Howdy, humans! So, you found our quiz and want to test your recycling knowledge? Or maybe you’re just sniffing around for more recycling rules. Whatever the reason, the Recycling Raccoon Squad has gathered the answers below. 👇
True!
Not much more to say than envelopes with plastic windows are A-OK!
False!
Styrofoam and other foam materials are NOT recyclable curbside. This is mainly because of their porous nature (they hold on to air and contaminants). Some centers and programs will accept them, but otherwise they can be thrown away.
False!
As long as it’s crumb- and cheese-free (without a drenching of grease), your pizza box is recyclable. We were so jazzed, we even made a page where you can check your grease level.
False!
Glass is actually one of the MOST recyclable materials because it can be recycled again and again and again and aga — you get it.
That means mason jars, food jars, glass bottles are all recyclable curbside!
Psst — the color-coded ✱ icons in this story are clickable. Tap one for a recycling rule, a recycling benefit or a bit of need-to-know trivia.
The night was dark. His surroundings coated in dew from a dense fog. And Frank was face down in a recycling cart. The only sound was the rustling of common household recyclables as You found a recycling basic! Plastic, metal and glass containers should be rinsed (or carefully licked clean) before being recycled curbside.he licked forgotten yogurt cups, orange juice bottles and bean cans clean.
That’s when he heard it. A sound that made his ears shoot up. Frank peered out of the recycling cart to look around him. Nothing. Frank returned to his work when again … tap, tap. Tap. Tap, tap.
When he looked out, he saw only the neighboring recycling cart. Something was inside.
Frank’s fur stood on end as he drew nearer. A blur of white shot at him and wrapped around his back paw. Frank hissed — kicking until he saw the blur was a plastic bag … Did you know, tanglers are items that tangle up recyclables, recycling machines and raccoons. Plastic bags, however, can be taken back to local grocers like Meijer and Kroger for recycling.a tangler.
That couldn’t have made the sound, so what had? Frank continued forward and lifted the lid to see the cart was full of … tanglers! He fell back at the sight, scrambling behind a nearby tree as images of what he had seen flashed through his mind. FYI: String lights, rope, wires and hangers are all included in the tangler category and should be kept FAR from your curbside cart.String lights, rope, wire and even hangers — all stuffed inside a recycling cart. And all coiling around common household recyclables.
If these items made it back to a recycling center, they could tangle a sorting machine and stop You found a recycling benefit! Recycling helps items become something new, rather than lying in a landfill.loads of recyclables from becoming new items! Frank was frantic as he rushed back to the cart. He didn’t have time for fear. He had to save the recyclables!
His paws worked feverishly to yank tangler after tangler, even as they tangled around him. In his mind, he could hear his mother Pearl’s voice: “You found a recycling benefit! In Michigan, recycling and reuse industries support more than 72,500 jobs and can save up to 95% of energy.Rope: Cut into smaller sections before placing in your trash.Hangers: Place in curbside trash.String Lights: Look for local drop-off options.Hoses: Remove the metal ends and take to a specialty recycler or cut the hose into smaller sections before placing in your trash.Wire: Look for local options that will buy old wire or take to a specialty recycler.Recyclables save energy and help the economy, Frank. That’s why it’s our duty to save them in return … ”
Finally, the unfettered recyclables lay loose in the recycling cart, but Frank knew he wasn’t done. He had to get rid of the tanglers — properly. And yet, as he pulled the last one out of the cart, his strength left him and he passed out on the soft grass.
“Awrite, laddie? You look as though you’ve seen a ghost!”
“Oh man, he’s laid out.”
Frank blinked awake at two raccoons, one with a purple mohawk holding drumsticks and another with a plaid hat and paper bagpipes. They helped him up, asking about what had happened. As Frank explained, the two smiled and helped remove the tanglers. You found a recycling rule! Remember! While each tangler has its own disposal process, most can be donated or resold if they are in good condition!They disposed of each one before leading him to a small group they called … the Recycling Raccoon Squad.
Do you find yourself wondering, “Where can I take this pile of old batteries?” or, “Are there any events happening in Michigan this week?” If so, the Recycling Raccoon Squad has your back!
Now more than ever, companies in the Great Lakes State are desperately seeking to include recyclables in the manufacturing of new products, including recycled paper. UP Paper, a paper manufacturing company in Manistique, recycles paper materials that are used to create items like tape, gift wrap, fast food bags and packaging materials.
