(WXYZ) — Detroit is getting a new recycling center and it means more access for more Detroit residents. However, many Detroiters don’t know the city has an opt-in instead of an opt-out policy and they likely already have access if they only request it.
The new center will be owned by one of the country’s largest waste management companies in the country, WM. They said they’re planning to invest 35 to 40 million dollars into the project, and it will be located in Detroit.
Erma Leaphart lives in North Rosedale Park and is an avid recycler.
“Recycling is so important to me primarily because of the environmental benefits,” explained Leaphart.
She has seen access to recycling in Detroit grow, especially over the last decade.
“And now it’s city-wide, it’s curbside recycling. So anyone that pretty much wants to recycle, there’s a fairly easy entry to it,” said Leaphart.
She would like to see more people participation.
“We’re doing well in terms of having the infrastructure and capacity, but I think we can do better with regard to our rate, you know, that more people recycle more things,” Leaphart said.
Aaron Johnson is the Great Lakes Area vice president for WM.
“What the studies came back and said is that Detroit was one of the top five cities in North America that needed to add capacity and that there’s this growing demand,” explained Johnson.
It’s estimated about 38% of Detroit households have opted into the city’s recycling program so far, and only about 7% of Detroit’s solid waste gets recycled.
“What we saw is there’s this huge opportunity to grow ... improve participation. But before we can do that, we have to add the capacity to manage those materials. So our hope is to partner with the city of Detroit and grow participation and make it easy for people to recycle,” Johnson said.
He believes there are ways to make the business of recycling more profitable.
“What makes recycling not profitable is when you have a high contamination rates, which education can help fix, and when you have high labor costs to help separate materials,” said Johnson.
He explained what will be different about the Detroit recycling center.
“What we’re going to do is introduce a lot of technology that can do the separation 24-7 and be less human dependent and more technology dependent. This plan should lower labor costs by about 30 percent,” Johnson explained.
Matthew Naimi is the director of operations at Recycle Here!, Detroit’s main drop off recycling center for nearly two decades. He reacted to the planned WM recycling center.
“I do not see that as competition. I welcome more people getting into the arena,” said Naimi.
He said facilities like Recycle Here! have been giving Detroiters the option to recycle since 2007.
“They say 38% of Detroiters have access to recycling which is 100% false. 100% of Detroiters have access to a program like Recycle Here!,” Naimi said.
Natalie Jakub is the executive director of Green Living Science, a nonprofit that teaches about recycling, and a board member of the Michigan Recycling Coalition. She explained most Detroiters are already paying for recycling through their garbage bill.
“There are some neighborhoods that don’t have any recycling carts on the street. So the residents just assume it’s not available to them, which is not true,” said Jakub.
She too reacted to WM’s planned recycling center, slated to open in 2024.
“Having a facility in the city, we can create jobs. We can have Detroiters working there. We can bring more awareness to the act of recycling,” Jakub said.
She believes participation is key.
“Now that we’re talking about a material recovery facility coming to the city, we need to have materials to feed it. So businesses in Detroit can take advantage of a pick-up program to them by going to the city website,” Jakub explained.
She reflected on the city’s recycling progress to date.
“I think with a little bit more work, with a little more participation, I see us getting up there with some of the other communities who have been recycling for decades. We’ve been recycling city-wide since 2015 and it’s barely 10 years so I think we’re doing a pretty good job,” said Jakub.
