(WXYZ) — On this Earth Day, Michigan is marking a milestone, setting a record-high recycling rate for the fifth year in a row.
Today, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) is announcing research that shows Michigan has steadily increased its recycling rate.
Before 2019, it was 14.25 percent. Then, in fiscal year 2025, Michigan's recycling rate rose to over 25 percent.
Eagle said that's enough material to equal the weight of ten Mackinac Bridges.
One of Egle's recycling specialists, Matt Fletcher, told me earlier this week in a 1-on-1 interview that the state is now on track to achieve its goal of a 30 percent recycling rate by the year 2025.
"What is one thing that residents of the state of Michigan can do differently to recycle better?" I asked him.
“The most important thing that a resident can do is ask their hauler or their community or their service provider, whoever's picking up that cart in front of their house or that bin, or if they don't have it, asking the hauler, why do they not have access to recycling?" He replied. "Communicate with your community or your hauler and then ask them, what can go in this bin? Get the information, put it on your refrigerator, and tell your family so that we have quality recyclable materials turning into new products.”
At 10:30 a.m. today, EGLE will hold a news conference at the Michigan DNR Outdoor Adventure Center in Detroit. They'll introduce 60 fourth and fifth-grade students to a new state-of-the-art video and other hands-on activities, which will show them how to recycle properly.
They'll also have their Recycling Raccoon Squad on hand; they're the mascots for the EGLE's award-winning, "know it before you throw it" recycling education campaign.