Paper recycling is a complex system that requires people at every step of the process and companies like UP Paper support Michigan’s economy by providing crucial manufacturing jobs. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy supports Michigan community recycling programs through educational opportunities, infrastructure grants and quality improvement.
Watch two Michigan neighbors go head-to-head – and recycling bin to recycling bin – as they battle for the title of Recycling Champion in this riveting debut game show! For more information about recycling rules specific to your area, contact your local recycling provider.
Company hires veterans to fashion products out of automotive material destined for landfill
All Jarret Schlaff really wanted to do was create meaningful employment for Detroit military veterans.
He accomplished that with Pingree Detroit, the company he founded in 2015, but he also wound up creating something that helps the environment.
“We’re a social impact cooperative,” Schlaff said of his business, which keeps automobile materials such as leather, seat belts and airbags out of landfills. “We prioritize people, planet and profit.”
Pingree Detroit, now based at 15707 Livernois, initially made tote bags with repurposed car leather while sharing space with Anew Life Prosthetics in Detroit in 2017. Eventually, seat belts and airbags were added to the raw material mix, expanding Pingree’s product line. It now also handcrafts home goods, sneakers, dog leashes, backpacks and wallets.
“We’re a worker-owned design and manufacturing company that’s zero waste and carbon negative,” Schlaff explained. “And we share 77% of the profit with the workers and the neighborhood where we’re based.”
Pingree is also earning praise from Michigan environmental officials. They cite the company as a shining example of how household and other types of recycling not only help the planet by reducing waste and greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, but also boost the economy.
“It can be much more efficient and cost-effective for manufacturers to reuse materials that have already been made than to start from scratch,” said Tracy Purrenhage, recycling specialist for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE).
“For example, it takes far less energy to melt down and reuse a glass bottle than it would to make a whole new glass product out of sand. That makes the economy more efficient and allows manufacturers to keep the price of their products as low as possible.”
EGLE was so impressed by Pingree’s business model that it awarded the company a $10,000 Recycling Market Development Grant. Pingree also was accepted into the EGLE-led NextCycle Michigan program, which supports companies in their recycling, recovery and reuse initiatives.
Creating American jobs
Pingree’s products are fashioned from the scrap that automakers and suppliers have left over from their production and research-and-development activities. The material is either donated to Pingree or sold to the company at below-wholesale prices, Schlaff said.
“These are world-class materials designed for performance, longevity and to be lightweight,” he said. “They’re everything you want in a material.”
Schlaff, who grew up in Waterford and Pontiac, has lived in Detroit since graduating in 2010 from Oakland University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in public administration and public policy while also pursuing environmental and business studies.
But despite his environmental background, which also included interning for a year in what was then called Michigan’s Office of Pollution Prevention, he wasn’t necessarily looking to start a recycling-based business when he formed Pingree.
Rather, he was primarily trying to assist Detroit veterans after randomly having conversations with a couple of them who were facing adversity.
“I didn’t start the company with a product in mind,” Schlaff said. “I started it with wanting to make an impact. These guys were about my age, and I told my buddy that someone should do something about this. Then it dawned on me that that someone could be me.”
He then had a series of conversations with people in the community about how best to aid veterans.
“The answer to those questions was that folks were looking for gainful, living-wage work where they could work with their hands and be part of a purpose-driven environment again,” he said.
And thus, after further consideration of exactly what the company should make, Pingree Detroit was born.
“Once we landed on a product, the immediate question was, how can we make something sustainable that changes the conversation?” Schlaff said. “My passion is offering sustainable solutions. That’s my purpose for being here. And so when we landed on a product, immediately the mind went to, what waste stream can we use, and how can we offer something in the market?”
The company’s 10-person workforce consists of Detroit residents, including veterans, some of whom live within five blocks of its manufacturing facility.
For those new to the trades, Pingree underwrites the cost of an eight-week training program in either industrial sewing, leather crafting or shoemaking.
Every product comes with a “maker tag” bearing the name and picture of the veteran or Detroiter who handmade that Pingree piece. Every worker also gets a share of every dollar of profit.
Pingree products are available for purchase on its website, pingreedetroit.com, which also lists retailers that stock them.
So far, Pingree’s products have diverted 17 tons of car seat and steering wheel leather from landfills.
“If we can avoid the economic costs of contributing to climate change while creating jobs and creating American-made alternatives to those that are made in China from nonrecyclable materials,” Schlaff said, “we just see that as a winning strategy.”
For professional artist Chris Nesbitt, conversations about metal can get heavy, sometimes into the hundreds of pounds.
