Recycle Detectives are visiting Washtenaw County County’s neighborhoods this summer
ANN ARBOR – If you see people rummaging through your recycling truck this summer, don’t be alarmed.
They are members of a new program to improve roadside recycling and educate residents about the do’s and don’ts of the practice.
The first project of its kind is a partnership between the Washtenaw Regional Resource Management Authority, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy and the national non-profit The Recycling Partnership.
The nationally renowned Feet on the Street program starts on Monday and includes the townships Ann Arbor, Dexter, Saline, Scio Township, Pittsfield Township, Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township.
WRRMA, a newly established waste management agency, aims to improve the quality of materials recycled by residents by visiting the approximately 40,000 households in the area and providing real-time feedback and training on recycling.
Read: Can I Recycle This? Ann Arbor’s Guide to Best Recycling Practices
display
“Recycling is not only right, it is also smart – and this program represents a big step forward for recycling in our communities,” said WRRMA manager Theo Eggermont in a press release. “Proper recycling not only saves our taxpayers money by lowering processing costs in the recycling plant, it also supports jobs and improves environmental health.
“We know that our residents want to recycle the right way. With this Feet on the Street campaign, we are giving them individual, instant feedback in order to achieve just that. ”
The program, initiated by The Recycling Partnership, helps communities make their recycling programs more economical, improves the cleanliness of cities and towns, and provides more recycled items for new products, reducing the need for new packaging resources.
This is how the program works
A group of community-based observers will visit each resident’s shopping cart and provide individual feedback on how items that end up in recycling can be improved.
display
Feet on the Street encourages residents to recycle the following items:
-
Paper and cardboard
-
carton
-
Metal objects such as cans
-
Plastic bottles, glasses and jugs
-
Glass bottles and glasses
Local residents are asked not to recycle the following items:
-
Plastic bags or plastic wrap
-
Cords, hoses or chains
-
Garden waste
-
Food or liquids
“The Feet on the Street program works by giving residents instant feedback on what is and what is not recyclable,” said Jill Martin, director of community programs at The Recycling Partnership, in a press release.
“Through this personalized and real-time feedback loop, we will help WRRMA communities extract more high quality recyclables that can then be turned into new materials to create and support jobs, a less wasteful planet and stronger, healthier ones To create communities. “
Matt Flechter, specialist in recycling market development at EGLE, said that a material is only really recycled when it is reused into a new item for use. The process of recycling an item reduces water consumption, saves energy, reduces greenhouse gases and more.
“The material should be clean and practically free of impurities in order to be considered suitable for an end market and reuse,” said Flechter in a press release.
display
The Feet on the Street program has been implemented by The Recycling Partnership in 70 communities across the country, resulting in a 27 percent increase in the collection of high quality recycled materials and a 57 percent reduction in non-recyclable items in their shopping carts in some communities.
“We look forward to working with Michigan communities and The Recycling Partnership on this data-driven approach,” said Liz Browne, director of EGLE’s Materials Management Division. “It is more important than ever to communicate with the public in order to improve the quality of the recycled materials.
“We all have a role to play in helping companies source materials to make the essential products Michigan needs for our economic recovery from COVID-19, such as toilet paper, food containers, and shipping boxes.”
For more information on the program, visit www.wrrma.org or call 734-222-3920.
Copyright 2021 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.
Comments are closed.