Recycling Restarter

Sunday, April 30, 2006

A new study confirms what Michigan should already have known: This state does a very poor job of recycling, last among the Great Lakes states. Besides wasting huge quantities of recyclable materials, the low status misses a chance to develop thousands of jobs in recycling.

The new study was done by Public Sector Consultants of Lansing for the recycling industry, but its findings line up with others in recent years. Just 20 percent of Michigan's recyclable wastes are returned to new uses, down by half since 1994. The 20 percent compares, for example, to 46 percent in Minnesota, 36 percent in Pennsylvania and 35 percent in Indiana.

Largely this is due to the scant investment the state makes in recycling, just $200,000 a year -- near the bottom of state commitments nationwide. Michigan instead encourages throwing trash into landfills and tearing up ever more acres of land for that purpose. An alternative now is a bill that would add a one-cent fee onto most retail purchases above $2. The annual revenue of $40 million would go to match local spending on recycling and to support processing and manufacturing programs.

The bill is sponsored by Rep. Geoffrey Hansen, R-Hart. Among co-sponsors is Rep. Kevin Green, R-Wyoming. The House leadership, which has had the bill since September, has yet to even give the bill a hearing.

Michigan is in no position to be tossing away such an economic opportunity. Other states, while conserving resources, have created robust recycling industries. New Jersey has a 32 percent recycling rate and a recycling industry that employs 27,000 people. Pennsylvania employs 81,000. The Hansen bill would be a start toward similar gains in Michigan.

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