Quick Reads - Recycling Raccoons

What’s the secret to recycling cardboard? Ask Michigan’s Recycling Raccoons

Posted on September 23, 2019August 5, 2026 by Recycling Raccoons

Carlos Cardboard - Recycling Racoon holds piece of cardboard

This story was originally published on the Detroit Free Press website.

If you want to improve your recycling habits, it’s best to listen to the experts.

That’s why we asked Carlos Cardboard to sit down with us and clarify some of the most confounding cardboard questions. Carlos is part of the six-member Michigan Recycling Raccoon Squad, whose mission is to teach Michiganders what can — and cannot — be recycled.

These furry recycling champions are part of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy’s (EGLE) Know It Before You Throw It education campaign, which kicked off this summer in every corner of the state.

EGLE’s goal is to double the state’s recycling rate to 30% by 2025 and ultimately reach 45%. Right now, Michigan’s 15% recycling rate is the lowest in the Great Lakes states region and ranks among the lowest in the nation.

Carlos is a cardboard connoisseur and obsessed with flattening. A snappy dresser, he has a bow tie for every day of the week. Most of all, he loves sharing best practices for recycling cardboard.

What kinds of cardboard are OK to recycle?

Great question! I reaaaallly love recycling cardboard, don’t you? It’s so … well … boxy! My favorites are tissue boxes, paper towel and toilet paper rolls, cardboard packaging and food boxes that you’d keep in the pantry – those are all good to go in the recycling bin. So, go for it!

Can I recycle my freezer food boxes?

Boxed containers made for refrigerator and freezer foods have added chemicals to keep the boxes from getting soggy and wet. That makes them difficult to recycle – but not impossible. I’d suggest checking with your local recycling provider to see if it accepts them.

Should I stack my boxes inside one another as a do-it-yourself recycling bin?

No. Boxes are bulky and take up extra room in the trucks that pick them up; flattening them saves space and makes the sorting process easier. Like I always say, “Flattery will get you nowhere, but flattening will!”

Are empty juice cartons recyclable?

Many communities accept cartons in their curbside recycling program, but not all. That’s because juice and milk cartons are actually made of two or three layers of paper, plastic and aluminum, which makes them trickier to recycle.

Should I peel off labels and tape from boxes before I recycle them?

Best recycling practice is to take the tape off. So, while you don’t have to remove them, your recycler would love it if you did.

Why doesn’t my recycler accept pizza boxes?

Grease and stuck-on food on pizza boxes ruins the cardboard for recycling. It can also ruin the other items in your recycling bin by getting them dirty and greasy. Want my secret? If the pizza box top is clean, I rip it off and recycle that portion. Then I eat all that gooey cheese left in the box and throw that part in the trash.

Should I remove staples from cardboard?

Nope! Staples are OK to leave in. Just make sure that cardboard is flat – just how I like it!

Overall, it’s important to keep in mind that every community has different rules about recycling. So be sure to check with your local provider to find out what’s accepted in your area.

Recycling Glass 101

Posted on September 6, 2019August 5, 2026 by Recycling Raccoons

This story was originally published by WOOD-TV for woodtv.com/eightwest.

You may know that recycling has many benefits including energy savings, reduction in water use, decreases in greenhouse gases and conserving resources to name a few. But did you know that just 15% of Michiganders recycle, the lowest in the Great Lakes region and among the lowest in the nation. And not all those who recycle are doing it properly. But there is a new effort to change all that. the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy has kicked off a campaign to better inform Michiganders what can – and cannot – be recycled, as well as to increase the amount of material recycled statewide. This campaign, titled the “Know It Before You Throw It” campaign aims to promote best practices and emphasize that recycling provides a wide range of environmental and economic benefits and this week we’re focusing on glass.

Like many to-be recycled products, it is critical to rinse and empty all glass containers. This means rinsing out containers, so they are completely empty of food or beverages prior to tossing them in the recycling bin. Clear glass food jars are usually accepted curbside. However, lids should be removed to be recycled in their respective streams (plastic or metal). Non-food glass is rarely recycled curbside, so items like glassware or lightbulbs have to be recycled elsewhere. Every municipality in Michigan has slightly different rules, however. It’s important to routinely check with local officials about what’s permissible in individual communities. Specifically, for glass, it’s important to check to see if they accept brown, green and blue glass curbside.

