There is no landfill on Beaver Island. Yet thousands of summer residents and visitors generate plenty of trash and recycling. It all must be handled, bundled, and shipped off the island, and officials said a recent switch to single-stream recycling significantly improved the process. “Everything that’s brought over on that boat has to go back,” said Bob Marsh, Beaver Island Transfer Station manager. “And there is a price you pay for having it come here and a price you pay for getting it off.”
The facility near the intersection of King’s Highway and East Side Drive is known to everyone on the island. There is no curbside service on Beaver Island; everyone must bring their own trash and recycling to the transfer station. Pale green trash bags are the norm on America’s Emerald Isle. And they don’t come cheap.
Small green bags cost $5 each and large ones cost $7. Islanders can pick them up at the grocery store or gas station, and then drop them off at the transfer station when full. Those bags are often filled beyond capacity.