As America Recycles Day approaches Nov. 15, a poll out this week finds that 87% of Americans believe in recycling, yet the nation’s recycling rate remains stuck at around 32%. The rate is even lower in Michigan, and the state’s trying to change that.
Michigan has set a goal of reaching and surpassing the national rate by boosting its rate from 25% to 45% by 2030. The state also says Michigan residents are sending too much food waste to landfills.
Southwest Michigan officials hope to make progress on both problems with a new survey of people in Berrien, Cass and Van Buren counties.
“So it’s basically just kind of gauging where we are now and where there’s interest, so that way moving forward we can kind of set goals about what people want to see, what people don’t want to see," says Bekah Schrag, an associate planner at the Southwest Michigan Planning Commission office in Benton Harbor.
Schrag says the survey could identify things people get wrong about recycling. For example she says a lot of people throw plastic grocery bags and Christmas lights in recycling bins but that damages sorting equipment.
“If you have a lot of people who are throwing trash in their curbside recycling bin it can contaminate the entire truckload. So it is important to ensure that people who are participating in these programs know what can and cannot go in.”
Residents of the three counties who are interested have until the end of January to complete the survey.