Recycling glass? You may be doing it all wrong and here’s why

Posted on September 4, 2019August 5, 2026 by Recycling Raccoons

This story was originally published by WDIV for clickondetroit.com/live-in-the-d.

Live in the D's Kila Peeples ventured to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) to learn more about how to recycle glass correctly.

The "Know it Before you Throw It" campaign is helping people recycle glass the right way.

Here are the rules for recycling glass containers.

1) Rinse your container before throwing it in the recycle bin

2) Separate tops and lids from the jars

Kila also visited the Schupan recycling plant to see how the recycled glass is processed.

Here is the process after you recycle your glass:

Schupan's process for glass is very thorough. The glass comes from the retailer to the processing plant. Then it's separated by green, brown and clear. Next it proceeds up to the glass crushers. After that the glass is sent to glass recyclers in Dearborn.

Over 140 million pounds of glass is recycled per year at Schupan Recycling in Wixom. Because of Michigan's deposit law, Michiganders have a 90% recycling rate, one of the best in the country.

Remember, recycling clean materials leads to successful recycling!

To learn more about the Schupan recycling company visit, schupan.com.

Think you’re recycling the right way? Here’s what you need to know

Posted on August 20, 2019August 5, 2026 by Recycling Raccoons

This story was originally published by WDIV for clickondetroit.com/live-in-the-d.

Everyday you're likely to use some sort of can or metal, whether it's a pop or soup can. What do you do when you are finished with it? Toss it in the trash? You should consider recycling them. Our friends at The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, or EGLE, encourage you to recycle, the right way. Because that old can you tossed out may be reused for something completely different.

EGLE said once a can has been used, rinse it out and then recycle it. Being mindful of aerosol cans is key, so make sure all of the liquid is removed from the can before recycling. This not only protects the environment, but also workers at the recycling plant. Michigan is one of the best at recycling cans, mostly due to the Michigan Deposit Law and the abundant locations to return cans. Thanks to the law, we return hundreds of thousands of cans a year. Which in return, no pun intended, are cleaned, crushed and repurposed into new cans within 60 days.

If you want to learn more about the Schupan Recycling Company visit schupan.com.

Recycling metal – what you need to know

Posted on August 16, 2019August 5, 2026 by Recycling Raccoons

This story was originally published by WOOD-TV for woodtv.com/eightwest.

In an average day, you will likely come in contact with many different types of metal products – everything from pop cans to canned food containers – but how can we do our part to make sure we’re recycling these products properly? Rachael visited the Kent County Recycling and Education Center to find about a new effort by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. It is aimed at educating and encouraging people to recycle and recycle properly. The campaign is designed to better inform Michiganders what can – and cannot – be recycled, as well as to increase the amount of material recycled statewide.

What are the key things to know when recycling metals?

Metal food cans, pans, pots, empty aerosol cans, aluminum foil, other clean metals such as license plates.
All aluminum, steel and tin materials should be clean before recycling
It is 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.

However certain types of metal products are not accepted curbside in most places but often can be recycled at a drop-off location or special recycling event. Those products include: Scrap metal, Kitchen pots and pans, Wire hangers, which jam recycling facility machines, construction materials (e.g., screws, nails, etc.) that are too small and fall through the recycling machines, medical sharps like needles and syringes – they’re dangerous to recycling facility workers

So not all materials can be recycled, but that doesn’t mean that they have to go in the trash. Kent County Recycling & Education Center hosts “Imagine Craft Mondays” every Monday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. here at the center. This program gives them the opportunity to teach kids about the importance of recycling, but also gives them the chance to turn trash into crafts.

Recycling & Education Center
977 Wealthy SW
Grand Rapids

What happens to plastic bottles when you recycle them?

Posted on August 6, 2019August 5, 2026 by Recycling Raccoons

This story was originally published by Live in the D for clickondetroit.com/web/wdiv/live-in-the-d.

Every day, you likely use all kinds of plastic - everything from water bottles to containers, and you may be recycling them, but are you doing it right? You've probably seen the new commercial campaign with the Recycling Raccoon Squad. It's part of a new effort to show people how to recycle correctly by our friends at the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy-- or EGLE.

