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Good Evening. Today is Tuesday, February 09, 2010 | Log In
Government Directory>Recycling Program (new page)
County Recycling Program
REDUCE - REUSE - RECYCLE The Charlevoix County Recycling Program celebrates 10-Year Anniversary!! October 2000: Six drop-off sites around the county began collecting newspaper/plastic/tin/aluminum/clear glass. It wasn't long before cardboard was added to the list.
Since then the size of the program has grown to include office paper & colored glass; cardboard compactors have been installed at two of the sites; household alkaline batteries are collected all year & recycled not thrown away; HouseHold Hazardous Waste Collections are held twice a year, and horticultural plastic is also collected & recycled locally into new horticultural plastic pots/trays!
Much of the credit for the success of the recycling program goes to the group of volunteers who serve on the Recycling Committee. Without their efforts and the outstanding support received from the Sheriff's Department and the Charlevoix County Road Commission, there wouldn't be so much to celebrate ten years later! Many thanks to all involved.
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| Recycling site locations |
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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 8 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. - 7 p.m. Winter hours: Wednesday 2 p.m. - dusk 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.
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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 accepted at all sites except Boyne Valley Township. 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. Thank you very much!
Colored glass now accepted at all sites.
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.
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What we take - specifically
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| Household Hazardous Waste/Electronics |
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2010 COLLECTION DATES: June 12th (on the west side) September 11th (on the east side)
To provide a means for Charlevoix County residents to properly dispose of Household Hazardous Waste (HHHW) & old electronics (containing circut boards), two Drop-Off Days are held per year. All hazardous materials & electronics 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 (thru September 2008) = 321,985 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.
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
Electronic recycling - Best Buy electronics recycling program launches Feb. 15 in all U.S. stores. Program expands electronics recycling options available to consumers through all 1,006 stores nationwide. For more information click: Best Buy
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HHHW Informational Sheets
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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!
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. OR use this method: the opening of the container must be smaller than the container itself in order to be acceptable.
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 only! Rinse them out.
NO light bulbs, window glass, or glass dishes.
COLORED Glass - green, blue, brown collected together.
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.
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What we take - specifically
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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.
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October 2002 - the Charlevoix County Recycling Program purchased a cardboard compactor & located it at the East Jordan Transfer Station. In 2006, another compactor was purchased and located at the Melrose Township site, as the compactors require supervision (these are both staffed sites).
Businesses are encouraged to use the compactors rather than the cardboard bins located at the 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. Unfortunately, recycling markets are down right now and the credits from cardboard have stopped.
The East Jordan site is open: Tuesday & Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Melrose Township recycling site is open: Monday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.& Saturday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m..
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November 2002 - Household alkaline battery drop-off sites were established to collect used batteries between HHHW 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
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| Recyclable Materials Collected |
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All of the recyclables collected by the Charlevoix County Recycling Program are hauled to the Emmet County recycling facility near Harbor Springs.
Recyclable Materials Collected : Since the first full year (2001) - December 2008: 11,804,700 lbs. Newspaper (this also includes magazines and phone books) 9,441,440 lbs. Cardboard (this also includes greyboard and paper bags) 1,536,300 lbs. Glass-Clear 709,100 lbs. Tin, Aluminum, Steel cans 754,005 lbs. Plastic (#1 and #2 plastic jugs, bottles, jars) 426,600 lbs. Glass-Colored 372,600 lbs. Office paper
Estimated Resource Savings: Based on average energy use figures from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, recycling by Charlevoix County residents in 2008 saved over 23,126 billion BTUs of energy - enough to power 220 households for a year.
Recycling reduces pollution from extraction and manufacturing processes. In 2008, Charlevoix County recycling prevented an estimated 1,909 tons of emissions to the air and 7.1 tons of emissions to water resources. Also, Charlevoix County recycling caused an estimated reduction of Greenhouse Gas emissions of 1,284 Metric Tons of Carbon Equivalent (MTCE), roughly the amount that would be emitted by 969 passenger cars in a year.
From the 1,201.66 tons of newspaper, other paper products, and cardboard recycled by Charlevoix County in 2008, 12,049 trees were saved.
What becomes of the recyclable materials collected? 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, Catalogs 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 water bottles & jugs for laundry detergents and other cleaners. Steel/Tin Cans: Shipped to East Jordan Iron Works, East Jordan, Michigan. Products made: fire hydrants, utility/manhole covers, and large truck brake drums. Aluminum: Sold to scrap dealers, who then sell to others in the market. Products made: window frames, 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
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Charlevoix County Recycling Committee member Michelle Rick-Biddick is kept 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.
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| Businesses That Recycle |
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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.
The following businesses recycle and display their decals with pride: Alcove Restaurant - Boyne Country Plastics - Charlevoix Public Library - East Jordan Auto Parts - Harbor Industries - Hayes, Telgenhoff, Turkelson & Groat, PC Attorneys - Irish Boat Shop - Korthase Flinn - Michael's Locksmith Services - North Country Community Health - Radio Shack Boyne City - Radio Shack Charlevoix - Red Mesa, Boyne City - Country Now & Then
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| Recycling Newsletter & GUIDE |
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The Charlevoix County Recycling Program newsletter, the BRIGHT RECYCLER comes out each spring with timely information and important event dates.
