Michigan’s recycling industry, like many others in the state, has been grappling with tariff changes under the Trump administration over the past few weeks. Michigan’s recycling rate already lags behind national averages, according to state officials, but has been improving in recent years.
The recycling industry is important to the Mitten State. A NextCycle Michigan 2023 analysis found that recycling supports about 72,500 jobs in Michigan and annually contributes more than $17 billion to the state’s total economic output.
President Donald Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs, which place a 10% or higher duty on nearly all U.S. trading partners, took effect Wednesday morning. Facing economic turmoil, though, Trump reversed the tariffs for the next 90 days, until July 8. The reprieve does not include tariffs on China, which were instead increased to a total of 125%.
The Trump administration previously placed a 25% tariff on steel and increased aluminum tariffs to 25% on February 10. The administration has said the tariffs aim to protect domestic steel and aluminum industries.
The Alliance for Mission-Based Recyclers said in a statement that aluminum and steel make up about 6% of curbside collection in the U.S. Selling those recycled metals helps to make up for the cost of sorting and recycling other materials. If tariffs slow manufacturing in the long term, as prices increase, the market for recycled materials and their prices could fall, according to the alliance.
“If there are no minimum recycled content or extended producer responsibility for packaging laws that encourage companies to purchase recycled content, economic slowdowns could lead to a glut of recyclable materials,” the statement reads. “In such cases, recyclables often become the first materials to be discarded in favor of cheaper virgin resources, such as oil or timber, leading to a ‘race to the bottom.’”
Andrew Gale, the president and executive director of Traverse City-based Bay Area Recycling for Charities, said some short-term impacts of tariffs may be impacting recycling groups’ bottom lines, too.
“Although gas prices may come down a little bit, the purchase of a new vehicle could be $12,000 or more than what we're purchasing right now,” Gale told Michigan Public. “So that's going to affect our books on what we can purchase. The other commodities that we use — you know, buying laptop computers and office supplies and things that use those imports — are also going to go up.”
The Recycled Materials Association, a nationwide trade group promoting safe and sustainable recycling, wrote in a statement that the reciprocal tariffs are expected to disrupt manufacturing and operations that depend on recycled materials.
“U.S. recyclers rely on international market access to support their workforce and these new tariffs, and any retaliatory measures they may provoke, will only reduce the competitiveness of our industry and the manufacturers that rely on recycled materials,” the association wrote.
Recycling goals moving forward
Under the MI Healthy Climate Plan, the state aims to reach a 30% recycling rate by 2029. That would mean three in 10 items in every curbside recycling can is recycled or composted rather than disposed of in a landfill.
The recycling industry has faced challenges in the past decade, particularly when China announced in 2017 that it would no longer accept “foreign waste.” Prior to that move, the United States sent about half its exported recyclables to China. Those with recyclable materials looked to the Midwest, and Michigan, because of its robust recycling programs.
Michigan historically has had one of the lowest recycling rates in the Great Lakes area, but that rate has risen in recent years. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy said 2024 was the third consecutive year it set a record-high recycling rate: over 23%.
The national goal, set out by the Environmental Protection Agency, is to reach a recycling rate of 50% by 2030. The agency found that the recycling rate in 2018, the latest year data is available on their website, was 32.1%.
Different types of recyclables have fared differently in Michigan’s economy. Recycled aluminum, steel, and metals trade has been more lucrative than items like recycled cardboard, paper, glass, and plastic.
