Proper recycling practices — as encouraged by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) through its “Know It Before You Throw It” education campaign — are not only good for the environment and economy.
They’re also important for the safety of people who work at any materials recovery facility (MRF) throughout the state where items placed in recycling bins are sorted.
Just ask Matt Van Benten, operations supervisor at the Resource Recovery and Recycling Authority of Southwest Oakland County (RRRASOC) MRF in Southfield.
“Safety is huge here — it’s our No. 1 concern, and it’s our No. 1 problem,” Van Benten said as he sorted through a box of potentially dangerous items that were pulled from the MRF’s conveyor line, including a bladed instrument, scissors and a cellphone.
“These are the kinds of things we don’t want to see,” he said. “There are homes for these, but your local recycling bin is not it.”
The dangers posed by sharp objects such as blades and scissors are obvious — they can injure workers who are sorting items moving down the MRF’s conveyor line. They’re particularly troublesome because they’re often hidden among material such as paper and plastic, Van Benten said.
“You don’t know where it is,” he said.
Electronic devices such as cellphones and old laptops are a no-no because they’re powered by lithium-ion batteries, which can explode when crushed or shaken.
“We’ve had explosions and fires here caused by things like this,” Van Benten said. “We’d like to have the message out there … this is not how you deal with that. Please, do it the right way.”
Information on proper disposal of hazardous waste is available on the EGLE website.
Check out the accompanying video for more advice from Van Benten on how to help keep recycling workers safe.
ANN ARBOR — Michigan is now one of the nation’s three best states for recycling plastics, according to a recent Wise Voter study.
And in Ann Arbor, recycling plastics is about to get easier thanks to the pending arrival of a state-of-the-art SamurAI sorting robot that will enable the city’s recycling agency to process and sell more plastic than ever before.
“This is a big, exciting deal — our new robot is a technological marvel that’s going to be a game-changer for how we can more safely recycle certain types of plastics in greater amounts and with more efficiency than we’ve ever previously experienced,” said Ukena, the CEO of Recycle Ann Arbor (RAA), a nationally acclaimed nonprofit credited with creating Michigan’s first curbside recycling program in 1978.
“At the same time, as more and more communities begin utilizing these SamurAI Sorting Robots moving forward, we can help address our nation’s plastics pollution crisis,” Ukena said.
RAA is already revitalizing recycling in Southeast Michigan with a new materials recovery facility (MRF) that ensures recyclable materials are sorted and sold to manufacturers for use in new products.
The MRF opened Dec. 1, 2021, at 4150 Platt Road in Ann Arbor, after 12 months of construction to complete a $7.25 million overhaul of the facility, which had been defunct since 2016. Its physical redesign and operating strategy are both driven by a zero-waste ethic with the aim of supporting an effective, sustainable recycling system.
Flying With EGLE
The Material Recovery Facility presort station is the entry point for all materials sorted at the facility. Sorters remove items like trash, plastic bags and electronics to prevent them from damaging the equipment and contaminating the recyclables. Credit: Recycle Ann Arbor
As a regional hub designed to process 34,000 tons annually with a single shift, the MRF provides much-needed recycling infrastructure in Southeast Michigan.
In addition to serving the city of Ann Arbor under a 10-year contract, RAA is processing materials from the city of Ypsilanti and the surrounding area. These cities had previously shipped recyclables out of state for sorting. Ann Arbor is saving $640,000 annually compared with the previous contract, under which materials were shipped long distances for processing. The RAA team anticipates the savings from processing materials on-site will continue to grow as the market for recyclables improves.
Despite the overwhelming success of the new MRF, determining how to improve its plastics recycling performance remained a major obstacle that confronted RAA and continues to vex recyclers across the nation.
Problem Plastics
Recycle Ann Arbor's longtime staff, Michelle Moravcik and Diego Tambriz, sort out contamination from the facility's paper to help ensure the cleanest end materials possible. Credit: Recycle Ann Arbor
Plastic is a synthetic material that is cheap, strong and resistant. While its characteristics make it an appealing material for production and consumption, those same characteristics are problematic for the environment — mainly because it does not easily decompose and ends up in the ocean, landfills or littering streets.
