GRAND RAPIDS — Recycling can vary a lot by where you live, but Michigan as a state increased its recycling rate from 14% to 19% in the past few years. That’s according to a new analysis by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. Michigan is getting better with recycling by those stats.
Michigan is one of the 3 best states for recycling plastics according to a recent Wise Voter study. How and what you can recycle depends though on where you live and what you are trying to re-purpose.
“It’s all broken down by route, checking with that recycling center and what they do or don’t accept if its caps on caps off, what type of plastic they allow. It’s really important to follow that trash trail”, said Katelyn Kikstra, Kent County Department of Public Work Resource Recovery Specialist.
When you follow the trash trail you recycle better and continue to improve your efforts. The biggest problemKent County Recycling Center sees is dirty pieces. Checking your item’s ick factor helps the sorting process as it’s not only conveyor belts and sorting machines but workers helping go through everything and even pull out what doesn’t belong. 90% of what comes into the Kent Country Recycling Center makes it to the next step and is sent away to 8 different facilities across 6 states.
This process turns something such as a plastic bottle into pieces of carpet making closing the recycling circle worth it. The Kent County Recycling Center knows money is tight nowadays which can make paying for recycling tough but if everyone would participate, they say a third of the landfill wouldn’t exist.
“We’re at about a 25% participation rate when it comes to recycling. We’re not even at capacity for this recycling center, which means that the big barrier is just folks participating in recycling”, said Kikstra.
If cost is stopping you there are free ways to recycle. The center even hosts open hours every Monday. You can take a tour, play recycling games and make recycling crafts. For more information on center tours click here. Finally check out this great guide breaking down exactly what you can and can't recycle.
