Free recycling and trash carts are rolling into Flint neighborhoods

FLINT, Mich. — Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley today helped launch a new milestone achievement for recycling by announcing the largest distribution of rolling, easy-to-use carts curbside carts in the city’s history.

Neeley, along with Flint City Council President Ladel Lewis, and state Rep. Cynthia Neeley, D-Flint, joined leaders with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), The Recycling Partnership and Grand Rapids-based Cascade Engineering to celebrate the delivery kickoff of more than 60,000 free 96-gallon trash carts and 64-gallon recycling carts to over 30,000 residential households.

“Today’s announcement is the final major step in transitioning Flint to a cart-based recycling program that will promote the largest recycling push in our city’s history,” Mayor Neeley said during an outdoor news conference at Rollingwood Park, where models of the city’s new dark gray trash containers and blue recycling receptacles adorned with “Flint Strong” logos were on display.

Attending the event with the mayor and local dignitaries were EGLE Director Phil Roos, Michigan Environmental Justice Public Advocate Regina Strong, Cascade Engineering Sales Manager Brian Miller, The Recycling Partnership Chief System Optimization Officer Cody Marshall and dozens of Flint residents and recycling advocates.

The city’s previous recycling program required residents to provide their own waste and recycling receptacles to hold materials at the curbside. The new rolling, lidded recycling carts manufactured by Cascade Engineering are projected to increase the amount of materials recycled in Flint from 624 tons per year to 5,400 tons annually — a 750% increase — as well as improve recycling access, inspire more resident participation and enhance safety for sanitation workers.

Benefits of the new carts cited by Mayor Neeley include:

• Carts will help sustain or even lower collection costs over time relative to an un-carted program.
• Carts reduce litter, help control rodent and pest populations and enhance community cleanliness.
• Carts make recycling and garbage service easier for Flint residents.

The new carts will come with information about what can be recycled, and a detailed list is online at CityOfFlint.com/Recycling. Materials that can be deposited in the recycling carts include:

• Plastic bottles and containers
• Aluminum and steel cans
• Glass bottles and jars
• Cardboard (flattened)
• Newspaper, junk mail, mixed paper — all colors and types

“This is a truly historic accomplishment for the City of Flint,” Roos said. “We all know recycling helps us keep Michigan beautiful. Now, the City of Flint gets to be a larger part of that beautiful story.

“Many conscientious people in Flint have done their best to recycle, but most of the city’s potentially recyclable materials end up in trash containers and go to the landfill because Flint residents must provide their own recycling containers,” said Roos. “This campaign we’re announcing today now allows all Flint residents to do their part. Recycling is not only the right thing to do, but the smart thing to do.”

The Flint cart rollout features multiple funding sources. The city is receiving a $1 million EGLE grant to help the city purchase and provide the free recycling carts. In addition, The Recycling Partnership, a purpose-driven organization, awarded a $3.3 million grant to help support Flint’s effort to modernize its waste management program and expand access to recycling.

“Expanding and modernizing Flint’s recycling infrastructure is a key goal of EGLE and the State of Michigan,” Strong said. “Our $1 million EGLE grant is an investment in the City of Flint that will help all residents across the city have convenient and equitable access to recycling opportunities.”

Together with its partners, including Midland-based Dow Inc. and the PepsiCo Foundation, The Recycling Partnership mobilizes investment to support local communities by modernizing facilities and expanding access to recycling in communities of all sizes.

Since 2020, The Partnership has teamed with EGLE to deploy 245,000 recycling carts in more than 30 communities across Michigan, serving a combined population of over 1 million Michiganders.

“The Recycling Partnership is honored to be part of Flint’s citywide recycling transition alongside EGLE, Cascade Engineering and the City of Flint,” The Partnership’s Marshall said. “We remain fully committed as a partner and resource to the city and State of Michigan to deliver a better recycling system.”

By transitioning to a cart-based collection program, the City of Flint is adopting an industry-recognized best-management practice to set the city up for immediate and long-term success. Of the 821 cities in the U.S. with populations over 50,000 people, 78% have carted collection, 2023 data shows. Most programs are carted because it is the most efficient and cost-effective way to collect waste and recycled materials at the curb.

“Flint’s new recycling campaign starting this fall is like going from a horse and buggy to a spaceship in terms of improvement,” state Rep. Neeley said. “We know Flint residents and all Michiganders want to recycle the right way. Through Flint’s education campaign that kicks off this fall and recycling infrastructure investments by EGLE and others, we are providing them with the tools to do just that.”

Cities across Michigan and the entire U.S. have moved to lidded carts for garbage and recycling because manual collection has become increasingly dangerous and expensive. Prominent national and regional haulers have recently stated they will no longer bid on municipal contracts that are not carted, and deploying city-owned waste and recycling carts will help keep Flint’s operational costs manageable in the near term and future.

“Carts will help sustain or even lower collection costs over time relative to an un-carted program,” said Council President Lewis. “Carts reduce litter, help control rodent and pest populations, and will enhance community cleanliness in our beloved ‘Flint Strong’ city.”

As a woman-owned company and the only Michigan-based recycling and trash cart manufacturer, Cascade has rolled out over 40 million trash and recycling containers nationwide, including over 4 million receptacles in Michigan. 

“Cascade is excited to be a small part of the City of Flint’s curbside trash and recycling upgrades,” Miller said. “Roll carts have a life cycle of 10-20 years or more, and these new carts will be a part of the Flint community for decades to come, contributing to blight control around the city as well as contributing to the State of Michigan’s recycling goals well into the future.”

The City of Flint asks residents to not call city agencies with questions about the date of cart deliveries. The carts will automatically be delivered to every household in Flint beginning Monday, Sept. 16, and continuing through mid-October. All Flint households will have received the carts by or before Oct. 31.