Grand Traverse County Resource Recovery Department – RecycleSmart
The Grand Traverse County Resource Recovery Department/RecycleSmart program is dedicated to promoting waste management and recycling efforts in the Grand Traverse County area. RecycleSmart works in collaboration with waste haulers to ensure that all residents and businesses in the county have access to waste and recycling options.
RecycleSmart's primary focus is on accomplishing county-wide curbside recycling participation, considering it to be the most important aspect of their programming. To achieve this goal, Grand Traverse County has mandated through county ordinance that waste haulers must offer curbside recycling to all residential households in the county.
Looking towards the future, RecycleSmart sees potential growth in the establishment of a regional Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) drop-off center and improved collaborative efforts with neighboring counties regarding HHW events. They also envision regional collaboration in recycling education.
At the state level, RecycleSmart believes that recent legislative changes, specifically the passage of the Part 115 6-bill package to update Michigan solid waste laws, have been supportive of their efforts. They anticipate that the upcoming call for plan updates in early 2024 will be beneficial, along with the accompanying funding.
In terms of new initiatives, RecycleSmart is continually working on finding ways to divert materials from the landfill. They recognize the challenge of promoting education regarding the reduction of material consumption but actively strive to address it. Lately, they have placed a significant emphasis on organics diversion and intend to incorporate organics diversion programming into their future materials management plan and potentially local policy.
Grand Traverse Recycling aims to fulfill the mission of the Resource Recovery Department by actively engaging in proper materials management to protect public health and the environment. Their vision for Grand Traverse County is to become a state leader in resource conservation, exceeding the state recycling goal of 45% by promoting reduction, reuse, and recycling programs.