s still low — 19.3 — but ultimately, we’re seeing it go in the right direction,” said Matt Flechter, a recycling market development specialist at EGLE.
In 2018, Michiganders recycled 1.9 million tons of material, EGLE says. That’s an increase of more than 500,000 tons compared to 2013 and correlates to each household recycling more than 1,000 pounds of waste each year. The state collects annual data on waste collection and recycling but does not analyze the numbers on an annual basis due to difficulties collecting standardized data from recovery facilities and waste-haulers, EGLE says.
To read the full story, visit https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2022/04/michigan-recycling-rate-up-slightly-to-19-percent-state-says.html.
Author: Garret Ellison, MLive.com
Image: MLive.com