A historic partnership between Mayor Sheldon Neeley and state legislators; leaders with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy; and national nonprofit The Recycling Partnership has led to a major recycling upgrade in Flint, Michigan.
EGLE reported on the project, noting that the groups involved have selected Cascade Engineering to produce 60,000-plus 96-gallon trash carts and 64-gallon recycling carts that will help usher Flint into a new recycling era.
These carts will be distributed to 30,000 residential households for free starting this fall. This will be a massive shift from the current program, which requires residents to supply their own receptacles.
During a press conference at the Flint Service Center, Mayor Neeley said: "Today's announcement is the next step in transitioning Flint to a cart-based recycling program that will promote the largest recycling push in our city's history."
The new recycling carts are estimated to increase the amount of recycled materials in Flint from 624 tons per year to 5,400 tons. In addition to this 750% increase, other benefits of the program include enhanced safety for sanitation workers and vastly improved recycling access, EGLE detailed.
Flint residents can also look forward to the recycling program improving community cleanliness, as the carts will reduce litter and pest populations. Compared to the un-carted program, the carts will also maintain or even lower collection costs over time.
This new recycling program in Flint, like other similar programs, will reduce the pollution-causing garbage piling up in landfills, helping local residents and the environment.
EGLE awarded the city of Flint with a $1 million grant to purchase the new carts and give them to residents for free. The Recycling Partnership also implemented voluntary investment to support Flint and other areas with modernizing their recycling programs.
Cascade, the woman-owned, Michigan-based trash and recycling container manufacturer, has already distributed over 40 million containers nationwide, including about 4 million receptacles in Michigan, per EGLE. Flint is next on its delivery list.
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State Senator John Cherry, Jr. said: "This is a truly historic achievement for the City of Flint. We all know recycling helps us keep Michigan beautiful. Now, the City of Flint gets to be a larger part of that beautiful story."
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