Marquette County to Build New $6.3M Recycling Facility

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The Marquette County Solid Waste Management Authority (MCSWMA) announced significant progress in efforts to construct a new regional materials recovery facility. The new $6.3 million facility is expected to enable switch from dual to single-stream recycling and boost the recycling capacity in rural upper Michigan.

The county had announced selection of contractor last week. The efforts to explore funding opportunities, in partnership with Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Resource Recycling Systems (RRS) have also yielded results. The County received interest-free loan of $3 million from Closed Loop Fund. In addition, it also received a grant of $800,000 from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE).

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The declining participation rate in dual-stream recycling system, lack of adequate recycling facility in the region and stockpiling of recyclables at the county’s landfill prompted the county to build the new recycling facility, said Bradley Austin, director of MCSWMA. Recent studies suggested overwhelming support for single-stream recycling system. The regional recycling facility will serve 65,000 residents of the county and potentially 200,000 residents of the entire region.

The facility, with initial processing capacity of 7,000 to 9,000 tons per year of recyclables, will later be upgraded to handle up to 14,000 tons per year. The accepted recyclables include cardboard, paper, plastic, aluminum and glass. The facility is expected to open by fall 2020.