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County Recycling Program
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In August 2000, residents supported a .15 millage request (costing the average household $8/year) to establish a County Recycling Program which began October 2000. Meeting monthly, the Charlevoix County Recycling Committee manages the program and superivses the recycling sites. This hard working dedicated group of volunteers strive to increase public awareness and understanding on the benefits of recycling.

Thank you for renewing the millage request!

2008 HHHW Dates Announced
June 7th will be the first HHHW Collection. September 6th will be the last.
Recycling site locations Top
NEW map of drop-off locations is available. Open document below for printing or viewing.
Six drop off sites were strategically located around the county. The Boyne City & Charlevoix sites are open 24 hours/day, 7 days/week. Although these sites are the most convenient for recyclers, they are the most frustrating for volunteers. Scheduling the bins to be emptied can be tricky. A site checked in the morning with plenty of room could be full by that night. If you stop to drop off your recyclables and the bins are full, please come back the next day and do not leave your stuff piled up outside the bins. We realize it's inconvenient (after you've loaded up your vehicle and made the effort to recycle) and we apologize.
Please note: leaving garbage, trash and unaccepted items at the recycling sites is a "ticket waiting to happen".

Beaver Island Transfer Station is located at 36770 East Side Drive, Beaver Island.
Summer hours: Monday - Saturday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Winter hours: Monday - Saturday 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Boyne City, Charlevoix County Road Commission located at 1251 Boyne Avenue, Boyne City.
Hours: 24 hours/day, 7 days/week

Boyne Valley Township located on Addis Road, west off US 131.
Summer hours: Wednesday 2 p.m. - dark
Winter hours: Wednesday 2 p.m. - 6 p.m.
Saturday 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Charlevoix, Sheriff's Department located at 1000 Grant Street, Charlevoix.
Hours: 24 hours/day, 7 days/week

East Jordan Transfer Station located at the end of Nichols Street in East Jordan.
Hours: Tuesday & Saturday 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Melrose Township Transfer Station located west of Clarion Village, across from the Marathon Station.
Hours: Monday 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Saturday 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
June/July/August only Friday 1 - 2 p.m.

What you can recycle Top
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Boyne City students demonstrate how much space is wasted when cans are not flattened before recycling.

NOTE: Items accepted DIFFER from site to site.

Newspapers, magazines & catalogs are accepted at all locations

CLEAR glass bottles & jars are accepted at all locations

Tin and aluminum cans, foil & trays are accepted at all locations

#1 and #2 plastic bottles, jugs & jars are accepted at all locations

Corrugated Cardboard & boxboard are accepted at all locations. NOTE: There are cardboard compactors located at the East Jordan Transfer Station and the Melrose Township site (businesses are encouraged to use the compactors rather than the bins)

Office Paper Plus new bins have been purchased to collect office paper plus in Boyne City and Charlevoix. These new bins are in addition to the existing office paper plus sites at East Jordan and Melrose Township. PLEASE NOTE: CONTAMINATION is the biggest problem with collecting office paper plus. Bins are well marked that NO NEWSPAPERS are allowed. Please help by doing your part to make sure the appropriate bins are used. If you see newspapers or other unacceptable items in the office paper plus bin, please remove them (IF within easy reach). Thank you very much!

Colored glass ONLY accepted at the Beaver Island and East Jordan Transfer Stations. If you insist on recycling colored glass, use the East Jordan site on Tuesdays or Saturdays.

Household Alkaline batteries are accepted at: True Value in East Jordan; Radio Shack in Boyne City & Charlevoix; Charlevoix Conservation District in Boyne City; and the Beaver Island Transfer Station.
What we take - specifically
Household Hazardous Waste Top
photo courtesy of Emmet D.P.W. [Click here to view full size picture] photo courtesy of Emmet D.P.W. [Click here to view full size picture]












To provide a means for Charlevoix County residents to properly dispose of Household Hazardous Waste (HHHW), two Drop-Off Days are held per year. Dates set for 2008 are June 7th and September 6th. All hazardous materials are handled by Drug & Laboratory Disposal and are treated and/or processed for disposal and stored in compliance with all applicable local, state, and federal regulations. If you are interested in the final destination of these materials, refer to the Certificate of Treatment below.

The very 1st HHHW Day was held September 14, 2002 at the Road Commission garage in Boyne City. In 2003 electronics were included in the collection. Household Hazardous Waste collected to-date (since September 2002) = 217,527 pounds! HHHW Drop-Off Days have become a very popular event! Participants comments consistently demonstrate that the service is very much appreciated.

