The state of Michigan has granted Detroit with $800,000 for recycling efforts. The goal is to increase recycling habits in the metropolitan city. Thousands of recycling bins and containers will go to neighborhoods and businesses for use. A campaign is underway to show residents how to recycle correctly. The recycling rate sits at an underwhelming 15% in Michigan, but the aim is to double recycling levels by 2025.
Liesl Eichler Clark, director of Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, is aiding in the process of proper recycling through the new grant.
“Fifty percent of Michigan residents think that they’re allowed to recycle plastic bags in curbside recycling, which is largely prohibited in municipalities statewide. And 76% of Michiganders are unaware that failing to rinse empty items before putting them in the recycling bin can cause a risk of contaminating everything in the bin and potentially losing the entire load.”
The grant was awarded through Michigan’s Department of Environment, The Recycling Partnership, Great Lakes and Energy, and the PepsiCo Foundation.
Cities such as Seattle and Los Angeles have been recycling for decades. While Oregon was the first state to pass a beverage container deposit law, Woodbury, New Jersey, became the first city to have curbside recycling. For more information on the new recycling grant, CLICK HERE.