Policy & Legislation
ACTION ALERT, February 2012. Grass-to-Gas Bills reappear - House Bill 4265 and 4266 seek to exempt landfills with methane gas collection systems from the Michigan Yard Waste Ban. Landfills that have an acceptable gas collection system used for the recovery and utilization of gas for electricity generation will be permitted to landfill yard waste if these bills move forward. One significant change to the effort is that yard clippings must continue to be source separated at the curb. This change is intended to level the playing field for entities wishing to continue or resume yard clipping collection for composting. The MRC remains opposed to these bills, see our policy statement here.
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Michigan has not yet achieved the 50% goal stated in the state's solid waste policy. As a result, more than 4.3 million tons of material that could be recycled is now buried in landfills or being incinerated. The raw material value of those wasted resources is estimated at nearly $435 million. The estimated financial investment to move Michigan toward a benchmark recycling program achieving a 50% recycling rate is $75 million. Six times the return makes recycling a worthy investment for Michigan.
According to a 2009 Public Sector Consultants (PSC) study, merely achieving the performance level of other Great Lakes states (30% recycling) would produce 7,000 to 13,000 jobs, as much as $300 million in income and $3.9 billion in receipts, and as much as $22 million in additional state tax revenue.
The State of Michigan recognizes that recycling is important to Michigan’s economy, its quality of life and its environment. But it also sees that public and private recycling in Michigan has underperformed. Residents overwhelmingly support the idea of comprehensive recycling in Michigan but, without leadership and investment by the State, Michigan communities cannot fully benefit from the economic and environmental returns that recycling can yield.
In the 2011 State of Recycling In Michigan: A Way Forward, the Michigan Recycling Coalition identifies the elements of a successful, comprehensive, statewide recycling program in which the State should invest. The cost of such investment is estimated to be approximately $7.62 per capita. The economic return on that investment is estimated to be $43.95 per capita. The environmental return on that investment is also dramatic, yielding more than 4.3 million tons of resources captured for manufacturing, conserving more than 42 trillion Btu (the same annual energy equivalent used by nearly 417,000 homes), reducing airborne pollution emissions by more than 122,000 tons, reducing waterborne pollution emissions by more than 20,000 tons, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 2.8 million metric tons of carbon equivalent.
Supportiong effectibve state policy to improve recycling is an important goal of the MRC.
