Department Awards Recycling Grants

Liz Gullett

Oct 25, 2019

More than $450,000 grants were awarded this week as part of the Grand Rapids launch of Michigan’s Know It Before You Throw It recycling education campaign. The campaign was launched by the state as a tool to help reach the recycling rate goal of 30% by 2025 and ultimately reach 45% annually. Michigan’s current rate of 15% is the lowest in the Great Lakes region, and among the lowest nationwide.

Kent County officials set a goal of reducing the amount of local waste that goes into landfills by 20% in 2020 and reaching 90% in 2030. In order to reach that goal, they needed to expand recycling opportunities and invest in new technology that can segregate and divert waste from landfills. The Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy awarded the grants to:

Nearly $258,000 to improve recycling access, education, and infrastructure in all Grand Rapids Public School classrooms, cafeterias, and administrative buildings.
More than $175,000 to help Kent County purchase new equipment as part of the Department of Public Work’s strategy to segregate and annually divert up to 16,000 tons of construction and demolition waste from West Michigan landfills.

For more information on the Know It Before You Throw It campaign, please visit RecyclingRaccoons.org.

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