New Mobile Recycling Center Will Tour Calhoun County

Calhoun County has announced a new mobile Recycling Center program. The mobile recycling trailer will begin touring the county, beginning in September. The goal of the pilot program is to increase recycling access to rural townships. Based on data collected from the use of the C&C Landfill Recycling Passes, the pilot program will start with collection dates in Athens Township and Tekonsha Township.  The trailer will also be available for local community events. 

The heavy-duty blue trailer has various bins where recyclers will feed their own items, ranging from paper, cardboard, and a variety of bottles and cans. The truck and recycling trailer was purchased with funds from a 2020 EGLE Recycling Infrastructure Grant which the county received.

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The first scheduled stops have been announced: 

• Thursday, September 1
  Athens Township Hall
   1 - 4 p.m.
  130 E. Burr Oak St.
  Athens, MI 49011  
• Thursday, September 15
  Tekonsha Township Hall
  1 - 4 p.m.
  166 Spires Parkway
  Tekonsha, MI 49092 

Recyclers attending the events will have staff on hand to show them how to use the recycling trailer. Recyclers will feed their own recycling items into the labeled collection bins and are encouraged to bring their material pre-sorted. 

The recycling trailer will collect the following separated items: 

• Aluminum 
• Glass 
• Tin Cans 
• #1 bottles 
• #2 colored plastic bottles 
• #2 natural plastic bottles 
• #3-7 mixed plastic 
• Newspaper 
• Magazines and catalogs 
• Office paper 
• Cardboard (which must be flattened to fit into the bin) 

The Do’s and Don’ts of the recycling process: 

• Recycling must be loose inside the collection bins.  
• No bagged recycling may be placed inside the trailer and plastic bottles can’t be tied together with rope or twine.  
• Recyclers will be asked to take items that are not accepted, including bags, home with them.  
• Recommended containers for transporting your recycling to the mobile trailer include paper bags (which can be recycled with cardboard), cardboard boxes, and reusable totes and bags. 
• Polystyrene #6 is NOT accepted. The Marshall Recycling Center accepts Polystyrene #6 and is open Tuesday from 12 - 4 p.m. and Wednesday from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. Located at 13300 15 Mile Rd., Marshall. 

The County Program Coordinator, Sarah Kelly, advises recyclers that because this is a pilot program, changes may occur to improve customer service or program efficiency. The Solid Waste Program plans to expand rural collection locations if the pilot is successful. Not only will the mobile recycling center tour rural townships, but it will also be available for use at community events, to collect items such as cardboard, aluminum cans, and water bottles. Interested communities can contact the Solid Waste and Recycling Coordinator, at 269-969-6395, in booking the trailer.