A big part of the credit for the success of the program must go to the volunteers who work to schedule appointments, survey participants, direct traffic and unload vehicles. Their enthusiasm makes Drop-Off Days pleasant for everyone involved. Over 200 people participated in the most recent event held on September 9th.

Available below are several informational sheets pertaining to household hazardous waste. Please print a copy for future reference.

More detailed information pertaining to HHHW Drop-off Days and pictures from past events are available on our Household Hazardous Waste page located at: http://www.charlevoixcounty.org/govern0348.asp
HHHW Informational Sheets
How to recycle Top
PLEASE flatten items [Click here to view full size picture] The three R's: Recycle - Reduce - Reuse
By recycling you can reduce your garbage bill. Reduce the amount of trash by recycling and reusing things. Examples: Use a lunch box instead of paper bags; Use a plate & cup you can wash instead of paper plates & cups; Use cloth napkins instead of paper ones; Turn something old into something new with CRAFTS! Give others the clothes, toys, and books you no longer use.
Get into the habit of flattening items before recycling. Reducing the size of the object, reduces wasted space in the bins, thus reducing the trips made to empty the bins. Thank you!

'How Tos' are also provided on the reference sheet "What we take - specifically" below.

Newspapers - you can use brown paper bags to bundle the papers. Flyers & slick inserts that come with the newspapers can also be included in this bin.
Plastic - #1 and #2 Only! Look on the bottom of the bottle, jug or jar for the number enclosed in a triagle formed by arrows.
Put the lids in the garbage.
Rinse & flatten. There's no need to remove labels. NO #1 trays or clamshells. NO brown #1 bottles. NO #2 bags or tubs (yogurt, margarine)
Tin, aluminum, foil & trays - Rinse, remove labels, and flatten as much as possible.
Foil doesn't have to be perfectly clean, but shouldn't have pieces of food remaining on it.
NO Aerosol cans or propane tanks.
CLEAR glass bottles & jars - CLEAR glass only! Rinse them out.
NO light bulbs, window glass, or glass dishes.
Cardboard - Remove any packing material and flatten boxes.
Brown paper bags are recycled with cardboard. It's okay to use one to bag your newspaper and put it in the newspaper bin.
NO boxes meant from use in coolers or freezers (pop can cases, beer six packs, frozen food & butter boxes), NO waxed produce boxes. NO styrofoam.
Office paper plus - includes junk mail, envelopes, and file folders.
Remove CDs, credit cards and other non-paper items from junk mail before recycling. No need to remove envelopes with plastic windows, or stickers, rubber bands, sicky notes, mailing lbaels, staples, paper clips, or tape.
NO kraft envelopes (also called "manila" envelopes); NO construction paper or boldly colored office paper; NO padded envelopes; NO bound documents.
Alkaline batteries - dispose of properly on HHHW Day, or leave at drop off locations: Charlevoix Conservation District Office, Boyne City; Radio Shack, Boyne City & Charlevoix; True Value in East Jordan; Beaver Island Transfer Station.
What we take - specifically
Committee Members Top
Click here to view full size picture Click here to view full size picture The committee meets monthly (3rd Wednesday)at various locations around the county.


One committee member took these pictures to show why you should FLATTEN ITEMS before recycling. Unsmashed items take up more space and increase hauling costs. The proof is in the back of this Jeep Liberty. Please help keep costs down and flatten items before depositing in the bins. Thank you.


The recycling program started small. Accepting only catalogs, magazines, newspapers, tin, clear glass, and #1 and #2 plastics. It wasn't long before cardboard was also accepted. The recycling program continues to expand each year. Accepting Office Paper Plus at all sites is the most recent addition to the program, along with another cardboard compactor located at the Melrose site.
Cardboard Compactor Top
Cardboard compactor in E.J. [Click here to view full size picture] October 2002 - the Charlevoix County Recycling Program purchased a cardboard compactor. Located at the East Jordan Transfer Station at the end of Nichols Street, recyclers can pull up and unload. Businesses are encouraged to use the compactor rather than the cardboard bins located at recycling sites. In fact, the Committee would like to thank the following businesses known to be using the compactor: Seeley's Printing Service (CX); Rainbow Shop (CX); Swan Valley Marina (EJ); Ace Hardware (BC); East Jordan Cooperative (EJ); NAPA Auto Parts (CX); Bike Fix (BC); Computer Center (EJ); Jordan Inn (EJ); True Value (BC).

