Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder advanced a plan on Monday that aims to increase residential recycling and grow the economy by establishing the Michigan Recycling Council to guide the efforts.
Snyder tasked the Department of Environmental Quality with establishing a council of stakeholders to help implement the statewide recycling initiative during an address in 2012.
“Michigan has a strong tradition of protecting and enhancing its environment,” Snyder said. “But when it comes to recycling, we must do better. Michigan trails other Great Lakes states and much of the nation in residential recycling. It’s a complex challenge but one that we can address. This plan puts us on the right path.”
The recycling plan focuses on four key areas: developing better ways to track and document recycling, educating the public, providing more convenient recycling access and developing market opportunities for recycled products with grants and economic initiatives.
“States with healthy recycling programs have found that, in addition to reducing pressure on landfills and helping the environment, recycling creates jobs and opens markets for recovered materials,” Snyder said. “We’ve been throwing away money for decades. Addressing this issue is simply the right thing to do, and I am pleased to announce we are committed to making Michigan a recycling leader.”
Snyder appropriated $1 million to support the program in his fiscal year 2015 budget, along with $500,000 for DEQ pollution prevention grants.
The recycling plan was drafted by DEQ and 45 stakeholders that included recyclers, landfill operators, manufacturers, waste haulers, bottlers, grocery store operators and others.
“This plan represents a real breakthrough for the myriad interested stakeholders around recycling,” Michigan DEQ Director Dan Wyant said. “What we celebrate today is their leadership, our partnership and the sustained commitment from everyone to keep ‘Pure Michigan’ pure in the years ahead.”