At the Ann Arbor MRF, plastics are sorted into separate piles based on their melting temperatures. Historically, RAA staff has manually sorted certain plastics for recycling but because they are hard to identify as they speed by on a conveyor belt, too much of their plastics ended up going to a landfill.
Recycling plastics is about to get easier thanks to the pending arrival of a state-of-the-art SamurAI sorting robot that will enable the city’s recycling agency to process and sell more plastic than ever before. Credit: Recycle Ann Arbor
The machine is an adaptive robot powered by artificial intelligence to more accurately and efficiently identify specific types of plastics and other materials for safe, fast and effective sorting, especially in identifying and selecting polypropylene (PP) plastics. PP is the type of plastic labeled No. 5 on packaging for such grocery items as yogurt, cottage cheese, sour cream and butter containers.
Now, with the introduction of its SamurAI robot, RAA is looking to increase its recycling capacity of PP to at least 360 tons annually and divert it from landfills.
Recycled PP is commonly used by manufacturers to make caps, cups, automotive parts, paint cans, transport packaging, housewares and other products. PP has been collected for recycling for less than a decade. But collection and sorting is growing, with MRFs across Michigan making major investments, some fueled by support from EGLE, national nonprofit The Recycling Partnership and other entities.
RAA’s SamurAI acquisition was funded through a $200,000 grant from EGLE and an additional $186,000 from the Polypropylene Recycling Coalition, an initiative of The Recycling Partnership.
Benefits of RAA’s SamurAI solution include its capabilities to:
Identify distinguishing features on recyclables in the same way as the human eye.
Recognize recyclable material in dirty, tangled and constantly changing conditions, including the introduction of new packaging and designs.
Continually improve and learn from operating experience.
Reach up to 70 processing “picks” per minute, which nearly doubles the average speed of a person who separates items by hand at a recycling processing center.
Remove small and light materials using a unique integrated suction system which reduces RAA’s daily operation costs.
Protect workers from handling dangerous items, such as batteries, needles, and household chemicals.
SamurAI’s Safety ROI
The importance of improved employee safety and better working conditions at the Ann Arbor MRF is especially significant, Ukena noted.
“Processing recycled materials by hand is a dangerous profession for humans — you can get hepatitis from a needle stick, abrasions and cuts are common, hands get caught in the baling process and on conveyer belts. In many ways, it’s more dangerous work than being a firefighter,” Ukena said.
“It’s also important to know our SamurAI robot won’t replace workers. It just improves quality control and reduces safety risk in the workplace,” he added.
Profit Potential
Approximately 3.5 billion pounds of rigid polypropylene packaging is sold every year nationally, but only a very small fraction is recycled. RAA hopes to improve the recycling of PP at its new facility when the SamurAI robot becomes operable this fall.
“There is strong national growth in the sale and use of polypropylene, because it is a polymer
of choice for food service and packaging due to its positive health profile and potential for
recycling collection and recycled content,” said Matt Flechter, an EGLE recycling market development specialist.
Major retailers, dairy brands and quick-service restaurants are shifting from polystyrene – commonly referred to as Styrofoam – to PP, particularly in food and food service applications, because they seek a material that can be sorted by local MRFs.
RAA projects the SamurAI’s faster sorting speed will result in increased revenue from RAA’s sale of its recycled plastics. As a result, it expects to provide an average of $72,000 annually to city of Ann Arbor coffers and generate a new funding source for all its Washtenaw County municipality partners.
“We are confident there is going to be a high demand for recycled polypropylene for the foreseeable future, because being able to put that on a product label signals a commitment by name-brand companies that they’re using recycled materials in their product lines,” Ukena said.
How and what you can recycle depends on where you live and what you are trying to recycle. To learn more about recycling in Michigan, visitwww.RecyclingRaccoons.org.
Feel a certain lack of chill in the air? It’s beginning to look a lot like springtime in Michigan! As you start to thaw out and put away your snow gear, I (your good friend Nyla) am here to share some recycling tips for your annual spring spruce-up.
