Emmet County Recycling

Missed the Pressing Matters show on Friday with WCMU Public Media? Never fear! Watch the nine minute video here and check the comments below for a link to the 24 minute version.

Pressing Matters | What happens when the recyclables are picked up? For most of Michigan, the main types of recycling processes can be boiled down to a dual or single stream system. The difference is either all recyclables a...

A tale as old as, well...not time. But at least 34 years! Emmet County has a Real Recycling Promise - your materials are collected and shipped to companies that use your recyclables to be made into something new.

East Jordan Plastics takes all of the horticulture containers from our facility to their South Haven, MI plant to recycle into NEW horticulture containers. We are delighted to hear about their new certification and proud to have them in our network of circular economy end markets! ♻️

We're happy to announce that we received our Supplier of Post-Consumer Recycled (PCR) Plastic Certification on March 11, 2024 and are recognized as a trusted supplier in the horticultural industry.

Learn more about what this certification means for our company ➡ https://bit.ly/3VYDY2G

Dearest Gentle Recyclers,

It is with great disheartenment that I share this photograph, recently received from our esteemed director and grant writer who were in the area today to set up event recycling.

I had eagerly anticipated ushering in the holiday weekend with a lighthearted meme from Joe Dirt about the proper disposal of fireworks. Alas, circumstances compel me to pivot and instead address the pressing issue of littering, which is wholly inappropriate and most distressing.

Our diligent staff labor tirelessly to manage the increased volume of recycling that accompanies the holidays. Yet, encounters with disarray, such as depicted, weigh heavily upon our spirits.

Should you find the bins full, please refrain from leaving your recyclables on the ground. Instead, kindly consider taking them to another drop site (you have eleven more options throughout Emmet County) or waiting a day until we can service this location.

With sincere regards and hopes for a tidier morrow,

Lady Recycling ♻

🛑 Don't put fireworks in your recycling.
💦 Instead, submerge your spent, damaged or unused fireworks in water for 24-48 hours.
🛍 Seal it in a plastic bag.
🛢 Put it in the trash!

🔥🔥🔥 ALERT! 🔥🔥🔥 Share the message!

Not how we like to start the day, but a reality of our environment unfortunately.

We may never know the cause of the fire, but we suspect a lithium battery or flammable material started the fire in the garbage bin by the green arches at our Pleasantview Drop Off Center.

Quick response from our DPW staff kept our facility and staff members safe. Shout out to Harbor Springs Area Fire Dept and Emmet County EMS for a job well done.

Now... how can we as a community make sure this doesn't happen again with detrimental results?

Proper disposal of hazardous materials is essential. Any device that has a power button has a battery inside and needs to be removed prior to disposal. Any material marked combustible or flammable should not go in the garbage or recycling.

Emmet County Recycling offers FREE battery recycling to residents all over the county. Drop your batteries at the facility, visit a Meyer Ace Hardware - Petoskey Downtown , Preston Feather Building Centers, W W Fairbairn & Sons Inc., Cook's in Pellston or check your local township hall.

🔋 ALL lithium batteries must have their terminals taped to prevent fires. If you have a damaged lithium battery, store it in kitty litter or sand and ship it back to the manufacturer or bring it into a Household Hazardous Waste event.

☣️ Our next Household Hazardous Waste event is Saturday, September 28. Registration will open in August and is available to Emmet County residents for FREE.

If you've made it this far in the post, I applaud you. We take safety very seriously and want to do the best for our community. Drop us a ♻ in the comments if you support our message and share far and wide with your people to spread the message!

Who just heard me on 106 KHQ!? 🙋‍♀️

Serendipitous that I should be listening while on my weekly route to Meyer Ace Hardware - Petoskey Downtown to pick up batteries for recycling!

Got to talk to Ashley and Vinny about some of the materials we accept for recycling at the Pleasantview Drop Off Center like cooking oil, food scraps, mattresses, washer/dryers and more!

