Eaton County Department of Resource Recovery
Recycling in Michigan would be much harder without all the hard work everyone does in our Michigan communities. The Eaton County Department of Resource Recovery is one of our members that is a great example of all the hard work that is being done to help recycling.
The Eaton County Department of Resource Recovery (ECDRR) is run by enacting a solid waste ordinance in 1993 to license all waste throughout the county, to help promote public health and safety of its residents. With this ECDRR has been able to run their recycling program without tax dollars and use insurance and surcharges for customers. Ten years ago the ECDRR had special collection events that less than 300 people would come out to. In 2018, the effort successfully grew to receive a maxed out turn out of around 800 people at each event!
The County is home to six local recycling centers operated by the municipalities where they are located. The ECDRR provides information for each of these centers, including a convenient location map with information on what materials each site accepts. Financial support is provided by the County for the centers through solid waste alternative grants.
In addition to supporting their municipal recycling programs, the County annually provides special collection programs and recycling events. County residents can drop off string lights during a special collection around the Christmas holiday. Other events include collections for hard to recycle items such as scrap tires and electronics. The County also provides for the safe and secure disposal of household hazardous waste.
Education is a key component of the ECDRR program. The County regularly provides presentations for groups, clubs, and classrooms on waste diversion, recycling, and other waste management topics. In addition, the County supports the Michigan Green Schools program, which is dedicated to teaching environmental stewardship to K-12 students.
The County recently partnered with the Michigan Recycling Coalition and the Michigan Farm Bureau to develop a unique pilot program to tackle a difficult to recycle item - agricultural film plastic, which is common in the county. Items such as pallet wrap, bale film, and greenhouse film can be dropped off at the Sunfield Recycling Center by appointment for a fee so that it can be properly processed and shipped out for recycling.
Learn More: https://www.eatoncounty.org/383/Resource-Recovery---Recycling