Jill Greenberg joined us to tell us more about the new effort. She says that the "Know it Before You Throw It" campaign aims to educate the public about best practices for recycling. The most important thing to know is to empty and clean the product before you recycle it. When you take those extra steps, it helps improve our recycling stream. Currently, in Michigan, we recycle 15% of plastic, and their goal is to raise it to 30% by 2020. "In fact, 15% is really low for the Great Lakes region," said Greenberg.

Karl Hattopp also joined us from Clean Tech Recycling to show us what happens when we recycle correctly. Hattopp says that Clean Tech Recycling takes the recycled bottles such as laundry detergent bottles and water bottles and they turn them into pellets that are eventually turned back into bottles.

To learn more about Clean Tech Recycling, visit cleantechrecycling.com, and to learn more about the new EGLE campaign and get more tips and information on recycling, visit recyclingraccoons.org.

Did you know there’s a right way and a wrong way to recycle?

Posted on July 22, 2019August 5, 2026 by Recycling Raccoons

This story was originally published by Live in the D for clickondetroit.com/web/wdiv/live-in-the-d.

You know recycling has many benefits, including saving energy and conserving resources. However, Michigan ranks as one of the states with the fewest people who actually recycle, and not all who do recycle do it properly. There is a new effort to change all of that in our state. Jill Greenberg with The Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, or EGLE, joined Tati Amare to discuss some ways Michiganders can recycle, and do it the proper way.

Greenberg introduced the EGLE's new campaign effort with the "Recycling Raccoon Squad", who are encouraging people to know it before you throw it. The "squad" helps people by giving them the general rules of thumb when it comes to properly recycling so a reusable product can be made from it.

For instance, many people do not know that plastic bags cannot be recycled. Some stores may accept them once you've used them, but generally don't leave them curbside with the garbage. When recycling plastics, rinse them out with water first. A clean plastic container prevents contamination of other products. Next, Greenberg said to flatten food boxes; if a pizza box is clean, it can be recycled, if it's dirty and grease stained, it is not because it could contaminate other products.

EGLE has teamed up with Green Living Science, an organization that has been teaching recycling and waste reduction to schools, businesses and the community since 2007. They have partnered up with The Detroit Public Works to spread the message of recycling to residents, and now with the help of EGLE, the power of the message is even stronger.

To learn more about the efforts of Green Living Science in our community, visit greenlivingscience.org. And to learn more about the EGLE campaign and more information on recycling, visit recyclingraccoons.org.

Recycling at the Ballpark

Posted on July 18, 2019August 5, 2026 by Recycling Raccoons

This story was originally published by eightWest for woodtv.com/eightwest.

We all want to help keep our earth clean, and one way we do that is by recycling. As we know, there are many things that are considered recyclables, but there also a lot of common mistakes that people make!

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy has kicked-off a campaign to inform people across the state to “Know It Before You Throw It“ and they’re collaborating with Fifth Third Ballpark to educate everyone.

The state’s recycling campaign provides the perfect opportunity to better our recycling efforts at Fifth Third Ballpark, but also reminds us how we can improve our practices in our homes.

There are many reminders around the ballpark, bins that are made from post-consumer recycled materials, the billboard with information at the park, and also signage throughout the park that make it easy to decide what you can and can’t recycle.

Confused about recycling? Talk to the Raccoon Squad

Posted on July 11, 2019August 5, 2026 by Recycling Raccoons

Little girl helping rinse yogurt container

Celine and Joe Sommerdyke are determined to help save the planet.

But hectic days spent shuttling between work and taking care of their one-year old daughter mean that recycling do’s and don’ts are among the last things the Comstock Park family has time to think about.

“Recycling is important to us, but the rules are confusing. Half the time we’re not even sure we’re doing it right,” Celine said.

The Sommerdykes aren’t alone.

Many Michiganders are confused about what can – and cannot – be recycled and how to do it correctly.

That’s why the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) has launched Know It Before You Throw It, a first-of-its-kind statewide education campaign aimed to promote cleaner recycling practices and double Michigan’s recycling rate by 2025.