“But Nyla,” you might be asking, “is recycling reaaaaally part of spring cleaning?” It is! Recycling has a huge role to play in keeping Michigan clean, green and sustainable. But don’t just take my word for it. Tracy Tomaszewski, recycling specialist for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), is also here to chime in, saying, “As the weather turns nicer and Michiganders are starting spring cleaning projects, we hope they’ll consider whether an item can be recycled or reused before they simply toss it in the trash. To kind of turn a phrase, ‘What’s old can often become new again.’”
Why waste, when you can recycle? Especially when the process is made easy with Nyla’s Patented Tips for Spring Cleaning!
Tip 1: Know the “No-No’s”
Sometimes, something you might consider recyclable is actually dangerous if you don’t take the time to clean and empty it properly. For example, containers that would be recyclable if empty are dangerous if they still contain chemicals like bleach or drain cleaner that can mix and cause fires at recycling facilities.
Other definite recycling no-no’s include:
Aerosol cans
Hazardous materials (fertilizers, chemical cleaners, paint)
All batteries are technically recyclable … just not curbside. Why, might you ask? They cause fires at recycling facilities! Luckily there’s a solution — dropping old batteries off. You can safely get rid of your batteries at:
Hazardous waste collection sites
Auto parts stores
Home improvement retailers such as Lowe’s and Home Depot
According to our friends at SOCRRA, pieces of metal, such as old grills, rusty lawn mower blades or pots and pans, do NOT belong in your curbside recycling cart. However, your local drop-off center or a scrap yard may accept them.
Tip 4: Take Out the Tanglers
Recycling facilities don’t want materials like hoses, boat shrink wrap or other flexible plastics because they can get tangled in their machinery. However, these things are ripe for reuse! Our human friends with the Kent County Department of Public Works encourage people to get one more use out of these items by repurposing them, if possible.
Here’s a couple ideas for reuse:
Poking holes in a hose to turn it into a garden soaker
Using shrink wrap as a painting drop cloth
Reusing plastic bags as small trash can liners
In addition, the Michigan Recycling Coalition and EGLE have partnered on a boat film plastic recycling program. Check it out!
Tip 5: Donate Anything “So Last Season”
Clothing and textiles aren’t recyclable curbside and should never be put in your cart. Not to fear, though, because local thrift shops, friends and unsuspecting relatives are all places for you to donate your old threads.
Tip 6: When in Doubt, Drop It Off
If you run into a material while cleaning that feels … vaguely recyclable … rather than wish-cycling, check to see if it’s something you could drop off or return to a retailer.
Lots of items fit this category, like:
E-waste (computers, TVs, smartphones, etc.)
Mattresses
Plastic flower pots and plant containers
Plastic bags
Batteries
Tip 7: Know When to Say Goodbye
Certain supplies, like items from the first cookout of the year, sadly cannot be recycled due to food contamination. This includes any used:
Paper and plastic plates
Styrofoam cups
Plastic or paper straws
Plastic utensils
Most of these should go in the trash, which is why it’s best to choose reusable or compostable options instead! The bright side? Pizza boxes, even if they’re greasy, CAN be recycled curbside — as long as they’re free of crusts and crumbs. https://recyclingraccoons.org/pizza-box/
Well, there you have it! I wish you luck on your spring-cleaning journey, humans. If you run into an item and need a little help, you know where to find me!
This story was originally published by FOX17 for "Morning Mix".
Morning Mix has partnered with the Michigan Department of Environment Great Lakes Energy to talk about recycling. However, this goes way beyond paper and plastics.
Comprenew is a non-profit certified electronic recycler. They are able to take apart things like cellphones, computers, televisions and beyond, refurbish what they can and properly dispose of what they can't. If a computer lands in their hands, they will make sure all of the data is removed, too. You can imagine this is particularly important when they are dealing with a corporate client.
Unfortunately, Michigan's recycling rate is about 15 percent, putting us at the lowest for the Great Lakes region. The goal is to increase that number to 30 percent by 2025. EGLE is doing this with their campaign lead by the Recycle Raccoon Squad.
Along with keeping harmful items out of the landfills, Comprenew helps remove employment barriers. An estimate 65 percent of their workforce has some type of barrier. If you would like to learn more about Comprenew, visit their website comprenew.org
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.
Join the Squad!
Help Michigan become a leader in recycling again. Join the squad today. You don't need to be a raccoon – you just need to sign up!
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