“The great thing about working with metal is that it’s so durable,” Nesbitt said. “It’s made to last. There’s something satisfying knowing that these works will probably last longer than me.”
Nesbitt is an artist with DunMor Metal Art, a Waterford Township-based full-service decor company specializing in rustic metal art. Founded in 2015 by Nesbitt’s friend Jeremy Macbeth, DunMor makes such products as custom-made art pieces, signs for both the home and business, and Michigan-themed art. Custom DunMor art has been sold around the U.S., as well as internationally.
All work is handmade from raw materials. Mostly, the pieces are crafted from 4-by-10-foot sheets manufactured in Michigan from new metal mixed with metal collected from curbside recycling bins.
“I’m very conscious about the importance of metal recycling,” said Nesbitt, a former chemical engineer. “It’s good to know that metal is getting a second or third life through our art.”
Improving Michigan’s recycling rate
Compared with much of the country, Michigan excels at recycling one type of metal: aluminum. That’s thanks in large part to Michigan’s first-in-the-nation bottle and can deposit law, which tacks an extra 10 cents onto the cost of each carbonated beverage sold in the state, to be redeemed later for a 10-cent refund.
More than 90% of bottles and cans that carry a deposit are recycled, but such returnable containers represent only 15% of all the waste Michiganders recycle every year. Almost 53% of the state’s municipal solid waste that goes to landfills could instead be recycled if done properly.
State leaders say Michigan needs to do a better job recycling its metal — as well as its paper, glass, cardboard and plastic. The state’s current 15% recycling rate is the lowest in the Great Lakes region and ranks among the lowest nationwide.
That’s why this summer, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, known as EGLE, launched Know It Before You Throw It, a first-of-its-kind statewide education campaign to better inform Michiganders on how to recycle correctly and what can — and cannot — be recycled.
‘A win-win-win for everyone’
EGLE’s goal is to promote awareness of cleaner recycling practices to reduce the amount of contaminated materials improperly going into recycling bins. The state also wants to double Michigan’s recycling rate to 30% by 2025 and ultimately reach 45% annually.
Achieving EGLE’s 30% recycling goal would produce a total of as many as 12,986 jobs, which translates into an economic impact of up to $300 million annually, according to the Expanding Recycling in Michigan Report prepared for the Michigan Recycling Partnership.
The Know It Before You Throw It campaign features the Recycling Raccoon Squad, a six-member team of recycling champions who serve as EGLE’s education ambassadors. EGLE-commissioned research shows that education is key in order for residents to learn how to properly recycle.
“By learning a few simple rules, we can elevate our rate of recycling, expand the amount we recycle and help build stronger, more prosperous communities, which is a win-win-win for everyone,” said EGLE Materials Management Division Assistant Director Elizabeth Browne.
Knowing the rules of recycling
It’s easy to remember many of the tips suggested by EGLE’s raccoon expert on recycling metal — Precious Metale — on her webpage:
— Rinse and empty all metal containers. This means rinsing out containers so they are completely empty of food scraps, such as soup, prior to tossing them into the recycling bin.
— Aluminum, steel and tin materials should be clean before recycling.
— It’s OK to leave labels on metal containers.
— Empty aerosol cans are generally recyclable curbside, as long as they didn’t contain something hazardous, such as paint or chemicals.
Every municipality in Michigan has slightly different rules, though. Certain types of metal accepted in one city aren’t necessarily accepted in another. It’s important to routinely check with local recycling providers about what’s permissible in individual communities.
Those certain types of metal products that are not accepted curbside in most places can often be recycled at a drop-off location or special recycling event. Products of that sort include:
— Scrap metal.
— Kitchen pots and pans.
— Wire hangers, which jam recycling facility machines.
— Construction materials such as screws or nails, which are too small and fall through the recycling machines.
— Medical sharps such as needles and syringes, which are dangerous to recycling facility workers.
Developing good recycling habits
The campaign is a breath of fresh air for Michigan’s recycling leaders.
“People get excited because they have those big recycling carts with all that room, but when you’re throwing scrap metal or batteries in there, you can contaminate an entire batch,” said Galen Hardy, spokesman for the community organization Zero Waste Detroit.
Zero Waste Detroit works with the Detroit Department of Public Works to promote healthy methods of waste diversion, including keeping materials from being incinerated. Hardy said the city’s current recycling rate is only about 4%, a number he’d like to see get up to at least 30%.
“The Know It Before You Throw it campaign is smart, because it’s really good at encouraging the public to develop good recycling habits,” he said.
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