Michigan is recycling more than ever, but has plenty of room to grow.
The state’s recycling rate hit a record 23% in 2023, according to the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. Officials and advocates cited increased investment from the state, but acknowledged that there is still improvement to be made.
Matt Flechter, a market development recycling specialist at the department, said the state wants that number to keep going up.
“Just because we're making amazing progress doesn't mean we don't still have work to do," he said. The national recycling rate is 34%, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Michigan’s goal is to reach 30% by 2029.
Michigan’s recycling rate has been rising for years, but it started lower than any other state in the Great Lakes region. In 2014, the recycling rate was only 15%.
Kerri O’Brien, executive director of the Michigan Recycling Coalition, said investment from the state government and communities has driven the increase.
“Recycling has grown in Michigan because individual communities have made it a priority,” she said. Michigan has also invested state dollars in expanding recycling infrastructure, in part thanks to the Renew Michigan Fund.
That includes $5 million announced on Monday. Communities across southeast, central and northern Michigan will receive grants of $140,000 to $900,000 to make curbside recycling more accessible.
That’s where growth has been greatest, especially in helping communities upgrade from small bins to larger carts, Flechter said. Those kinds of changes make recycling more convenient, which means residents are more likely to do it.
Access and cost are two major barriers to recycling across the state. About 19% of Michigan residents don’t have access to curbside services, according to a report by Next Cycle Michigan.
The report also found that curbside recycling isn’t equitably distributed, with high-income neighborhoods three times more likely to have access to the service than low-income neighborhoods.
Flechter said the department’s goal is to make recycling as easy – and cheap – as throwing away trash.
O’Brien is hopeful that rates will continue to climb thanks to investment at the state level. In 2022, Michigan updated its solid waste laws to require all counties to create material management plans. That update also included resources for helping communities create those plans.
“We are just really beginning as a state to invest in recycling,” she said.
