Detroit awarded $783K in grants to expand recycling to multifamily, commercial buildings

The city of Detroit has received a pair of grants to boost its recycling program.

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and the national nonprofit The Recycling Partnership, along with additional support from the PepsiCo Foundation, awarded two grants to the city of Detroit totaling $783,000 to fund recycling efforts in multifamily, commercial, and public buildings and spaces.

The funds will allow the city to purchase 16,400 curbside and nearly 4,000 multifamily recycling carts and containers, as well as a collection vehicle. The new services are expected to start sometime in 2020.

“It’s time for each of us to step up our efforts and increase the quantity and quality of recycling in every Detroit home and business,” Joel Howran-Heeres, director of Detroit’s Office of Sustainability, said in a release.

The city has prioritized recycling as part of a wider effort to increase sustainability in Detroit. Last year, the Office of Sustainability released the Sustainability Action Agenda, a multi-pronged report meant to provide a framework for future sustainability work. A major goal of the agenda was to reduce landfill waste through an additional $1 million in funding for recycling.

The grants are part of $2.2 million the EGLE is providing to municipalities across Michigan as part of its “Know It Before You Throw It” campaign. According to the EGLE, Michigan has only a 15 percent recycling rate—one of the lowest in the country—and hopes to boost that rate to 30 percent by 2025.