The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) has granted the City of Flint $1 million to support a new recycling initiative. These funds will go toward providing all single-family households in Flint with free 96-gallon recycling carts.
In addition, the national nonprofit The Recycling Partnership is also pledging to support this project with a grant of up to $3.3 million.
“I want to thank our partners at EGLE and The Recycling Partnership for helping make recycling more accessible for Flint residents,” Mayor Sheldon Neeley said. “Many times, due to a lack of resources, Flint is trailing behind and trying to catch up. But through this grant, we can take the lead on introducing a state-of-the-art recycling system that has the potential to improve quality of life and sustainability, not only in Flint, but across Michigan.”
The City of Flint’s current recycling program requires residents to provide their own recycling bins at the curb, and most of these bins do not have lids. These new carts will help contain fly-away material that can contribute to blight and harm the environment. They will also make sanitation workers’ jobs safer and prevent injuries.
Free recycling carts will make it easier for residents to recycle and increase their participation in recycling. As a result, the City of Flint projects that the amount of material recycled in Flint could increase from 624 tons per year to 5,400 tons per year.
The implementation timeline for this project is forthcoming. The next step is for the Flint City Council to accept the grants.