Yesterday we held our first Household Hazardous Waste day where we collected oil based paint and other hazardous materials for proper disposal. What a great turn out from our community!

Next event is September 28 - registration will open in August. Watch our socials, website and sign up for our e-newsletter to be the first to sign up!

Let’s hear it for our amazing staff as we celebrate !

From office staff, to gatehouse attendants, processors and drivers, we couldn’t do it without you!

What gorgeous specimens (double impatiens?) we have here 🌸

And oooh, upon further inspection, they're housed in a recycled horticulture container from East Jordan Plastics ! Way to go Willson's Garden Center!

Do you love finding treasures in unexpected places? LOOK NO FURTHER! Recycle processor position available at Emmet County Recycling - link in comments ♻️

📣 Bulk compost is back in stock and available for purchase!

Bulk compost is temporarily sold out!

Limited supply of bagged compost is available at the Pleasantview Drop Off Center.

Join the waitlist for bulk compost 231.348.0640

We will also notify the masses via social media and on our website when it's back in stock.

International Compost Awareness Week might be over, but we'll continue to celebrate throughout the year with our Michigan centered campaign !

We hope you've learned something new, started thinking about improvements you can make in your household or celebrated your existing achievements in the compost arena!

Can't wait to see all of the garden photos this summer grown with nutrient dense compost 😍

Compost feeds the soil and slowly releases nutrients over time.

It improves soil water holding capacity, decreases the need for synthetic fertilizers by slowly releasing nutrients over time, and enhances healthy soil conditions to increase yields and regenerate soil biology to grow more nutrient-dense crops.

🌿 Compost can help turn nutrient-starved dirt into rich, healthy soil where our fruits and vegetables can grow and thrive.

🥕 How does compost help? By recycling organic material into compost we create healthy soils that produce healthier food and in many cases higher yields.

It also reduces the need for fertilizer and pesticides, improves water quality and conserves water, as well as stores carbon in soil - helping to reduce climate change.

Climate champions bring communities together for a common cause.

Composting is nature’s climate champion and builds community resiliency by creating local jobs, providing environmental education and building local healthy soils to support resilient ecosystems and productive food gardens.

Carbon sequestration is the capture, removal and storage of carbon dioxide from the earth’s atmosphere.

When compost is applied to our soils, it enhances soil health and creates an abundant community of microbes and healthy plants that sequester carbon in the soil.

At a 2023 backyard compost workshop at Petoskey District Library, Lindsey shares with the group that there are more microbes in a handful of compost than there are people on the earth! Talk about a party.

When food scraps, yard waste and other organic materials go to landfill, their decomposition produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas. ☣️

The production of methane is due to anaerobic decomposition, or the absence of oxygen. A compost pile on the other hand decomposes aerobically, with oxygen.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions can help reduce impacts from climate change.

Thanks so much UpNorthLive for the news segment this morning!

Our tour started with just a few registrants this morning and blossomed to 23 people representing Beaver Island, Cheboygan, Traverse City and East Jordan, as well as Petoskey and Harbor Springs!

We'll continue to celebrate International Compost Awareness Week with another tour on Thursday morning at 10:00 AM annnnnnnd fun compost facts all week long on our social media pages.

Emmet County Recycling: facility tour teaches new ways to shrink ecological footprint EMMET COUNTY, Mich., (WPBN/WGTU) -- Join Emmet County Recycling this week for a tour of their facility. Learn about some new things to recycle to help reduce yo

Welcome to International Compost Awareness Week! 🌱

Join a tour today at 1:30 pm or Thursday, May 9 at 10 AM to learn more.

In the meantime, let's share some fun facts:

Composting is a tool in addressing climate change. 🌏

It reduces greenhouse gas emissions at landfills, promotes healthy plant growth and increases resilience to the effects of climate change such as drought, flooding and other extreme weather events. ☔️

Check out our website to register for a tour AND see how you can get started diverting food scraps from your waste stream or making compost in your backyard.