F.Y.I.: The first dump of the cardboard compactor weighed 14 tons. As a taxpayer you should appreciate the fact that recycling cardboard also generates a return based on the current market rate for recycled cardboard. Credit received from cardboard for the period of February - December 2004 was worth $5,155.50.

NEW NEWS! The Charlevoix County Recycling Program has purchased and installed a cardboard compactor at the Melrose Township Transfer Station that's ready for use.
Again, businesses are encouraged to use the cardboard COMPACTORS for recycling their cardboard.

The Melrose Township recycling site is open: Monday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.& Saturday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m..
The East Jordan Transfer Station is open: Tuesday & Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Alkaline Batteries Top
Household Alkaline Batteries [Click here to view full size picture] November 2002 - Household alkaline battery drop-off sites were established to collect used batteries between Household Hazardous Waste Drop-off Days.
Locations include:
Conservation District Office, 303 North Street, Boyne City
Radio Shack, 108 Water Street, Boyne City
Radio Shack, 06520 M-66 Hwy., Charlevoix
East Jordan True Value, 201 Mill Street, East Jordan
Beaver Island Transfer Station
Recyclable Materials Collected Top
All of the recyclables collected by the Charlevoix County Recycling Program are hauled to the Emmet County recycling facility.
Recyclable Materials Collected by year:
2001 (First full year):
993,600 lbs. Newspaper (this also includes magazines and phone books)
780,000 lbs. Cardboard (this also includes greyboard and paper bags)
137,100 lbs. Glass-CLEAR
66,300 lbs. Tin, Aluminum, Steel cans
51,380 lbs. Plastic (#1 and #2 plastic jugs, bottles, jars)
19,200 lbs. Glass-Colored

2002
1,149,600 lbs. Newspaper (this also includes magazines and phone books)
776,000 lbs. Cardboard (this also includes greyboard and paper bags)
204,600 lbs. Glass-CLEAR
88,200 lbs. Tin, Aluminum, Steel cans
68,845 lbs. Plastic (#1 and #2 plastic jugs, bottles, jars)
21,600 lbs. Glass-Colored

2003
1,341,600 lbs. Newspaper (this also includes magazines and phone books)
989,500 lbs. Cardboard (this also includes greyboard and paper bags)
212,400 lbs. Glass-CLEAR
92,800 lbs. Tin, Aluminum, Steel cans
79,590 lbs. Plastic (#1 and #2 plastic jugs, bottles, jars)
57,000 lbs. Glass-Colored

2004
1,513,200 lbs. Newspaper (this also includes magazines and phone books)
779,500 lbs. Cardboard (this also includes greyboard and paper bags)
202,200 lbs. Glass-CLEAR
88,800 lbs. Tin, Aluminum, Steel cans
87,605 lbs. Plastic (#1 and #2 plastic jugs, bottles, jars)
45,600 lbs. Glass-Colored

2005
1,707,000 lbs. Newspaper (this also includes magazines and phone books)
1,585,000 lbs. Cardboard (this also includes greyboard and paper bags)
161,400 lbs. Glass - CLEAR
75,200 lbs. Tin, Aluminum, Steel cans
98,665 lbs. Plastic (#1 and #2 plastic jugs, bottles, jars)
56,400 lbs. Glass - colored

2006
1,888,800 lbs. Newspaper (this also includes magazines and phone books)
2,968,000 lbs. Cardboard (this also includes greyboard and paper bags)
186,600 lbs. Glass - CLEAR
87,000 lbs. Tin, Aluminum, Steel cans
112,315 lbs. Plastic (#1 and #2 plastic jugs, bottles, jars)
72,600 lbs. Glass - colored

Total estimated weight of recyclable materials: 2,668.61 tons

Estimated Resource Savings:
Based on average energy use figures from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, recycling by Charlevoix County saved over 22.37 billion BTUs of energy - enough to power 221 households for a year.

Recycling reduces pollution from extraction and manufacturing processes. In 2006, Charlevoix County recycling prevented an estimated 3,311 tons of emissions to the air and 12.3 tons of emissions to water resources. Also, Charlevoix County recycling caused an estimated reduction of Greenhouse Gas emissions of 1,914.5 Metric Tons of Carbon Equivalent (MTCE).

