Earlier this year, Canton Township embarked on an eight-week “Feet on the Street” recycling cart tagging program to help eliminate contamination in curbside carts. This program was funded by a Recycling Quality Improvement Grant from The Recycling Partnership and Michigan EGLE (Environment, Great Lakes and Energy).
Residential participation in the program improved the contamination rate in the township by 28 percent, according to officials.
In an effort to expand on the success of the program, township officials applied for additional grant funding to focus on education about the contamination in carts. Recently, officials learned that Canton was selected by The Recycling Partnership and Michigan EGLE as a Recycling App to Action Grant recipient. By accepting this grant, Canton will take recycling data gathered during the previous Recycling Quality Improvement Grant, analyze it to better understand the recycling behavior of Canton Township residents and amplify the results with targeted education and outreach, officials explained.
“A previous grant we were awarded, EGLE's 'Feet on the Street' recycling education grant, provided great results for our recycling efforts in Canton. Post-program results showed Canton's curbside recycling participation rate at 77 percent, which is above the national average. Our contamination rate also reduced, demonstrating a 28 percent improvement from the beginning of the program,” commented Canton Township Supervisor Anne Marie Graham-Hudak.
“We are proud of our employees who work hard to find and apply for these grants and look forward to winning even more in the years to come,” she said.
A public education campaign on curbside recycling will begin in the spring of 2022. For more information about the Canton recycling program or to view a list of what is and is not accepted in carts, visit www.canton-mi.org/230.
