Michigan unveils 15-point plan to increase residential recycling

DETROIT (Scrap Monster): Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder unveiled a 15-point plan to lift the residential recycling rate across the state. The state has earmarked $1 million from Governer’s budget for 2015. In addition, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has committed another $500,000 over the next two years in the form of grants.

The plan focuses on the following key areas- public education and technical assistance for communities; benchmark and measurement of progress; providing convenient access; and development of markets.

The Governer has also decided to meet the newly constituted Michigan Recycling Council having prominent members from across the recycling industry including Jim Kulp representing plastic processors, Michael Csapo representing recycling community, Linda Gobler representing retailers and Bill Lobenherz representing bottlers. Representatives from local governments, academics and consultants also form part of the Council.

According to estimates, Michigan’s residential recycling rate stands at 15%, way below the national recycling rate of 35%.