Recycling Partnership selects Michigan city as next partner

The Recycling Partnership, Falls Church, Virginia, says it has signed a contract agreement with East Lansing, Michigan. The city has received a grant to assist with cart and education and outreach procurement and will receive a customized education campaign and operational assistance to support the cart roll out, the Recycling Partnership says. The organization refers to this tandem set of resources as technical assistance and as critical to a program’s success when making a major change like adding cart-based collection.

Recycling Partnership Technical Assistance Director Cody Marshall says, “In order to optimize the program results, it’s not enough just to educate or just to consider the nuts and bolts of the cart distribution and collection plan; those pieces need to work together, with communication between the city leaders, collection staff and the MRF (material recovery facility) to give the program the best start and ensure more high quality material moves through the system.”

East Lansing anticipates beginning cart distribution by early September, the Recycling Partnership reports. In addition to upgrading to 96-gallon carts, the city also anticipates substantially increasing the types of materials collected at the curb.  A request for proposals (RFP) for material processing is due to the city in two weeks, and expanding the types of materials collected is a major focus of that RFP.

“The Recycling Partnership grant will be instrumental in successfully rolling out this exciting new cart system to our residents,” says East Lansing Environmental Services Administrator Cathy DeShambo. “The cart system comes with many benefits, including added convenience for residents, increased recycling volumes, less landfill material, more efficient collection times, cost savings and increased safety for city employees.”

The Recycling Partnership says it is actively assisting 69 communities, reaching a total of 1.2 million households. 

Charlie Schwarze, global sustainability manager for Amcor, which joined the Recycling Partnership in July 2014, says, “We are proud that the first new grant recipient from the 2015 grant cycle is located in Amcor Rigid Plastics’ home state of Michigan. We anticipate great things from this program upgrade and collaboration.”