“Michiganders believe in recycling and want to support it, but many of us don’t know how to do it properly,” said EGLE Director Liesl Clark. “We just need a helping hand.”

Or how about a helping paw?

EGLE has created the all-new Recycling Raccoon Squad to serve as its education ambassadors across the state. The six-member squad is a team of recycling experts, each with a specialty and a personality that reflects its focus: plastic, cardboard, metal, paper, glass and everything else.

Characters Nyla P. Lastic, Gladys Glass, Precious Metale, Carlos Cardboard, Paper MacKay and Frank are all featured on a new website – RecyclingRaccoons.org – and have their own social channels to share their expertise and help well-meaning families like the Sommerdykes avoid contaminating the entire recycling bin.

“These fun raccoon characters will share the simple rules about recycling in an entertaining, easy-to-remember way that all of us can learn from,” Clark said.

Michigan’s current 15% recycling rate is the lowest in the Great Lakes region and ranks among the nation’s lowest.

EGLE’s campaign incorporates recommendations from a recycling council that included industry experts, processors, retailers, bottlers and environmental advocates. They were tasked with designing a blueprint to develop the state’s next generation of recycling infrastructure while doubling Michigan’s recycling rate to 30% by 2025 – and ultimately reaching 45% annually.

The Know It Before You Throw It campaign is launching as communities across Michigan and the U.S. are struggling with international market shifts, resulting in higher costs for some local governments that fail to meet new industrywide cleanliness standards for recyclable materials.

One of the most important things EGLE and the Recycling Raccoon Squad want Michiganders to know is that sometimes well-intended efforts to recycle as much as possible can end up contaminating the entire bin. Greasy pizza boxes, for example, are a big recycling no-no.

“Oil that’s soaked into pizza boxes can’t be separated from the cardboard fibers during processing, ruining what otherwise would have been a good batch of paper fibers ready for reuse,” Clark said.

If that batch ends up being made into recycled paper, the product will be of poor quality, containing spots and holes. And food residue left in cans and jars may not allow proper processing of those items, meaning those, too, would be considered garbage, not usable recyclables.

Knowing what and how to recycle – and which items to just throw out – can be confusing because some rules vary by location. Furthermore, over time, recycling requirements and conditions often change. There are, however, a few basic rules that apply everywhere, all the time:

Rinse and empty glass, plastic and metal containers
Flatten cardboard
Don’t put recyclables in plastic bags

Another problem is “wish-cycling” – where people aren’t sure if an item is recyclable, but they throw it in the recycling bin anyway rather than the recommended practice of depositing it in the garbage.

“One of the keys to achieving our recycling goals is consistent and persistent education,” said Kerrin O’Brien, executive director of the Michigan Recycling Coalition “By encouraging people to focus on the basics of their local recycling program and think about what they’re recycling before they toss it, we can improve our environment and create new economic opportunities in Michigan.”

To learn more about the rules and the reasons behind them – and to meet the Recycling Raccoon Squad – visit RecyclingRaccoons.org.

“Know It Before You Throw It” campaign informs people about rules of recycling

Posted on June 27, 2019August 5, 2026 by Recycling Raccoons

This story was originally published by Lindsay Hoffman for fox17online.com

Recycling has many benefits including energy savings, reduction in water use, decreases in greenhouse gases and conserving resources to name a few. But only 15 percent of Michiganders recycle, the lowest in the Great Lakes region and among the lowest in the nation.

However not all those who recycle are doing it properly, but there's a new effort to change that. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy has kicked off a campaign to better inform Michiganders on what can and can't be recycled.

The campaign is called “Know It Before You Throw It”, and it aims to promote best practices and emphasize that recycling provides a wide range of environmental and economic benefits.

Not only is this campaign exciting because it’s aimed at educating people, but it’s unique in the fact that our messaging will primarily be led by a team of expert representatives the Raccoon Recycling Squad.

In the coming months, Michiganders will receive recycling advice from the likes of Nyla P. Lastic, Gladys Glass, Precious Metale, Carlos Cardboard, Paper McKay and Frank.

Learn more about how to recycle in Kent County visit reimaginetrash.org.

Learn more about the new EGLE campaign and get more tips and information on recycling, visit recyclingraccoons.org.

Category: Quick Reads