In a day and age when we are all increasingly confronted with decisions that impact the environment around us, the Michigan business community is being invited to the table in a unique way that could prove economically advantageous at the same time that it slows the stream of waste headed to community landfills.
The Michigan Materials Marketplace is a facilitated transaction platform that connects businesses in the state to develop and scale new reuse and recycling market opportunities.
The main question for each businessman or woman is, does your company have waste or by-product materials that are currently going to landfill? Or are you looking to secure recycled material streams to reduce the use of virgin feedstocks? If the answer in either case is yes, you can sign up on the Michigan Materials Marketplace and let them help you divert waste from landfills, drive cost savings, energy savings, and even create new business opportunities all at the same time.
It’s as easy as 1-2-3:
- Click this link to create your account and set up your profile. It’s easy and free – and they’re a click away if you need assistance. Here’s the link: https://go.materialsmarketplace.org/en/signup
- Create listings for available or wanted materials. The platform will guide you to provide the necessary information.
- Search, connect, qualify and start transactions. The Michigan Materials Marketplace is always right behind the scenes to help drive matches and create activity for your individual business.
If you have any questions along the way, you can click on the chat icon in the bottom right corner of the home screen to connect directly with someone from the Materials Marketplace team. They’re there to answer technical questions about materials, or provide technical support for using the Materials Marketplace platform.
Meanwhile, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy this week announced two major grants that, combined with local funds, will deliver more than $2.8 million to expand and improve recycling infrastructure in Grand Traverse and Emmet counties.
The grant announcements are part of the Traverse City launch of Know It Before You Throw It, EGLE’s first-ever statewide education campaign to better inform Michiganders on what can – and cannot – be recycled and how to recycle correctly.
We shared that Know It Before You Throw It story recently in this link:
https://www.moodyonthemarket.com/michigan-urges-know-it-before-you-throw-it/
EGLE’s goal is to promote awareness of cleaner recycling practices to reduce the amount of contaminated materials improperly going into recycling bins. The state also wants to double Michigan’s recycling rate to 30-percent by 2025 and ultimately reach 45-percent annually. Michigan’s current 15-percent recycling rate is the lowest in the Great Lakes region and ranks among the nation’s lowest.
Elizabeth Browne is the Assistant Director of the Materials Management Division at EGLE. She says, “We want to inform and inspire more people than ever before in Michigan about how to recycle better.”
Browne tells us, “This campaign is a first of its kind for Michigan that offers multiple benefits,” adding, “Increasing recycling and improving the quality of materials we’re recycling saves energy, reduces water use, decreases greenhouse gases, conserves resources and translates into local jobs.”
Achieving EGLE’s 30-percent recycling goal would produce as many as 12,986 jobs, which translates into an economic impact of up to $300 million annually, according to the Expanding Recycling in Michigan Report prepared for the Michigan Recycling Partnership.
Recycling in Michigan is receiving a major boost as state legislators in an overwhelmingly bipartisan move have increased EGLE’s funding for recycling from $2 million last year to $15 million in 2019. The extra funds will support development of recycling markets, increase access to recycling opportunities and reinforce planning efforts to grow recycling at the local level.
Sadly, 76-percent of Michiganders are unaware that food or liquid inside a jar or container that’s tossed in the recycling bin poses a risk of contaminating everything in the bin. EGLE recommends rinsing and emptying items before placing in the bin.
Michigan recycles more than 90-percent of bottles and cans that carry a deposit, but such returnable containers represent only 2-percent of all the waste Michiganders recycle every year. Almost 53-percent of the state’s municipal solid waste that goes to landfills could go to recycling facilities.
Michigan manufacturers rely on a clean, steady supply of recycled materials to make new products. If the recyclables are contaminated, businesses can’t get what they need to produce their products.
