Learn the Facts

It’s Time to Increase ALL Recycling for OUR Communities

Forty-seven years ago, Michigan enacted an anti-litter law to get pop and beer cans off the side of the road. In the nearly five decades since, the states throughout the nation have pioneered recycling programs – but not in Michigan. Michigan’s overall recycling rate is a dismal 21%, lagging far below other Great Lakes States, and just a fraction of the national average.

According to the National Waste and Recycling Association, deposit laws create a separate parallel recycling stream for less than 5% of the waste stream – that diverts 30% of the value from curbside recycling programs. That means traditional recycling is more expensive for communities, and less effective for the state.