From the 2,439.35 tons of newspaper, other paper products, and cardboard recycled by Charlevoix County in 2006, 29,404 trees were saved.

PRODUCTS MADE FROM EMMET COUNTY RECYCLABLES:
Cardboard & Boxboard: Shipped to mills in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Products made: cereal board, liner board, and medium (fluted portion of corrugated cardboard).
Newspaper and Magazines: Shipped to mills in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Canada. Products made: cereal board, newspaper, insulation, and mulch (green lawn spray).
Office Paper: Shipped to mills in Wisconsin. Products made: tissue, pulp for writing and copy paper.
Cardstock: Shipped to mills in Michigan and Wisconsin. Products made: tissue, cereal board, and pulp for writing and copy paper.
Phone Books: Shipped to mills in Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois. Products made: newspaper, insulation, and mulch.
Hard Cover Books: Shipped to mills in Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois. Products made: Insulation and mulch.
Companies that use recycled paper: International Paper, Georgia Pacific, Weyerhaeuser, Caraustar, Kimberly Clark (Kleenex), Packaging Corporation of America.
Plastics (#1 & #2): Shipped to Clean Tech/Plasti-Pak, Dundee, Michigan. Products made: plastic bottles & jugs.
Tin Cans: Shipped to East Jordan Iron Works, East Jordan, Michigan. Products made: fire hydrants, utility/manhole covers, and large truck brake drums.
Aluminum: Shipped to scrap dealers, who then sell to others in the market. Products made: unknown, most likely car and airplane parts, and aluminum cans.
Clear Glass: Shipped to Glass Recyclers, Inc., Dearborn, Michigan. Product made: glass bottles.
Colored Glass: Shipped to EPI Concrete Products, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Product made: used in making concrete blocks.
Electronics: Shipped to Classic Computer Recovery, Inc., Garden City, Michigan. Products made: dismantled, reusable parts are reused, lead glass used to make new lead glass, plastics used to make new plastic, etc.
Scrap Rubble: Shipped to Harbor Springs Excavating, Inc., Harbor Springs, Michigan. Products made: used to make concrete, shale for roads.
Scrap Wood: is ground to make mulch and sold at the Drop-Off Center.
Tires: Shipped to CM Rubber Technologies, Inc., Coleman, Michigan. Products made: landscaping mulch, crumb rubber, 2" drainfield chip, rarely burned as fuel.
Used Motor Oil: Shipped by Crystal Flash. Product: burned as fuel.

This information was compiled Winter 2008
Recycling Education Top
Charlevoix County Recycling Committee member Michelle Rick-Biddick has been busy giving presentations to several area schools about recycling. The presentation includes a hands-on demonstration for making recycled paper, as well as playing the 3 R's of recycling game.

Dressed in her bib-overalls, straw hat & gloves, Mother Nature (Michelle) involves the students by having them participate in a simple recycling excercise. Three bags labeled Recycle, Reduce, and Reuse are placed on a desk. The students are given different items and instructed to place their item in the appropriate bag. This is a great exercise, however making recycled paper with a blender remains the class favorite! Available by appointment, contact Michelle at 547-4369.
Businesses That Recycle Top
Business window decal [Click here to view full size picture] In an effort to recognize area businesses that practice recycling, the Charlevoix County Recycling Program has designed a decal which can be proudly displayed in a window or door.

The Recycling Committee established criteria which must be met in order to be eligible to receive "This Business Recycles" certification.

The business must support the goals of the Charlevoix County Recycling Committee; and must practice at least two of the following:
  • Flattens all cardboard boxes to a minimum size and takes them to one of the sites with a cardboard compactor (East Jordan & Melrose Twp.)
  • Cleans and flattens all tin/aluminum cans and takes them to one of the recycling sites.

  • Bags all newspapers and catalogs in brown paper grocery bags and takes them to one of the recycling sites.
  • Collects and bags (in clear bags with holes poked to let air out)shredded paper, office paper and junk mail and takes it to one of the recycling sites.
  • Cleans and flattens all plastic materials labeled #1, and #2 and takes them to one of the recycling sites.
Encourages other businesses to become involved in recycling & feels free to attend any Committee meeting (held the 3rd Wed. of each month).

Proudly displays the decal in a prominent location of the store (front window/door)

For more information, contact Recycling Committee member Michelle Rick-Biddick at 547-4369.
This page last updated on 3/25/2008.
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