Inserted in area newspapers and distributed from locations throughout the county, the 2009 BRIGHT RECYCLER is available now (and can be downloaded from this site).
The Charlevoix County Recycling Guide has been updated as well. Copies are available at several locations or by contacting Kelly at 582.6193.
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| Plant Plastic Collection |
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Spring 2009 - PLANT PLASTIC COLLECTION! The Charlevoix County Recycling Committee is excited to announce that the pilot project to collect plant plastic last spring went very well and will be repeated!! Each spring people bring flats, trays, pots, and cell packs to the recycling sites hoping to get rid of them. However, these are not the types of plastic we accept for recycling. They ARE NOT to be placed in the recycling bins!!
Thank goodness for East Jordan Plastics, Inc. who will be working with the recycling committee again collecting the plant plastic for recycling & providing the shipping containers at each of the collection sites.
In Boyne City go to Boyne Avenue Greenhouse; In Charlevoix go to K-Mart; In East Jordan go to the Transfer Station; on Saturday, June 6th between 9 a.m. and noon.
Most of the products produced by East Jordan Plastics are manufactured with recycled plastic. Whether as flowerpots, trays, inserts or flats, most of their containers are made with recycled plastic content and, depending on the container's application, some can be made from 100% recycled material.
The recycling of plastic horticultural containers begins with the collection and return of them. East Jordan Plastics is working with several groups to support and help facilitate the recycling of these containers.
It's very important to properly clean the items before bringing them to the collection.
Hold on to those horticultural containers and remember to recycle them on June 6th. Thank you!!
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| Recycler of the Year Award |
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Since 2004, the Charlevoix County Recycling Committee has recognized a Recycler of the Year for outstanding recycling efforts they have made. The first four awards went to local businesses that either: use scrap materials in their manufacturing process, or instituted a recycling program as part of doing business or for their employees at work. While considering the 2008 recipient, a decision was made to establish two Award categories: A Business/Commercial Award and an Individual Award. We are very pleased to announce, the 2008 Individual Award winners are Bruce & Char Sanderson. The 2008 Commercial Award winner is the Beaver Island Transfer Station. Previous award winners: 2004 Award to East Jordan Auto Parts in East Jordan 2005 Award to Boyne Country Plastics in Boyne Falls 2006 Award to Harbor Industries, Inc. in Charlevoix 2007 Award to East Jordan Iron Works in East Jordan.
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| Individual Award Winner |
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Bruce & Char Sanderson were instrumental in getting the first recycling guide published for our northern region many years ago. They contacted countless businesses in the area, talked to "any group that would listen" to support and promote the early stages of recycling, then spent numerous hours rewriting and updating the recycling guide. They were true pioneers in getting recycling active in northern Michigan. We are extremely grateful for the leadership provided by this dedicated couple who have been recycling for over 43 years! The Sandersons lived in Ann Arbor from 1967-1977 where there was a wonderful recycling program in place. After they moved to Charlevoix County they saved all their recyclables and took them back down to Ann Arbor each time they visited their son. This got them started "asking around here" for places they could take things for recycling. The Sandersons feel recycling is important. Char stated, "When Bruce's family lived here at the farm from 1910-1968, they had one small pile of broken pots, glass, things like that. In 58 years they had so little waste because they lightly used the earth back then." When asked if they would like to see anything different, added or improved with the Charlevoix County Recycling Program, they both felt the Recycling Committee is doing a wonderful job. Thanks for that comment and for being Charlevoix County's recycling pioneers! Congratulations and THANK YOU to the Sandersons for their recycling efforts!!!!
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| Business/Commercial Award Winner |
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Beaver Island Transfer Station In 1990, all the open dumps in Michigan were closed by the State (including the one on Beaver Island), forcing residents to transfer everything OFF the island. A group was formed to figure out how to do that. A house trailer was purchased and located near the old dump site. Manager Dennis Cieslack lived on site collecting everything Island residents brought in, separating and distributing it to different areas on the property. Worried that charging people to bring in their garbage would lead to illegal trash disposal across the Island, residents were allowed to RECYCLE for FREE, which resulted in less trash which they would be charged $.50 per bag for. That's how the Island recycling program was implemented. They started out collecting cardboard, clear glass and tin cans. Soon plastics were included & the process became too large to be run out of a trailer, so a building was constructed. The new building was large enough for several "stations" for compacting, recycling, shredding, and sorting - plus allowed residents to drive through the building depositing their recyclables and trash inside. Collecting & disposing of trash on an island of 500 permanent residents & more than 2,000 during the summertime, is a bit different than on the mainland where recycling stations and commercial haulers abound. Space must be found to store solid waste during the winter months for removal by ferry during the summer season. Eventually two assistants were hired and when Cieslack became too ill to work, Chuck Schmidt was hired. Schmidt ran a department of a downstate warehouse before "retiring" to a full-time job as king of Beaver Island's transfer station. With Chuck's experience the program grew larger. More equipment was purchased including a shredder for plastic and a compactor for glass. Schmidt is no longer at the transfer station, and was replaced on the Recycling Committee by Doug Bugai. Congratulations to the Beaver Island Transfer Station for their recycling support.
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| Additional Recycling Information |
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This page last updated on 1/27/2010.
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